73. And out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth, signifies the dispersion of falsities by the Word. This is evident from the signification of "going forth out of the mouth," as being, in reference to the Lord, Divine truth, thus the Word, for the Word goes forth out of the Lord's mouth. This is evident also from the signification of "the long sword," or the "sword," as being truth combating; and as truth, when it combats, disperses falsities, therefore a "long sword" also signifies the dispersion of falsities. The long sword is called "two-edged and sharp," because truth completely disperses. (That "long sword" or "sword" signifies truth combating against falsities and destroying them, see Arcana Coelestia 2799, 6353, 8294.) As "the long sword" is frequently mentioned in the following pages (as in chap. 2:12, 16; 6:4, 8; 13:10, 14; 19:15, 21), passages from the Word illustrating and showing that it signifies truth combating and dispersing falsities, will here be omitted. This will be illustrated and shown in those places.

Bones are strong and supportive, providing a framework for our bodies and making motion and action possible. They are also the least "alive" part of our bodies, with much of their structure made up of a mineral matrix. As such, they represent a strong, supportive, functional but innately nearly dead part of our spiritual makeup: the "proprium."

The proprium is the part of us that feels life as our own, that perceives our loves and our thoughts as originating within ourselves. If we simply follow the proprium without looking to the Lord, it will lead us to a hellish state, in which we believe ourselves to be all-powerful and deny the existence of the Lord altogether.

Bones, on their own, will go dry, brittle and completely dead. If, however, we acknowledge the Lord and follow him, that's like putting flesh on the bones and being alive. In that case the bones – strong, supportive, protective and as alive as they can be – represent the proprium in relation to intellect, the part of us that perceives our thoughts as our own but turns them toward the Lord.