6377. 'He washes his clothing in wine' means that His Natural consists in Divine Truth from His Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purifying, dealt with in 3147; from the meaning of 'wine' as the good of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith, and in the highest sense as Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'clothing' as the exterior which covers the interior, dealt with in 5248, thus the natural since this is exterior and covers the rational, which is interior. Therefore 'clothing' also means truth since this is exterior and covers good, which is interior, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954.

[2] The fact that 'wine' means love towards the neighbour and the good of faith may be recognized from what has been shown regarding the bread and wine in the Holy Supper, in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915. These paragraphs show that 'bread' is the good of celestial love, and that 'wine' is the good of spiritual love. The same may also be recognized from the minchah and the drink-offering in sacrifices. The minchah in them meant the good of love, and the drink-offering the good of faith. The minchah consisted of the kinds of things that meant the good of love, while the drink-offering consisted of wine that meant the good of faith. The sacrifices themselves were also called 'bread', 2165. For the use in sacrifices of a drink-offering consisting of wine, see Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:6-7, 18-end; 29:1-7 and following verses.

[3] The meaning that 'wine' has of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith is also evident in Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! And come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1.

No one can fail to see that they did not have to buy wine and milk, but that they were to acquire what is meant by 'wine and milk', which is love towards the neighbour and faith. These gifts come from the Lord 'without money and without price'.

[4] In Hosea,

Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her. ¹ Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah, their sacrifices will not be pleasing to Him. Hosea 9:1-4.

Here also in the internal sense reference is made to the good of love and the good of faith, to the demise of them. The good of love is meant by 'threshing-floor' by virtue of the grain there and the bread made from it, while the good of faith is meant by 'winepress', 'new wine', and 'libation of wine'. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the fact that the understanding would resort to factual knowledge for advice concerning the arcana of faith; 'in Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for that which is the outcome of consequent false reasoning - 'Ephraim' being the area of understanding in the Church, see 5754, 6112, 6238, 6267; 'Egypt' the area of factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5702; and 'Assyria' that of reasoning, 1186. The line of thought in this passage also shows that the words used here contain something more than what one sees in the letter. For everything hangs together in the internal sense, but not so in the external sense, for example when it says that 'threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her', immediately followed by 'Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean'. Moreover, without the internal sense what meaning would Ephraim's return to Egypt and their eating in Assyria what is unclean have?

[5] 'Winepress' and 'wine' are also used in Jeremiah to describe the demise of mutual love and the good of faith,

He who lays waste has fallen on your vintage, therefore joy and gladness have been plucked from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, for I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; none will tread the headed. ² Jeremiah 48:32-33.

[6] The fact that 'wine' means the good of mutual love and of faith is also evident in John,

I heard a voice from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, Do no harm to oil and wine. Revelation 6:6.

[7] 'Oil' stands for the good of celestial love, and 'wine' for the good of spiritual love.

'Oil' and 'wine' have a similar meaning in the Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke,

A certain Samaritan was journeying, and seeing him who had been wounded by the robbers was moved with compassion for him; going therefore to him, he bandaged his wounds, and poured on oil and wine. Luke 10:33-34.

'He poured on oil and wine' means that he performed the works of love and charity, 'oil' being the good of love, see 886, 3728. A like meaning was involved in the practice of the ancients, who poured oil and wine onto a pillar when they consecrated it, Genesis 35:14, 4581, 4582.

[8] The fact that 'wine' means the good of love and faith is evident from the words the Lord used when He instituted the Holy Supper. He said then regarding the wine,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:17-18.

Anyone can see that He was not about to drink wine in that kingdom, but that the good of love and faith is meant, which He was about to impart to those who belonged to His kingdom. Much the same is meant by 'wine' in Isaiah 24:9, 11; Lamentations 2:11-12; Hosea 14:7; Amos 9:13-14; Zechariah 9:15-16; Luke 5:37-39.

[9] Since 'wine' means the good of love and faith, Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good is therefore meant in the highest sense, for that Truth, when it flows into a person and is accepted by him, brings him the good of love and faith.

[10] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too does 'wine', the contrary meaning of which is falsity from evil, as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who rise in the morning around dawn, and then follow strong drink, who continue into dusk, so that wine may inflame them! Woe to heroes at drinking wine, and to valiant men in mixing strong drink! Isaiah 5:11, 22

In the same prophet,

Also these err through wine, and go astray through strong drink. The priest and the prophet err through strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine, they go astray through strong drink. They err among the seers, they are tottery in judgement. Isaiah 28:7.

In the same prophet,

The shepherds know no understanding, they all look to their own way. Come, I will get wine, and we will be drunken from strong drink; and let there be tomorrow, as there is this day, great abundance. Isaiah 56:11-12.

In addition to these places 'wine' is used with the contrary meaning in Jeremiah 13:12; Hosea 4:11; 7:5; Amos 2:8; Micah 2:11; Psalms 75:8; Deuteronomy 32:33.

