175. To him will I give power over the nations. That this signifies power over his evils, which will be dispersed by the Lord in such case, is evident from the signification of nations, as denoting evils, concerning which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of giving power over them, as denoting that evils are then dispersed by the Lord. To have power, when it is said, "over the nations," is to disperse, when used in reference to evils; thus are words applied to their subjects. The reason why they are dispersed by the Lord is, that the Lord disperses evils by means of truths. He first reveals them by means of truths; and when a man acknowledges them, the Lord then disperses them. (That the Lord alone does this, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 200.) Peoples and nations are often mentioned in the Word, and it is believed by those who know nothing of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word that peoples and nations are thereby meant; whereas by peoples are meant those who are in truths, or, in the opposite sense, those who are in falsities, and by nations, those who are in goods, or, in the opposite sense, those who are in evils. And when such are meant by peoples and nations, then also, in the abstract, by peoples are meant truths or falsities, and by nations goods or evils, for the true spiritual sense is not concerned with persons, spaces, times and similar things, that are proper to nature.

[2] The natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is one with the things of nature, and therefore serves as a basis for the sense which is without these things. For all things in nature are ultimates of Divine order; and the Divine does not stop in the midst, but flows down to ultimates, and thus subsists. This is why the Word is such in the letter; unless it were of this nature, it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of angels, who are spiritual. It may be seen, therefore, how much those err who despise the Word on account of its style. The reason why nations signify those who are in good, and, in the abstract goods themselves, is, that men in ancient times lived divided into nations, families and houses. They then mutually loved each other; the father of a nation loved the whole nation which sprang from himself; thus the good of love was the ruling good among them. This is why by nations are signified goods; but when men went in opposition to this, as was the case in the following ages, when empires took their rise, then nations signified evils. (See what is further said upon this subject in the small work, The Earths in the Universe 49, 90, 173, 174.)

[3] That nations in the Word signify goods or evils, and peoples truths or falsities is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"The nations shall walk to thy light and kings to the splendour of thy rising. Then shalt thou see and flow, and thine heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea is converted unto thee, the hosts of the nations come unto thee: thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day and night, to bring unto thee the host of the nations; and their kings shall be led down; for the nation or kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. And the nations by wasting shall be wasted. Thou shalt suck the milk of nations, yea, the breasts of kings shalt thou suck; a little one shall become a thousand, and the few a numerous nation" (60:3, 5, 11, 12, 16, 22).

Here the Lord is treated of; and by nations are meant all those who are in the good of love, and by kings all those who are in the truths of faith towards Him. It is therefore evident who are meant by the nations of whom it is said, they "shall walk to thy light," and by "the host of the nations that shall be brought;" and also who are meant by kings, respecting whom it is said, "they shall walk to the brightness of thy rising," and "the kings of the nations shall be led down." It is also plain what is meant by sucking the milk of the nations and the breasts of kings; milk is the delight of the good of love, similarly breasts, as milk is from them. The multiplication of truth and the fructification of good, are described by a little one becoming a thousand, and the few a numerous nation. But by the nations which shall perish are meant all those who are in evils, and also the evils themselves.

[4] In the same:

"Behold I will lift up my hand towards the nations, and towards the peoples I will lift up my standard, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers, and princesses those who shall suckle thee; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee" (49:22, 23).

The subject here treated of is also the Lord, and those who shall worship and adore Him. To lift up His hand towards the nations, and His standard towards the peoples is to claim to Himself all who are in the goods of love and thence in truths; concerning whom it is said, that they shall bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder, sons denoting the affections of truth and daughters the affections of good (as may be seen above, n. 166). And of these it is said, kings shall be thy nourishers, and princesses those who shall suckle thee. Kings signify truths themselves, and princesses the goods thereof; and because a man is regenerated by means of these, and also nourished, it is therefore said that they shall be nourishers and those who shall give suck. (That man is regenerated by truths and by a life according to them, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 23, 24, 27, 186.) This is the internal sense of those words; and without that sense who could understand them?

