725. The reason why a male child signifies the doctrine of truth for the church which is called the New Jerusalem, is, that son signifies truth as we have just shown above, and a male child truth of doctrine from the Word, consequently the doctrine of genuine truth which is for the church. It means doctrine for the church which is called the New Jerusalem, because the woman who brought forth the male child, means that church, as also shown above. The doctrine of truth which is for the church, is also signified by male in the following passages.

In Moses:

"God created man into his image; into the image of God created he him, male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27):

"Male and female created he them, and blessed them, and called their name man (homo), in the day in which they were created" (Genesis 5:2).

What is involved in the things that are related in the first chapter of Genesis concerning the creation of heaven and earth, paradise, and the eating of the tree of knowledge (scientia), no one can know except from the spiritual sense, for these particulars are in the form of history; still they are holy, because all the particulars contained in them are interiorly, and in their bosom, spiritual.

[2] The subject there described is the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, which was the most excellent of all the churches on this earth; its establishment is meant by the creation of heaven and earth, its intelligence and wisdom are meant by the garden of Eden, and its decline and fall by eating of the tree of knowledge. It is therefore evident that man, who is called Adam and Eve, means that church, for it is said, Male and female created He them, and called their name Man; and as that church is meant by both, it follows that male means its truth, and female its good. So also male means doctrine, and female life, since the doctrine of truth is also the doctrine of love and of charity, thus the doctrine of life; and the life of good is also the life of love and of charity, thus a life of doctrine, that is, a life according to doctrine. These two are meant by male [and female], and, taken together and conjoined in marriage, they are called Man, and they also make the church, which, as said above, is meant by man. Again, Adam was so called from a word that means ground, and ground, from its reception of seeds, signifies the church as to truths of doctrine, for in the Word seeds signify truths; while Eve is from a word that means life, "Because she was to be the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). These two, doctrine and life, taken together and conjoined as it were in marriage, are called Man (homo), and also make the church, because man is man from the understanding of truth and from the will of good, consequently from the doctrine of life, since this is of the understanding and from the life of doctrine, because this is of the will. The case is similar with the church, for the church is in man, and is the man himself.

[3] That these two, which are signified by male and female, are not to be two but one, the Lord teaches in the Evangelists;

"Jesus said, Have ye not read, that He who made them from the beginning of creation made them male and female, and they two shall be one flesh? Therefore, they are no more two but one flesh" (Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-8).

This also, as is the case with every part of the Word, is to be understood not only naturally, but also spiritually; and unless it is understood spiritually no one can know what is signified by male and female, or husband and wife, being no more two but one flesh, as is also said in Genesis 2:24. Here, as above, male and female signify, in the spiritual sense, truth and good, consequently also the doctrine of truth, which is the doctrine of life, and the life of truth, which is the life of doctrine. These must not be two but one, since truth does not become truth in man without the good of life, nor does good become good with any one without the truth of doctrine; for good becomes spiritual good only by means of truths, and spiritual good is good, but not natural good, without it. When these are one, then truth is of good and good is of truth, and this oneness is meant by one flesh. The case is similar with doctrine and life; these also make a man of the church one, when the doctrine of life and the life of doctrine are conjoined in him, for doctrine teaches how he must live and act, and the life lives it and does it. From these things also it is evident, that a male child signifies the doctrine of love and of charity, consequently, the doctrine of life.

[4] Since the truth of doctrine, or the doctrine of truth, is signified by a male, therefore a law was made that every male opening the womb should be holy to Jehovah (Exodus 13:12, 15; Deuteronomy 15:19; Luke 2:23). For from the marriage of truth and good, meant in the spiritual sense by the marriage of man and woman, as said above, truths and goods are born, and these are consequently signified in that sense by sons and daughters, truths by sons, and goods by daughters. And as every man is reformed and regenerated by means of truths - for without truths man does not know what good is, and what its nature is, nor, consequently, the way to heaven - this is the reason why the truth which is born first from the marriage of truth and good was sanctified to Jehovah. This truth which is first born is also the doctrine of truth, for that which is first is the all in what follows, thus it is all truth, and all truth is doctrine. But it must be carefully observed that the first-born signifies truth that belongs to the good of charity, it therefore signifies the good of charity in its own form and in its own quality, therefore truth; for the form of good and the quality of good are truth. The reason why this is signified by the first-born, is, that from the good of love, which is signified by the womb and the child therein, nothing else can be born but the good of charity; and this good does not become good until it is formed and qualified, that is until it is in the form in which its quality resides, and its form is called truth, but still is good in form.

