A Ransom for Many - それは何を意味するのでしょうか？

今から約2000年前、ナザレのイエス、イエス・キリストは十字架にかけられました。死にました。苦しみながら。そして、翌々日の朝には死からよみがえりました。彼の肉体は消滅した。というより、その後の出来事を考えると、それは霊的なものに変化したようだ。それ自体、考えると面白いことですが、この記事の焦点ではありません）。

その代わり、ここでは、イエスがなぜ死んだのかについて、聖書で語られているいくつかの事柄に注目したいと思います。それについては、ほぼ2000年前の混乱があります。それを掘り下げてみましょう...。

で マルコによる福音書10:42-45 にも）。 マタイによる福音書20:25-28）には、イエスの宣教の後半に起こった、よく知られた教訓が記されています。ヤコブとヨハネは、まだ何が起こっているのかよく理解していなかったので、イエスが「王」になったときに、イエスの左と右に座ることを約束してほしいと陳情していました。もちろん、他の弟子たちは不愉快な思いをしました。イエスはこの状況を知っていたので、彼らを集めて、イエスの使命の本質と、彼らの使命のあり方を説明しようとしたのです。

これがその文章です。

"しかし、イエスは彼らを呼び寄せて言われた。「あなたがたは、異邦人を支配することになっている者たちが、彼らの上に主権を行使し、その偉大な者たちが彼らの上に権威を行使していることを知っている。しかし、あなた方の間ではそうではありません。あなた方の中で偉くなる者は誰でも、あなた方の大臣となります。あなたがたの中で偉くなる者は、あなたがたの大臣となり、あなたがたの中で最も偉くなる者は、すべての者のしもべとなる。人の子といえども、仕えられるためではなく、仕えるために来たのであり、また、自分の命を多くの人のための身代金として捧げるために来たのである。"

身代金です。ここで使われているギリシャ語は、λύτρον（ルトロン）といい、λύω（ルオ）の「緩める」「解く」「自由にする」という意味から、贖罪や身代金を意味しています。

神学者の中には、この文章を、十字架の物語の中で、イエスが苦悩と神の本質からの分離感を示す3つのことを言っている文章と組み合わせた人もいます。「わが神、わが神、なぜ私をお見捨てになったのですか」、「それにしても、私の意志ではなく、御心のままにしてください」、「父よ、彼らをお許しください。

これは確かに、イエスがある種のスケープゴートの役割を果たし、父を失望させた人類の代わりに自分の死を捧げた、一種の犠牲と解釈することができます。そのように解釈した神学者もいます。西暦1000年頃のカンタベリーのアンセルムは、そのような主張をする一派のリーダーの一人でした。しかし、私たちはそれが正しい道だとは思っていません。それどころか、間違った道であったために、かなりの損害を被ったと考えています。

新キリスト教の神学では、神が怒ったというのは意味がありません。神は愛そのものです。私たちが神の愛に応えないと、神はがっかりされますか？しかし、怒ることはありません。特に旧約聖書ではそのように見えることもありますが、神の本質は愛なのです。

さらに言えば、イエスの肉体が死んだからといって、父なる神の気分が良くなるわけではないことは、もっとはっきりしているはずです。二人は一人の人間であり、一心同体であることを忘れてはいけません。

むしろ、神の受肉、宣教、死、復活という一連のサイクルは、新しい真理が人類に到達するために行われたものなのです。

で 天界の秘義1419,

"主は、愛そのもの、あるいは天上のすべての愛の本質と命であり、人類に主のすべてのものを与えることを望んでおられます。" "このことは、人の子が自分の命を多くの人のための身代金として与えるために来たという主の言葉によって示されています。"

で アポカリプスの説明 328:15という説明がありました。

"身代金を取る』という言葉は、人々を偽りから解放し、真理によって改革することを意味します。これは『真理の神エホバよ，わたしを身代金に換えてください』という言葉に示されています」。詩編31:5)

イエス様が死なれた理由の一つは、地獄の力に打ち勝つためでした。イエスは生涯を通して悪霊と戦いました。最も明確に描写されているのは、洗礼を受けた直後、荒野で40日間を過ごされた時です。イエス様の十字架の苦しみは、悪に対する最後の戦いであり、イエス様の復活は、悪に対する最後の勝利でした。