[5] In the same:

"Jehovah said, Behold I spread out upon" Jerusalem "peace as a river, and as a torrent the glory of the nations that ye may suck. He shall come to gather together all nations and tongues, that they may come and see my glory. They shall announce my glory in the nations; then shall they bring your brethren from all nations, a gift to Jehovah upon horses and upon the chariot, to the mountain of my holiness" (66:12, 18, 19, 20).

Jerusalem here signifies the church of the Lord in the heavens and on earth. It is said the church in the heavens, because the church is there also (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 221-227). By nations and tongues, are meant all those who are in the goods of love and thence in truths. To bring from all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon the chariot, denotes worship from the good of love, which is signified by a gift to Jehovah. Horses and chariots signify intellectual and doctrinal things, for from these and upon these worship is founded. (That horses and chariots have such a signification may be seen in the small work, The White Horse 1-5.)

[6] In the same:

"In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples; the nations shall seek" (11:10).

The root of Jesse is the Lord; to stand for an ensign of the peoples denotes that He may be seen by those who are in truths. The nations which shall seek, denote those who are in the good of love.

It is supposed that by nations are here meant the nations that will accede to, and acknowledge the Lord, from which there will be a church, called the church of the Gentiles. Yet these are not meant by the nations, but all those who are in love and faith towards the Lord, whether within the church or without it (which may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 308, 318-328).

[7] In the same:

"A strong people shall honour thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee" (25:3).

"Open ye the gates that the righteous nation may enter in. Thou hast added to the nation, Jehovah, thou hast added to the nation, thou art glorified" (26:2, 15).

"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples" (34:1).

In the same:

"I, Jehovah, have called thee in justice, for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations" (42:6).

In Jeremiah:

"And the nations shall bless themselves in him - and in him shall they glory" (4:2).

In the same:

Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations? - and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee" (10:7).

And in Daniel:

"I saw in visions of the night, and behold with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of man. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and tongues shall serve him" (7:13, 14).

And in David:

"Let the peoples confess thee, O God; let all the peoples confess thee. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the peoples in rectitude, and shalt lead the nations upon earth" (67:3-4).

In the same:

"That I may see the good of thy chosen and be glad in the joy of thy nations" (106:5).

In the Apocalypse:

The glory and honour of the nations shall be brought into the New Jerusalem (21:26).

In Isaiah:

"Ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah; the ministers of our God, shall be said to you; ye shall eat the riches of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory" (61:6).

In Lamentations:

"The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, In his shadow we shall live among the nations" (4:20).

In these places, by nations are meant all those who are in love to the Lord, whether they be within the church, where the Word is, or out of it. That by nations, in an opposite sense, are meant those who are in evils, and, in the abstract, evils themselves, is evident from the following passages;

[8] as in Jeremiah:

"I will bring a nation upon you from far: it is a strong nation, it is a nation of an age, a nation whose language thou knowest not. It shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, and shall eat thy sons and thy daughters: it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall desolate cities with the sword" (5:15, 17).

The vastation of the church is here treated of. By nation is meant the evil which will consummate it; hence it is said, that it shall eat up the harvest and the bread, the sons and daughters, the vine and the fig-tree, and impoverish cities with the sword. By these things are signified all the goods of love and truths of faith: by the harvest is signified a state of reception of truth from good (see Arcana Coelestia 9295); by bread, the good of love (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 218); by sons and daughters, the affections of truth and good (see above, n. 166); by vine, the internal church, thus the internal things of the church (see Arcana Coelestia 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277); by the fig-tree, the external church, thus the external things of the church (n. 5113); by cities, doctrines (see Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493); by sword, falsity destroying (see above, n. 73, 131). From these considerations it is evident that by nation is signified the evil which destroys everything of the church.

[9] In the same:

"Behold I lay stumbling blocks before this people, that they may stumble upon them, the fathers and the sons together. Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation from the sides of the land. They have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses" (6:21-23).

In this passage also, nation denotes evil, and people falsities; the stumbling blocks upon which the fathers and the sons stumble denote perversions of good and truth; fathers denote goods, and sons the truths therefrom. It is said, a people from the land of the north, and a nation from the sides of the land, because the north signifies that falsity from evil, and the sides of the land those things that are outside the church, thus they signify evils remote from the goods of the church. To roar like the sea, and to ride upon horses, denotes to persuade from the fallacies of the senses, and by reasonings therefrom.