[5] From what has been said above, it is evident why it was that every male should appear three times in the year before the face of the Lord Jehovah (Exodus 23:17; 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16), namely, at the three feasts, which signified everything of regeneration from first to last. And as everything of regeneration is effected by means of truths of doctrine that become those of life from the Lord, therefore all the males, by whom truths were signified, had to present themselves before the Lord, that they might be cleansed by Him and afterwards led by Him. By three times in the year, is also signified continually, and by the face of Jehovah, the Divine Love by which man is led. And this was done because Jerusalem signified the church as to doctrine, and thus also the doctrine of the church.

[6] Since burnt-offerings and sacrifices signified celestial and spiritual things, burnt-offerings celestial things, and sacrifices spiritual things; therefore the law was given, that burnt-offerings should be of males that were without blemish, either from the flock or from the herd; but sacrifices might be either of males or females (Leviticus 1:2, 3; 3:1, 6). The reasons were, that celestial things are those that pertain to love to the Lord, thus to the marriage of good and truth, but spiritual things are those that pertain to charity towards the neighbour, thus not to the marriage but to the consanguinity of truth with good; and truths and goods in consanguinity are like sisters and brothers, but in marriage truths and goods are like husband and wife. This is why burnt-offerings were of males that were without blemish, which signify genuine truths from the Word, or from doctrine from the Word, which have been conjoined to the good of love to the Lord, this good being signified by the altar and its fire. The sacrifices were either of males or females, because males signify truths, and females goods, not conjoined by marriage but by consanguinity; and as both of these, like brothers and sisters, are from one parent, worship from truths was accepted equally as from goods, that is, from males equally as from females.

[7] Since all spiritual nourishment is from truths that are from good, therefore there was a law that a male among the priests should eat the holy things (Leviticus 6:18, 29; 7:6). The reason of this statute was, that males signify truths of doctrine, which are doctrinals (as above) and priests the goods of love, which are goods of the life; and their eating of the holy things that belonged to Aaron and his sons, signified spiritual nourishment.

[8] In Moses:

When they draw near "unto a city to fight against it, thou shalt invite it to peace"; if it accept not, "thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword, but the women, the little ones, the beasts, and the booty, thou shalt take" (Deuteronomy 20:10-14).

Every male in a city that did not accept peace was to be smitten with the edge of the sword, but not the women, the little ones, and beasts, because a city signifies doctrine, and a city of the Gentiles in the land of Canaan, doctrine of falsity, similarly the males of that city; and not to accept peace signifies not to agree with the truths and goods of the church, which were signified by the sons of Israel. The edge of the sword, with which the males were to be smitten, signifies truth destroying falsity. And because falsities alone fight against truths and goods, and destroy them, but not evils without falsities; therefore the women, the little ones, and the beasts, which as belonging to the Gentiles signified evils, were not smitten, since evils can be subdued, amended, and reformed by means of truths.

[9] In Jeremiah:

"Cursed be the man who brought glad tidings to his father, saying, A male child is born to thee, in gladdening he hath made him glad; let that man be as the cities that Jehovah overthrew" (20:15, 16).