Falsity from evil is also meant by the cup of the wine of wrath in Jeremiah 25:15-16; Revelation 14:8, 10; 16:19; the winepress of the wrath of God's anger, Revelation 19:15; and the wine of whoredom, Revelation 17:2; 18:3.

Imibhalo yaphansi:

9164. 'Or is led away captive' means removal. This is clear from the meaning of 'being led away captive', when it has reference to the good or truth present with a person, as removal. The situation here is that when truth that springs from good reigns in a person the truth he believes in the most strongly lies in the middle, and the truths he believes in less strongly are stationed further and further away from the middle, ending with those about which he is in doubt. Bordering the truths are falsities, but they are not part of that sequence of truths. Nor do they stand upright pointing to heaven in the way that the truths springing from good do, but are bent over pointing downwards, and in the measure that they arise from evil they look towards hell. But when falsity supplants truth order is turned upside down; the truths move away to the sides and form the outer circle, and the falsities arising from evil occupy the middle. This shows what removal is used to mean, regarding which see also 3436, 6084, 6103. The reason why that kind of removal is meant by 'being led away captive' is that when falsities take truths captive they lead them away in that manner. Such things are also meant by 'being taken captive' and 'being led away captive' in Jeremiah,

The wind will feed on all your shepherds, and your lovers will be led away into captivity. Jeremiah 22:22.

In the same prophet,

Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been led away into captivity, and your daughters into captivity. Yet I will bring back the captives ¹ of Moab in the last days. Jeremiah 48:46-47.

'Sons' who have been led away into captivity are truths, and 'daughters' are forms of good. And in Luke,

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive among all the gentiles; ² and at length Jerusalem will be trodden underfoot by the gentiles. ² Luke 21:24.

This refers to the close of the age, which is the final period of the Church. 'Falling by the edge of the sword' means being destroyed by falsities, 'the sword' being falsity engaged in conflict against truth, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. 'The gentiles' among whom they will be taken captive and by whom the Church will be trodden underfoot are evils that give rise to falsities, see 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, 6306; and 'Jerusalem' which will be trodden underfoot then is the Church, 2117, 3654.

Imibhalo yaphansi:

886. That 'olive' means the good that stems from charity is clear not only from the meaning of 'olive' but also from the meaning of 'oil' in the Word. Olive oil in addition to spices was used to anoint priests and kings, and it was also used in the lamps. Concerning the former, see Exodus 30:24, and the latter, Exodus 27:20. The reason olive oil was used in anointing and in lamps was that it represented everything celestial and so everything good that stems from love and charity. Oil is in fact the essential element of the tree, its soul so to speak, as the celestial or the good that stems from love and charity is the essential element or soul itself of faith. This is the origin of its representation. That 'oil' means that which is celestial or the good that stems from love and charity may be confirmed from many places in the Word, but since the olive itself is referred to here, let some that confirm the meaning solely of the olive be quoted. In Jeremiah,

Jehovah called your name, Green Olive Tree, fair with shapely fruit. Jeremiah 11:16.

The name given here applies to the Most Ancient or celestial Church, which was the basis of the Jewish Church. Consequently all the representatives of the Jewish Church had regard to celestial things, and through the latter to the Lord.

[2] In Hosea,

His branches will go out and his beauty will be like the olive, and his smell like that of Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.

This refers to the Church that is to be established. Its beauty is 'the olive', that is, the good that stems from love and charity, while 'the smell like that of Lebanon' is resulting affection for the truth of faith. 'Lebanon' stands for its cedars, which meant spiritual things, or the truths of faith.

In Zechariah,

Two olive trees beside the lampstand, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. These are the two sons of pure oil, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:3, 11, 14.

Here 'the two olive trees' stands for the celestial and the spiritual, and so for love which belongs to the celestial Church and for charity which belongs to the spiritual Church. These stand to the right and to the left of the Lord. 'The lampstand' here means the Lord, just as it used to represent Him in the Jewish Church. 'The lamps' are celestial things from which spiritual things radiate like rays of light, or light itself, from a flame. In David,

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots. Psalms 128:3.

Here 'a wife like a vine' stands for the spiritual Church, and 'sons' stands for the truths of faith which are called 'olive shoots' because they stem from the goods of charity. In Isaiah,

Gleanings will be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries on the top of the [highest] branch. Isaiah 17:6.

This refers to the remnants residing with a person. 'Olives' stands for celestial remnants. In Micah,

You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and tread the new wine but not drink wine. Micah 6:15.

And in Moses,

You will plant and dress vineyards but not drink wine. You will have olive trees within all your borders but not anoint yourself with oil. Deuteronomy 28:39-40.

The subject here is the abundance of doctrinal detail concerning the goods and truths of faith which they rejected because of the kind of people they were. From these quotations it becomes clear that 'a leaf' means the truth of faith and 'olive' the good that stems from charity. And similar things are meant by 'the olive leaf which the dove was carrying in its mouth', that is, a small measure of the truth of faith deriving from the good that stems from charity was now showing itself with the member of the Ancient Church.