すべての人にとって、悪を克服するためには、誘惑や悪との戦いがあります。私たちが個人的に悪と闘うように、キリストは宇宙規模で悪と闘われました。キリストの死はその闘いの結論でしたが、それは敗北ではなく、勝利でした。聖書によると、神が肉と血を受けたのは、「死によって、死の力を持つ者、すなわち悪魔を滅ぼすためであった」とあります。(ヘブライ人への手紙2:14,15)

聖書がイエスの死の理由として挙げているもう一つの理由は、イエスがご自分の人間としての性質と神としての性質を一つにして、「ご自分の中で、二人で一人の新しい人を造る」ことができるようにするためでした(エフェソの信徒への手紙2:14-16を参照してください。 ヨハネによる福音書17:11, 21; 10:30)。

他にも様々な理由が挙げられます。

父のもとに行く」ことができた(ヨハネによる福音書13:3; 14:2, 28; 16:10)。彼は「栄光」を得ることができました(ヨハネによる福音書17:1,5)や「主の栄光に入る」(ルカによる福音書24:26)。彼は「完成された」ことができた(ルカによる福音書13:32)、または「聖なるもの」(ヨハネによる福音書17:19)。

スウェーデンボルグのでは真のｷﾘｽﾄ教86と書かれています。

"エホバ神は、人々を救済する目的で、神の真理としてこの世に現れた。贖いとは、地獄を支配し、天界を再編し、そして教会を設立することだった。"

磔にされた時、悪の勢力は勝ったと思った。当時の宗教的、市民的な権力者たちが主導して彼を非難した。彼はあざけられた。群衆は彼に反発した。

イエス様の肉体の死は、このように「身代り」でした。あの拷問と死を受けることによって、イエス様は自分の霊的な力が自然の死を超えていることを示すことができたのです。イエスは、私たちを地獄の支配から解き放ち、新しい教会、私たちが従うことのできる新しい道を確立されたのです。

329. Since it is said, "thou didst redeem us to God in thy blood," and since this is understood within the church entirely according to the sense of the letter, and not according to any spiritual sense, I will also show that "blood" does not mean blood, or the Lord's suffering on the cross, but Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and the reception of it by man; thus that "thou didst redeem us in Thy blood" means that He has delivered and freed from hell those who acknowledge Him, and receive Divine truth from Him (as was said above, n. 328. In illustration of this matter I will cite the following. Because all things that were commanded in the Israelitish Church were representative of things celestial and spiritual, and not the least thing was not so, it was also commanded, when the paschal supper was first instituted:

That they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side posts and on the lintel upon the houses wherein they shall eat [the paschal lamb]; and the blood shall be for you for a sign upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, nor shall there be a plague upon you from the destroyer when I shall smite the land of Egypt. And further: Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and shall touch the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and not a man of you shall go out of the entrance of his house until the morning. And Jehovah will pass through to smite Egypt; and when he shall see the blood upon the lintel and upon the two side posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the smiter to come into your houses to strike you (Exodus 12:7, 13, 22-23).

He who does not know that there is a spiritual sense in the Word believes that "blood" here signifies the Lord's blood upon the cross; but this is not at all the meaning in heaven; but to the angels there the paschal supper here described has a like meaning as the holy supper instituted by the Lord, in which, in place of the paschal lamb, there are the bread and the wine; and the Lord then said that the bread was His flesh and the wine was His blood; and everyone knows, or may know, that bread and wine are what nourish the body, bread as food and wine as drink, and that in the Word, which in its bosom is spiritual, these things also must be spiritually understood, "bread" standing for all spiritual food, and "wine" for all spiritual drink.

[2] Spiritual food is all the good that is communicated and given to man by the Lord, and spiritual drink is all the truth that is communicated and given to man by the Lord. These two, namely, good and truth, or love and faith, make man spiritual; it is said, or love and faith, because all good is of love, and all truth is of faith. From this it can be seen that "bread" means the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and in reference to man, this good received by him; also that "wine" means the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and in reference to man, this truth received by him. Since the Lord says that His flesh is bread, and His blood is wine, it can be seen that "the Lord's flesh" means the Divine good of His Divine love, and "to eat" it means to receive it, and make it one's own, and thus to be conjoined to the Lord; and that "the Lord's blood" means the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of His Divine love, and that "drinking" it means to receive that truth and make it one's own, and thus be conjoined to the Lord.