This is said of those who are in a devastated church, in which nothing but falsities are accepted and rule; therefore Cursed be the man who brought glad tidings to his father, saying, A male child is born to thee, signifies he who acknowledges falsity and proclaims it as truth, thus the doctrine of falsity in place of the doctrine of truth; in gladdening he made him glad, signifies acceptance from affection for falsity. Let that man be as the cities that Jehovah overthrew, signifies that it shall be with the doctrines that are from mere falsities, which the Lord exterminated from the church, and destroyed as it was with the cities of the Canaanitish race which He destroyed; comparison is made with cities, because cities also signify doctrines.

[10] In Ezekiel:

"Thou didst take the vessels of thine adorning, of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest thee images of a male with which thou hast committed whoredom" (16:17).

This treats of the abominations of Jerusalem, which signify falsifications and adulterations of the Word, resulting from the application of it to the desires of corporeal and worldly loves. Vessels of adorning from the gold and silver of the Lord, signify knowledges of good and truth, which are the goods and truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. These are called vessels, because they contain in themselves spiritual truths and goods, and vessels of adorning, because they are the manifestations (apparentiae), and thus the forms of interior things; those things which are of gold signify those that are from good, and those of silver those that are from truth. Thou madest to thee images of a male with which thou hast committed whoredom, signifies falsities appearing as truths of doctrine, which are falsified, images of a male denoting appearances of truth which are nevertheless falsities, and to commit whoredom denoting to falsify.

[11] In Malachi:

"Cursed be the defrauder in whose flock is a male, and he voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing" (1:14).

A male in the flock signifies genuine truth of doctrine from the Word; a blemished thing signifies what is falsified; and to vow and sacrifice signifies to worship, thus from things falsified when the truth is known; that such a worship, being fraudulent worship, is infernal, is signified by Cursed be the defrauder. From what has been now shown from the Word concerning the signification of a male, and concerning the signification of a son, it is evident that the male child, which the woman encompassed with the sun, and upon whose head was a crown of twelve stars, brought forth, signifies the doctrine of truth, thus the doctrine of love and charity for the church which is called the New Jerusalem, and which is treated of in the twenty-first chapter of this book.

587. And idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood.- That this signifies false doctrinals, which are from [man's] own intelligence, and favour the loves of the body and of the world, and the principles arising therefrom, is evident from the signification of idols, as denoting falsities of doctrine, religion, and worship, which are from [man's] own intelligence. But what idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, signify in particular, is clear from the signification of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. Gold signifies spiritual good; silver, spiritual truth; brass, natural good; stone, natural truth, and wood, sensual good; all these goods and truths enter into genuine doctrine, because it is drawn from both the spiritual sense and the natural sense of the Word. When a false doctrinal is confirmed by the spiritual things of the Word, it then becomes an idol of gold and an idol of silver; but when it is confirmed by the natural things of the Word, such as those of the sense of the letter are, it then becomes an idol of brass and stone; and when it is confirmed by the mere sense of the letter, it becomes an idol of wood. For the senses of the Word, both the interior or spiritual, and the exterior or natural, may be used to confirm falsities, as is evident from the numberless heresies which are all confirmed therefrom.

[2] Confirmations of falsities arise through the genuine sense of the Word not being understood; and the reason of this is that the loves of the proprium rule, and consequently the principles which spring from them; and when these rule man sees nothing from the light of heaven, but whatever he sees is from the light of the world separated from the light of heaven; and when the light of the world is separated from the light of heaven, then there is thick darkness in spiritual things.

It must be observed that the sons of Israel brought with them from Egypt, and also from the surrounding nations, the abominable custom of worshipping idols; and as they were merely external men, that worship was also implanted in them from natural inclination, as is evident from the idolatries of so many of the kings of Judah and Israel related in the Word, and also from the idolatry of Solomon himself, who was the wisest of them. But still the idols which they made for themselves, and worshipped, where mentioned in the Word, signify, in the spiritual sense, false doctrinals from [man's] own intelligence, from which, and according to which, worship is performed.

