188. And strengthen the things that remain that are about to die. That this signifies that the things of moral life should be quickened, is evident from the signification of strengthening, as being to quicken the moral life by means of truths; for truths from the Word quicken that life; and when this is done, it is also strengthened, for it then acts as one with the spiritual life. For spiritual and moral life act as one in those who are spiritual, just as will and action do; the will pertains to the spiritual man and its life, and the action to the moral; as may be seen above (n. 182). It is said, "Strengthen the things that remain which are about to die," which signifies that moral life may not perish by evils and falsities; for moral life without spiritual is nothing but natural life. For, as all the good that a man does from moral life without spiritual has no other origin than the love of self and the world, thus his proprium; and as from this nothing can flow but evil and falsity, the reason why he wishes to be called moral is, that he makes a pretence of what is good, sincere and just in his external, in order that he may gain his ends, which regard himself and the world. This is why every thing which he has is dead, or about to die, unless quickened by truths and goods, which have the effect of opening the internal spiritual man; for by this means the Lord removes the evils and falsities which are in the natural man.

5300. 'For the seven years of famine' means as need arises when there is an absence [of truth]. This is clear from the meaning of 'famine' as an absence of truth, dealt with above in 5277, 5278. The fact that the time when truth is absent is a time of need is self-evident; for in the internal sense 'years' are states, as has frequently been shown above, and therefore 'for those [seven] years' means for those states when need arises.