[10] In Ezekiel:

"The land is full of the judgment of bloods, and the city is full of violence, therefore I will bring upon them the worst of the nations, and they shall occupy their houses; the king shall mourn and the prince shall be clothed with stupor" (7:23, 24, 27).

The land is the church; being full of the judgment of bloods, signifies that it is immersed in falsities destroying goods; city denotes doctrine; to be full of violence signifies offering violence to the good of charity; the worst of the nations denotes dire falsities from evil; to occupy their houses denotes to possess their minds; the king who shall mourn is the truth of the church; the prince who shall be clothed with stupor signifies truth subservient. (That the land signifies the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; that bloods denote falsities destroying goods, n. 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127; that city denotes doctrine, n. 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493; that violence denotes to violate the good of charity, n. 6353; that house denotes the things that belong to a man's mind, n. 710, 2231, 2233, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150; that the king who shall mourn denotes the truth of the church, may be seen above, n. 31.)

[11] Again, in David:

"Jehovah rendereth vain the counsel of the nations, he subverteth the thoughts of the peoples" (Psalms 33:10).

Nations denote those who are in evils, and peoples those who are in falsities; and because both the former and the latter are signified, it is therefore said, that Jehovah rendereth vain the counsel of the nations, and subverteth the thoughts of the peoples, which are two expressions as it were signifying one thing, but yet they are distinct in the internal sense, in which nations signify one thing, and peoples another.

[12] In Luke:

"Then they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be taken captive among all nations, and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the times of the nations be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring" (21:24, 25).

The consummation of the age is here treated of, which is the last time of the church, when there is no longer any faith because no charity, or no truth because no good. This is described in the above passage by correspondences. To fall by the edge of the sword is to be destroyed by falsities; to be taken captive among all nations is to be possessed by evils of every kind; Jerusalem, which shall be trodden under foot is the church; the sun denotes love to the Lord; the moon, faith towards Him; the stars denote knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth; the signs in them denote that they therefore would perish; the sea and the waves roaring are fallacies and reasonings.

[13] In Matthew:

"Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places; and they shall deliver you up to tribulation; and ye shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake" (24:7, 9; Luke 21:10, 11).

These things are also said by the Lord concerning the last time of the church; and by nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom is signified that there will be dissensions of evils and falsities among themselves. By famines and pestilences are signified defect and consumption of truths; by earthquakes, the perversion of the church; by being hated by all nations is signified to be hated by all those who are in evil; by the name of the Lord, on account of which they shall be hated are signified all things of love and faith by which the Lord is worshipped (as may be seen above, n. 102, 135).

[14] In Ezekiel:

"Behold, Asshur a cedar in Lebanon, he is become high and his branches are multiplied: in his branches have all the birds of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches all the beasts of the field have brought forth, and in his shade have dwelt great nations. But his heart is lifted up in his height, wherefore I will give him into the hand of the strong, one of the nations, strangers shall cut him off, and the violent of the nations shall cast him down; whence all peoples of the earth have descended from his shade, and have deserted him" (31:3, 5, 6, 11, 12).

These things could not be understood by any one without a knowledge of the spiritual or internal sense of the Word. It may be supposed that they are mere comparisons, in which there is not any spiritual signification, when, nevertheless, the most minute particulars therein signify something pertaining to heaven and the church; therefore they shall be briefly explained. Asshur denotes the enlightened Rational of the man of the church; this is called a cedar in Lebanon, because a cedar signifies the same thing as Asshur, specifically truth from good in the Rational; and Lebanon denotes the mind wherein the Rational resides, because cedars grew in Lebanon. By his branches being multiplied are meant truths therefrom. The fowls of heaven building their nests in his branches signify the affections of truth; and the beasts of the field which brought forth under his branches, the affections of good. The great nations which dwell under his shade, are the goods of love; his heart lifted up in his height, is the love of self. To be delivered into the hands of the strong one of the nations, and to be cast down by the violent of the nations, denote his being destroyed as to goods and truths by the evils derived from the love of self. The people of the earth who went down from his shade and left him, signify all the truths of the church. It is therefore evident that by nations are signified goods, and, in the opposite sense, evils; by the nations which dwelt under his shade, goods, and by the nations which cut him off and cast him down, evils. (See moreover what is said and shown concerning nations and their signification in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by nations in the Word are signified those who are in good, and hence that they signify goods themselves, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; concerning the assembly of the nations as denoting truths and goods, n. 4574, 7830; concerning the holy nation, as denoting the spiritual kingdom, n. 9255, 9256. When it is said nation and people, by nation are meant those who are in celestial good, and by people those who are in spiritual good, n. 10288. That by nations, especially those of the land of Canaan, are meant evils and falsities of every kind, n. 1059, 1205, 1868, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327.)