[3] This signification of idols also derives its cause from the spiritual world; there the evil spirits, who contrive for themselves falsity of doctrine, appear as it were to fashion idols, and mark them in various ways, until they appear in the human form as it were. They also make selections from various representatives, and so unite them as to cause them to cohere, and thus produce a resemblance of that form in external things. I have been permitted to see the formation of such idols by the leaders of the church, who had persuaded themselves that falsities were truths; and being very ingenious they could industriously connect together and dress up the details. I have seen such an idol made by the English, by means of which they represented that faith alone is essential to salvation, and produces the goods of charity, without any co-operation on man's part. The reason why idols are formed in the spiritual world by those who are in falsities of doctrine which are from [man's] own intelligence, is that Divine truths, from which is the genuine doctrine of the church, induce upon angels the human form, therefore also angels, in the Word, signify Divine truths; hence it is, that falsities of doctrine, which are confirmed from the Word, are embodied as idols in the human form; the truths of the Word, which are falsified, and which they use for purposes of confirmation, induce that form, but because the truths are falsified, an idol having no life is embodied.

[4] That idols, graven and molten images, signify the falsities of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, is plain from the following passages in the Word.

Thus in Isaiah:

"The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and forgeth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation, chooseth wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a wise artificer to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved" (40:19, 20).

These words describe how doctrine is contrived and put together by means of falsities, thus by means of such things as are from [man's] own intelligence, for these are all falsities. The workman, the goldsmith, and the wise artificer whom he chooses, mean one who contrives and fashions such doctrine. That it may appear as good in the external form, is signified by covering it over with gold; that falsities may cohere and appear as truths, is signified by forging chains of silver; that thus it may be acknowledged, and the falsity not be seen, is signified by choosing wood that will not rot, and by preparing a graven image that shall not be moved.

[5] So in Jeremiah:

"Every man is become foolish from his knowledge; every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish" (10:14, 15; 51:17, 18).

Because a graven image signifies the falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, therefore it is said, "every man is become foolish from his knowledge, every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image." The knowledge by which man becomes foolish signifies [man's] own intelligence, while the falsity therefrom is signified by the graven image; the same falsity is also meant by the molten image being a falsehood, vanity, and the work of errors. That there is no spiritual life in falsities, or in those things that are from [man's] own intelligence, is meant by there being no breath in them; for life is solely in Divine truths, or in truths that are from the Lord, as He teaches when He says:

"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).

[6] Again, in Jeremiah:

"For one cutteth wood out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with an axe. He decketh it with silver and with gold; and fasteneth it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are rigid like the palm-tree, but they speak not; they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. But they are altogether deluded and foolish; the wood is a teaching of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith; purple (hyacinthinum) and crimson (purpura) is their clothing; they are all the work of wise men. But Jehovah is the God of truth, he is the living God, and the king" of an age (10:3-10).

Here the graven image means falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, ingeniously contrived and fashioned by [man's] own intelligence, as is evident from the details of the description considered in the spiritual sense. [Man's] own intelligence, by which the image is cut out and fashioned, is signified by the work of the hands with the axe, and by the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith, also by the work of wise men; that the work of the hands of the workman and artificer signifies what is from [man's] own intelligence, was shown in the preceding article. The falsities therefrom are signified by their being altogether deluded and foolish, and the wood a teaching of vanities. That they have no life is signified by their being rigid as the palm tree, and by their being able neither to speak nor to go; to speak and to go denoting to live, while to live signifies to live spiritually. Confirmations from the Word are signified by silver spread into plates which is brought from Tarshish, and by gold from Uphaz, also by their clothing of purple and crimson. Silver from Tarshish signifies the truth of the Word, and gold from Uphaz the good of the Word, both falsified; similarly purple and crimson. That all the truth of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, is from Jehovah, that is from the Lord, is meant by Jehovah is the God of truth, he is the living God, and the king of an age, for the Lord is called God, also the living God, and a king from Divine Truth.

