9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

Elijah (referred to as Elias in the New Testament) was the renowned prophet sent to the split kingdoms of Israel and Judah. His first appearance is in Chapter 17 of I Kings where he comes to speak to Ahab, king of Israel. He contends with Ahab, and Ahab’s wife Jezebel, and later Ahab’s son Ahaziah. These contentions have passed down to us in many well known stories.

In II Kings, Chapter 2, Elijah is carried up to heaven in a chariot of fire, and his mantle is given to Elisha, his disciple and successor. Elijah represents the Lord as He comes to us in the Word, that is, the way we think about the Lord when we read the Word (especially the prophetic parts of the Word). Elijah and John the Baptist are similar in their symbolic meaning.

(Izinkomba: Arcana Coelestia 5247 [6], 6752, 9372 [2])

177. As the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to pieces. That this signifies the total dispersion of falsities is evident from the signification of a potter's vessels, as being those things in the natural man that are from man's own intelligence (concerning which we shall speak presently); and from the signification of being broken to pieces, as being to be dispersed; for dispersing is said of falsities, as breaking to pieces is said of a potter's vessels. That by a potter's vessels are signified those things in the natural man that are from man's own intelligence concerning the things of heaven and the church, and that those things are falsities, will be shown in what follows. But something shall first be said respecting the falsities that enter the natural man from man's own intelligence concerning the things of heaven and the church. Those who think from their own intelligence, think from the world; for a man from his proprium loves only the things of the world and of self, and what he loves he also sees and perceives. The things that he loves he calls goods, and what he thence sees and perceives he calls truths; but the goods which he so calls from love are evils, and the truths which he sees from that love are falsities, because they flow from the loves of self and of the world, these loves being the opposites of the loves of heaven, which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; and those things that flow from opposites are themselves opposites.

[2] Those, therefore, who read the Word solely for the sake of a name for learning, or to acquire fame that they may be raised to honours, or that they may gain wealth by this means, never see and perceive truths, but falsities instead of them. And the truths which exist there before their eyes, they either pass by, as if they saw them not, or else they falsify them; the reason is, that to read the Word solely for such purposes as these, is, to read it for the sake of self and the world as ends, thus from the loves of self and of the world. And because these loves belong to man's proprium, therefore the things that a man sees and perceives from them are from his own intelligence.

[3] But those who read the Word from the spiritual affection of truth, which is the love of knowing truth because it is truth, see the truths of the Word, and rejoice in heart when they see them; the reason is, that they are enlightened by the Lord. This enlightenment descends from the Lord through heaven from the light there; this light is Divine truth: to them therefore it is granted to see truths from their own light, and this in the Word, because the Word is Divine truth, and in it are treasured up all the truths of heaven. But those alone are in light, who are in the two loves of heaven, which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; for these loves open the interior or higher mind, which is formed to receive the light of heaven, and through which that light flows in and enlightens them. But they do not perceive truths in that mind whilst they live in the world, but they see them in the lower mind, or that of the external or natural man; these are they who do not think from their own intelligence when they read the Word. The principal reason why these do not think from their own intelligence when they read the Word is, that, their interior or spiritual mind looks to the Lord, and the Lord then raises it up to Himself, and together with it the lower or natural mind, and thus withdraws it from man's proprium; this cannot be done in the case of those who chiefly regard themselves and the world.

[4] From these considerations it is evident that a man, from his own intelligence, can perceive nothing but evils, and see nothing but falsities; but that goods and truths, which belong to heaven and the church, are perceived and seen from the Lord alone. When the internal or spiritual man, in which resides the interior or higher mind, of which we have just spoken, is opened, then the Lord subdues the evils and disperses the falsities that are in the external or natural man.

These, then, are the things meant in the spiritual sense, by the Son of man giving them power over the nations, and ruling them with a rod of iron, breaking them in pieces as a potter's vessels.

[5] That a potter's vessels signify those things that are from man's own intelligence, thus falsities in the natural man, is evident from various passages in the Word, of which the following, are adduced in confirmation; as in David:

"Thou shalt bruise the nations with a sceptre of iron; as a potter's vessel shalt thou disperse them" (Psalms 2:9).