2788. That 'on the third day' means that which has been completed, and the beginning of sanctification, is clear from the meaning of 'the third day'. 'Day' in the Word means state, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, as also does 'year', and as in general do all periods of time - an hour, day, week, month, year, or age; also morning, midday, evening, and night; and spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And when 'the third' is added to any of these the end of that state, and at the same time the beginning of the next, are meant. Here, the subject being the sanctification of the Lord which was effected by means of temptations, 'the third day' means that which has been completed and at the same time the beginning of sanctification, as also follows from what has been said previously to this. The reason for this meaning is that when He had fulfilled everything the Lord was to rise again on the third day, for the things that were done by the Lord while He lived in the world, that is, the things that were yet to be done by Him, were embodied within the representatives of the Church as though they had already been done. This was as it is with the internal sense of the Word, for with God that which is yet to come to pass and that which already is are one and the same; indeed to Him the whole of eternity is here and now.

[2] This is why the number three was representative not only in the Ancient Church and in the Jewish but also among various gentile nations; see what has been stated about this number in 720, 901, 1825. That such was the origin of the meaning of 'three' is clear in Hosea,

We will return to Jehovah, for He has wounded and will heal us; He has stricken and will bind us up; He will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:1-2.

Here 'the third day' stands for the coming of the Lord and His resurrection. The same is clear from Jonah, in that he was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, to which the Lord refers in Matthew as follows,

As Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40.

[3] It should be realized that in the internal sense of the Word 'three days' and 'the third day' have the same meaning, as also do 'three' and 'third' in the following places: In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29.

It is a well known fact that the Lord rose again on the third day.

[4] For the same reason the Lord also distinguished three periods in His life: in Luke,

Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, but on the third day I reach completion. Luke 13:32.

Also, the Lord underwent the final temptation, which was that of the Cross, at the third hour of the day, Mark 15:25. Three hours later, that is, at the sixth hour, darkness fell over the whole land, ¹ Luke 23:44. And three hours after that, at the ninth hour, the end came, Mark 15:33-34, 37. But in the morning of the third day He rose again, Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:7. See also Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 18:33; 24:46. From all this, and especially from the Lord's resurrection on the third day, the number three was representative and possessed a spiritual meaning. This fact becomes clear from the following places in the Word:

When Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai He told Moses that he was to sanctify the people today and tomorrow and they were to wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would come down. Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16.

When they travelled from the mountain of Jehovah on a three days' journey, the Ark of Jehovah travelled before them on the three days' journey to search out rest for them. Numbers 10:33.

There was thick darkness for three days in all the land of Egypt, and nobody could see his brother for three days, but the children of Israel had light. Exodus 10:22-23.

[5] The flesh of a sacrifice made as a vow-offering or as a freewill-offering was to be eaten on the first and the second day; nothing was to be kept until the third day but was to be burned, because it was an abomination. So too with the flesh of a sacrifice made as a 'eucharistic' offering; if this was eaten on the third day the one offering the sacrifice would not be accepted and that soul would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6-7.

Anyone who touched a dead body was to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he would be clean. If he did not do so that soul would be cut off from Israel. And one that was clean was to sprinkle water over the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 19:12-13, 19.

Those who had killed someone in battle and had touched one who had been slain were to purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Numbers 31:19.

[6] When they came into the land of Canaan the fruit of a tree was to be uncircumcised for three years and not eaten. Leviticus 19:23.

At the end of three years they were to bring every tenth part of their produce in that year and deposit it within their gates so that the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow might eat. Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12.

Three times a year they were to keep a feast to Jehovah. And three times a year every male person was to appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah. Exodus 23:14, 17; Deuteronomy 16:16.