[7] Again, in Isaiah:

"They that make a graven image are all of them vanity, and their most desirable things do not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, neither do they know; for all his fellows shall be ashamed; and the workmen themselves. He fabricateth iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coals, and with sharp hammers formeth it, so he worketh it by the arm of his strength; he also hungereth until he hath not strength, he drinketh no waters until he is faint. He fabricateth woods, he stretcheth out the line, and describeth it with a rule; he maketh it to his angles, and by a circle he determineth it, that he may make it in the form of a man (vir) according to the beauty of a man (homo), to dwell in his house. To cut out for himself cedars, or he taketh the box-tree, or the oak, and although it be for a man to burn, and he taketh of them to warm himself, and also kindleth it to bake bread, yet he maketh a god, and boweth himself down, he maketh of it a graven image, and adoreth it. They know not, neither do they understand, for they have forgotten, so that their eyes do not see, and their hearts do not understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge and understanding, nor doth he say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (44:9-20).

By the whole of this description of the graven image is meant the formation of doctrine from [man's] own intelligence, and the details of the description signify the particular parts of such formation. For were this not the case what need would there be for such a minute description of the making of a mere graven image? That there was nothing but falsity, because from [man's] own intelligence, is meant by they that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their most desirable things do not profit; also by neither is there knowledge and understanding in them, nor doth he say, is there not a lie in my right hand? [Man's] own intelligence from which the falsity of doctrine is formed, is described by he fabricateth iron with the tongs, and worketh it in the coals, by the arm of his strength. To fabricate iron with the tongs and to work it in the coals, denotes the production of falsities that favour [man's own] loves. The conjoining of falsities to falsities by means of fallacies, by which they appear as truths, is described by he stretcheth out the line, and describeth it with a rule, he maketh it to his angles, and by a circle he determineth it, that he may make it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in his house. By the form of a man (vir) is signified the appearance of truth, and by the beauty of a man (homo), the appearance of intelligence therefrom, and by dwelling in the house is signified the appearance of spiritual life thence. That there was no life of intelligence, and of the perception of truth and good, is signified by, they know not, neither do they understand, for they have forgotten, so that their eyes do not see, and their hearts do not understand. Time does not permit a detailed explanation of this description to be given; enough has been said to enable every one to see that something wiser and more interior is signified than the mere making of a graven image. Let it be understood, that the heavenly wisdom contained in this description is ineffable, and in this wisdom the angels are when it is read by man, although man thinks of nothing but a graven image and the making of it. For there are as many correspondences and interior things of wisdom in the above passage as there are expressions (voces).

[8] So in Habakkuk:

"What profiteth the graven image? that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and the teacher of a lie? for the fabricator of his own lie trusteth therein, because he maketh dumb gods. Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness" (2:18, 19, 20).

Since a graven image means the falsity of doctrine, of religion, and of worship, in which there is no spiritual life, because from [man's] own intelligence, therefore it is said, "What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; [the molten image,] and the teacher of a lie? the fabricator of a lie trusteth therein." A lie signifies falsity, and the teacher and fabricator of a lie signifies him who forges it; that there is no intelligence and life therein, or derived therefrom, is signified by making dumb gods, and by there being no breath in the midst of it. That all the truth of doctrine, of the church, and of worship, is from the Lord alone, is signified by Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness. The temple of His holiness is heaven, where Divine Truth is, and whence it proceeds.

[9] Again, in David:

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not" (Psalm 115:4, 5; 135:15, 16).

Their idols being silver and gold, signifies external worship without internal, confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word not understood, and also from the fallacies of the senses; the work of man's hands signifies from [man's] own intelligence. That the work of man's hands is that which is from man's own intelligence may be seen in the preceding article. They have mouths, but they speak not, eyes have they, but they see not, signifies that from these they have neither any thought nor any understanding of truth. The reason why nothing can proceed thence but falsity, is, that the proprium of man is nothing but evil, for it favours his own love and his own intelligence, wherefore they do not study truths for the sake of truths, but only for the sake of fame, of a name, glory, and gain; and when these rule, heaven cannot flow in with its light, and open the sight and impart enlightenment, wherefore such persons see like birds of night, moles, and bats in the dark, according to what is said in Isaiah:

[10] "In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats" (Isaiah 2:20).