To bruise the nations with a sceptre of iron, signifies here also to chastise and subdue the evils which are in the natural man. The term sceptre here has the same signification as rod and staff in other passages. The words, "as a potter's vessel," are added because by them is signified the falsity which is from man's own intelligence. In the sense of the letter this is a comparison; for it is said as a potter's vessel, and as earthen vessels; but in the internal sense comparisons are not perceived as comparisons, because comparisons are equally from significatives (see Arcana Coelestia 3579, 8989). A potter's vessel, or an earthen vessel, signifies falsity, because a potter is one who forms, and a vessel is that which is formed; when man forms it, it is false, but when the Lord forms it in man it is true. This is why a potter's vessel in the Word signifies either falsity or truth, and a potter signifies one who forms.

[6] The Lord Himself is, in the Word, called a potter, from the formation of man by means of truths, as in Isaiah:

"Jehovah, our father; we are the clay, thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hands" (64:8).

In the same:

"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Doth the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?" (45:9).

In the same:

"Shall the potter be counted as clay? shall the work say of its maker, He made me not? and shall the thing formed say of the potter, He understandeth not? (29:16).

[7] Because the Jews and Israelites falsified all the truths of the Word by applying them to themselves, and to their own exaltation above all the nations and peoples in the universe, therefore their falsities are called broken vessels of a potter; as in Isaiah:

"They have said to the seers, See not; and to those who have vision, see not for us right things; speak unto us smooth things, see illusions, depart out of the way; therefore iniquity shall break them as the breaking of the bottle of the potters; in beating he shall not spare; whence there shall not be found in the fragment thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to draw waters out of the pit" (30:10, 11, 14).

That they wholly deprived themselves of truths and immersed themselves in falsities, is described by their saying to the seers, See not, and to them that have vision, See not for us right things, speak unto us smooth things, see illusions, depart out of the way. That they had thus immersed themselves in falsities so that nothing of truth remained, is described by the breaking of the potter's vessel so that there should not be found in the fragments a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to draw waters out of the pit; by which is signified that there should not remain with them so much of truth as to enable them to perceive any good and truth from the Word. For fire signifies good, and water signifies truth; the hearth signifies the Word as to good, a pit the Word as to truth.

[8] In Jeremiah:

"The word came to Jeremiah, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house. Therefore I went down to the potter's house, when, behold, he wrought a work on the table. And the vessel that he made was marred; and he returned and made it another vessel as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make" (18:1-4).

In this passage is also meant that with the Jewish nation there remained nothing but falsity; and the vessel that was marred in the potter's house denotes that falsity. By the house of the potter is meant the state in which they were. That the truth of the church was taken away from them and given to others, is meant by the potter making it another vessel such as was right in his eyes.

[9] In the same:

"Jehovah said, Go buy a potter's bottle of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests, and go forth into the valley of the son of Hinnom. Then shalt thou break the bottle before the eyes of the men that go with thee, and shalt say: I will break this people, and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and in Tophet shall they bury because there is no more a place to bury in" (19:1, 2, 10, 11).

By the bottle or vessel of the potter, to be taken of the elders of the people and of the priests is meant the falsity in which all of that nation were. That this falsity was of such a nature as could not be dispersed by truths is described by the command given to the prophet that he should break the vessel in the sight of them that went with him, so that it could not be made whole again; and that they should bury in Tophet, because there was no more a place elsewhere signifies where all truths and goods should be consumed.

[10] In Nahum:

"Draw for thyself waters for the siege, strengthen thy fortifications; enter into the mire and tread clay; repair the brick-kiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off" (3:14, 15).

To draw waters for the siege and to strengthen the fortifications denotes to strengthen falsities against truths by various means; to enter into the mire and tread clay is to confirm falsities by fictions and fallacies. Doctrine therefrom is called a brick-kiln, because infernal love is established by means of truths falsified; hence it is said that the fire should devour him and the sword cut him off. Fire signifies infernal love, and a sword falsity, fighting against and destroying truth. A potter's vessel, or an earthen vessel, signifies falsity, because it corresponds to a device, and a device is that which is from man's own intelligence; it was from this correspondence that the prophets were commanded to do such things as are mentioned above.