Joshua told the people that in three days they would be crossing the Jordan and inheriting the land. Joshua 1:11; 3:2.

Jehovah called to Samuel three times and the third time he answered Him. 1 Samuel 3:8.

[7] When Saul wished to kill David, David hid in the field until the third evening. Jonathan told David, I will sound out my father on the third day from now. Jonathan said that he would shoot three arrows to the side of the stone. And David fell face to the ground, before Jonathan and bowed down three times.12, 19, 20, 35, 36, 41.

David was to choose one of these three things - either seven years of famine in the land, or his own flight before his enemies for three months, or pestilence in the land for three days. 2 Samuel 24:12-13.

[8] There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. 2 Samuel 21:1.

Elijah stretched himself over the dead boy three times and revived him. 1 Kings 17:21.

When he had built the altar to Jehovah, Elijah told them to pour water over the burnt offering and over the wood three times. 1 Kings 18:34.

Fire consumed the captains of fifty sent on two occasions to Elijah, but not the one sent on the third occasion. 2 Kings 1:13-14.

It was a sign to King Hezekiah that they were to eat in that year what had grown of itself, and in the second year further growth from the same; but in the third year they were to sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of these. 2 Kings 19:29.

[9] Daniel went into his house and had the windows open in his [upper] chamber towards Jerusalem, where three times a day he gave thanks on his knees and prayed. Daniel 6:10, 13.

Daniel was mourning for three whole weeks, not eating pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing himself, until the three whole weeks were completed. Daniel 10:2-3.

Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and against Cush. Isaiah 20:3.

Out of the Lampstand went three branches on either side, and three almond-shaped cups on each branch. Exodus 25:32-33.

In the Urim and Thummim there were three precious stones in each row. Exodus 28:17-20.

[10] In the New Temple there were to be three chambers on this side of the gate and three on that, and all three were to measure the same. And the breadth of the gate to the vestibule of the house was to be three cubits this way and three cubits that. Ezekiel 40:10, 21, 48.

In the New Jerusalem there were to be three gates to the north, three to the east, three to the south, and three to the west. Ezekiel 48:31-34; Revelation 21:13.

The same may be seen in the following places:

Peter denied Jesus three times. Matthew 26:34, 69 and following verses.

The Lord said to Peter three times, Do you love Me? John 21:17.

Also, in the parable about the man who planted a vineyard, he sent servants three times, and at length his own son. Luke 20:12; Mark 12:2, 4-6.

The labourers in the vineyard were hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. Matthew 20:1-17.

And concerning the fig tree which, because it bore no fruit for three years, was to be cut down. Luke 13:6-7.

[11] Just as a group of three and a third one were representative, so also was a third part, as in the following:

Minchahs consisted of two tenths of fine flour mixed with a third part of a hin of oil, and the wine for the drink-offering was a third of a hin. Numbers 15:6-7; Ezekiel 46:14.

In Ezekiel it is said that he was to run a razor over his head and over his beard, and then to divide his hair, burning a third part in the fire, striking a third around the city with his sword, and scattering a third to the wind. Ezekiel 5:1-2, 11.

In Zechariah it is said that in the whole land, two parts were to be cut off, and the third would be left. Yet this third would be led through fire and tested. Zechariah 13:8-9.

[12] In John it is said that when the first angel sounded there came hail, and fire mixed with blood; and it fell on to the earth so that a third part of the trees were burned. The second angel sounded and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures who had their being in the sea. And a third part of the ships was destroyed. The third angel sounded and there fell from the sky a great star burning like a torch and it fell upon a third part of the rivers. The name of the star is Wormwood. The fourth angel sounded and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of these was blacked out, and the day had no light for a third part of it, nor likewise the night. Revelation 8:7-12.

[13] The four angels were released to kill a third part of mankind. Revelation 9:15.

A third part of mankind was killed by these three, fire, smoke, and brimstone, which went forth out of the mouths of the horses. Revelation 9:18.

The dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Revelation 12:4.

'A third part' however means something which is not yet finished, whereas 'a third' and 'a group of three' mean that which has been finished - evil in the case of the evil, good in the case of the good.

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