And in Jeremiah:

"A drought upon waters; and they shall be dried up; for it is the land of graven images, and they glory in horrible things. Therefore tziim and ijim shall dwell there, and the daughters of the bird of night shall dwell therein" (50:38, 39).

A drought upon her waters signifies that there is no truth; the tziim and ijim signify infernal falsities and evils, and the daughters of the bird of night signify the affections for falsity. These things are said concerning the land of Chaldea and Babylon, which signify the profanations of truth and good by falsities that favour evils, and which they fashion for themselves for the sake of dominion.

[11] So in Hosea:

"They have made them a molten image of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen; sacrificing man, they kiss calves" (13:2).

Because a molten image signifies a doctrinal from [man's] own intelligence, it is therefore said, "They have made them a molten image of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsman. And because by this means they destroy spiritual life, and live a merely natural life, it is said "sacrificing man, they kiss calves," to sacrifice man [homo] denoting to destroy spiritual life, and to kiss calves denoting to become utterly natural.

[12] Again, in Isaiah:

"Behold they are all iniquity, their works are nothing; their molten images are wind and emptiness" (41:29).

Here by they are all iniquity, their works are nothing, are signified the evils of doctrine, of religion, and of worship; and falsities are signified by their molten images are wind and emptiness, wind and emptiness being used in the Word in reference to falsities from the proprium.

And in Jeremiah:

"Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their vanities of strangers?" (8:19).

The vanities of strangers also signify, like graven images, the falsities of religion, it is therefore said, "with their graven images, and the vanities of strangers."

[13] And in Ezekiel:

"Every man of the house of Israel who shall have caused idols to ascend upon his heart, and shall have put the stumbling-block of iniquity before his faces, shall yet come to the prophet, shall I Jehovah answer him that cometh with the multitude of his idols?" (14:3-6).

Here also idols denote the falsities of doctrine that are from [man's] own intelligence; to receive and acknowledge those falsities is signified by causing idols to ascend upon his heart; and to be influenced by them, and live according to them, is signified by putting the stumbling-block of iniquity before his faces. That the Lord cannot reveal genuine truths of doctrine to such persons, so long as they are in those falsities, is signified by if he shall come to the prophet, shall I Jehovah answer him that cometh with the multitude of his idols? The prophet here means one who teaches truths, and, in the abstract sense, the doctrine of genuine truth which is from the Lord, and by the multitude of idols are signified falsities in abundance, for falsities proceed in abundance from a single falsity assumed as a principle, together with falsities united together in a series, wherefore they are called, in the plural, idols, and a multitude of them.

[14] Again, in the same prophet:

"I will sprinkle clean waters upon you, and ye shall be cleansed from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols will I cleanse you" (36:25).

Because idols signify falsities of doctrine, it is therefore said, "I will sprinkle clean waters upon you," for by clean waters are signified genuine truths, and by sprinkling these upon them, is signified to purify from falsities; those falsities are also called uncleannesses, because they are falsities from evil, and falsities that produce evil.

[15] So in Micah:

"Therefore I will make Samaria as a heap of the field, and I will make its stones to flow down into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. Then all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the rewards of her whoredom shall be burned with fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate; for she gathered it from the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot" (1:6, 7).

Samaria, after it became idolatrous, represented the church vastated as to truths of doctrine, and as to goods of life, or destroyed by falsities of doctrine and by evils of life. Devastation as to all the truths of the church, is signified by, it shall be made as a heap of the field; and the stones thereof shall flow down into the valley, and the foundations thereof shall be discovered. The field denotes the church, the heap of the field the devastation thereof; stones denote the truths of the church, and foundations, the natural truths upon which it is founded; the total devastation of these is signified by the stones flowing down into the valley, and the foundations being discovered. The destruction of the church by falsities of doctrine, is signified by the graven images being beaten to pieces, and the idols laid desolate. The rewards of whoredom, which shall be burned with the fire, signify the falsification of truth by its being used to favour the loves of self and of the world.

[16] The signification of graven images, molten images, and idols, in the following passages is similar.

Thus in Isaiah:

"As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and their graven images of Jerusalem and Samaria; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?" (10:10, 11).

Again:

"Ye shall judge the unclean covering of the graven images of thy silver, and the clothing of the molten image of thy gold; thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt call it dung" (30:22).

And again:

"In that day every man shall cast away the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin" (31:7).

And again:

"Lest thou should say, Mine idol hath done this, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded this" (48:5).

And again:

"They shall turn back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, [Ye are] our gods" (42:17).

So again:

"He said a lion upon the watch tower, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground" (21:8, 9).

And in Ezekiel:

"Your altars shall be destroyed, and your sun statues shall be broken; and I will make your slain men to fall before your idols. And I will lay the carcases of the sons of Israel before their idols" (6:4, 5).

And in Micah:

"Thy graven images also will I cut off in that day, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands" (5:10, 13).

And in Moses:

"And I will cast your bodies upon the bodies of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you" (Leviticus 26:30).

Again:

"The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee; for it is an abomination unto thy God" (Deuteronomy 7:25).

And again:

"Cursed be the man that shall make any graven and molten image, an abomination unto Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and shall put it in a secret place" (Deuteronomy 27:15).

[17] The signification of idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, is also similar to that of "the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of the stone," which king Belshazzar praised, when, with his nobles and wives, he drank wine out of the vessels of gold and silver, which were from the temple of Jerusalem; on account of which the hand-writing appeared on the wall, and the king himself was driven from man, and became like a beast (Dan. 5:1, and following verses). The vessels of gold and silver of the temple at Jerusalem, signify the holy goods and truths of the church; the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which the king of Babylon then praised, mean the same as idols made of such things, and signify the evils and falsities of doctrine and worship, to praise denoting to worship. By drinking out of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem and at the same time by praising or worshipping the gods, is signified the profanation of good and truth through evils and falsities in worship. And because everything spiritual pertaining to man perishes by profanation, and, without the Spiritual, man is not man, therefore for this reason he was driven out from men, and became like a beast.

[18] Since the external without the internal is not to be worshipped, but the external from the internal, thus the internal in the external, therefore it was forbidden to make any graven image in the likeness of any thing living on the earth. Thus in Moses:

"Lest ye make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth under heaven, the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the earth, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters under the earth" (Deuteronomy 4:16-18; 5:8).

The reason of this prohibition was, that the Jewish nation, above every other, was in externals without internals, and therefore in the worship of all the external things, which the Gentiles called holy. And to worship external things, except those which represented heavenly things, which were the altar, the sacrifice upon it, the tent of the assembly, and the temple, was idolatrous. These things, indeed, were also idolatrously worshipped by the Jews; but still, because the church with them was representative, their worship was accepted on account of the representation, although it had no influence on their souls, as is evident from the various things stated concerning that nation in the Arcana Coelestia, of which a selection may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248). And to worship the external elsewhere than where it was commanded, which was near the tent in the wilderness, and near the temple, and in the temple in Jerusalem, was to worship the representative itself without any perception of the thing represented, thus it was to worship the earthly alone without the heavenly. This therefore was prohibited them, and even to such an extent that they were not allowed to make to themselves graven images of such things; for that nation was of such a character that they worshipped them as soon as they saw them made.

[19] The idolatrous worship of images, not only of men, but also of various beasts, birds, and reptiles, that prevailed amongst the Gentiles, took its rise from the knowledge, which they possessed from the ancients, that things celestial and spiritual were signified by them; as for example, that beasts signified affections, birds thoughts thence, and reptiles and fishes the same in the sensual natural man. For this reason when those who were in external worship without internal, heard that the holy things of heaven and the church were signified by such things they began to worship them; as for example the Egyptians, and thence the sons of Israel in the wilderness, and afterwards in Samaria, worshipped calves, because calves signified with the ancients the good affections of the natural man.