[3] Again, spiritual nourishment is from the good and truth that proceed from the Lord, as all nourishment of the body is from food and drink; their correspondence also is from this, which is such that where anything of food, or that serves for food, is mentioned in the Word, good is meant, and where anything of drink, or that serves for drink, is mentioned, truth is meant. From this it can be seen that the "blood" from the Paschal Lamb, which the sons of Israel were commanded to put upon the two side posts and upon the lintel of their houses, means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; this, when received in faith and life, protects man against the evils that rise up out of hell; for in His Divine truth the Lord is with man, for this is the Lord's own with man, yea, it is Himself with man. Who that thinks from sound reason cannot see that the Lord is with a man not in His blood, but in His Divine, which is the good of love and the good of faith received by man. (But what the particulars here signify, namely, "the two side posts" and "the lintel," "the destroyer" and "smiter," and "Egypt," and many other things in this chapter, can be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained.)

[4] From what has now been said, without further explanation, the significance of the Lord's words when He instituted the Holy Supper is evident:

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, broke, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and having given thanks, He gave to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you in the kingdom of God (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20).

As "wine" means Divine truth nourishing the spiritual life, therefore the Lord says to them, "I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of God," which shows clearly that something spiritual is meant, for He says that "He is to drink with them," and "in the kingdom of God," or in heaven, and also that "He is to eat" with them of the Paschal Lamb there (Luke 22:16).

[5] What has now been said also makes clear what is signified by these words of the Lord:

The bread that I will give is My flesh. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have not life in you. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him. This is the bread that cometh down out of heaven (John 6:51-58).

That the Lord's "flesh" is Divine good, and His "blood" Divine truth, both of them from Him, can be seen from this, that these are what nourish the soul; it is therefore said, "My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink." And as a man is conjoined to the Lord by Divine good and truth, therefore it is further said, "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood shall have eternal life, and he abideth in Me and I in him." The Lord spoke in this way, namely, saying His "flesh" and His "blood," and not His Divine good and His Divine truth, in order that the sense of the letter of the Word might be made up of such things as correspond to things spiritual, in which the angels are; thus and in no other way could there be, by means of the Word, a conjunction of the men of the church with the angels (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 252, 258-262; and Heaven and Hell 303-310).

[6] Since "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and conjunction with the Lord is effected by man's reception of it, therefore blood is called "the blood of the covenant," for "covenant" signifies conjunction. Blood is called "the blood of the covenant" by the Lord when He instituted the Holy Supper, for He said:

Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant [or testament] (Matthew 26:27, 28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).

It is also called "the blood of the covenant" in Moses, where is the following:

Moses came from Mount Sinai, and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments. And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount. And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed bullocks as peace-offerings unto Jehovah. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do and hear. And he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah hath concluded with you upon all these words. And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the substance of the heavens for purity (Exodus 24:3-11).

That "blood" here signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and conjunction therefrom, is evident, for half of it was sprinkled on the altar and half on the people; for the "altar" signified all worship that is from the good of love, and the "people" those who offer worship and receive the good of love by means of truths; for all reception of Divine good is effected by truths made truths of life, and consequent conjunction is by means of the good in such truths. That there is conjunction by means of the good in such truths, that is, by means of truths made truths of life, and that "blood" was a representative thereof, is very clear from the words there, for this was done when Moses descended from Mount Sinai, from which the law was promulgated, and also the statutes and judgments that were to be observed; and it is said that "Moses wrote all these words of Jehovah, and read them in the ears of the people," who said, "All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do and hear," which words they said twice (See verses 3 and 7).

[7] Words or truths become truths of life by doing; and as Moses wrote these words, he called them, "The Book of the Covenant," which signifies that there is conjunction by means of them. The law promulgated by Jehovah from Mount Sinai, and the statutes and judgments that were also commanded at that time, signified all Divine truth, or the Divine truth in its whole complex. This is why they are called "the Book of the Covenant," and why the ark in which was that book is called "The Ark of the Covenant," "covenant" signifying conjunction. Because Divine truth, by which there is conjunction, proceeds from the Lord, the Lord appeared to the people "under the feet as it were a work of sapphire stone;" that He so appeared "under the feet" signifying that Divine truth is such in ultimates. Divine truth in ultimates is Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word; "work of sapphire stone" signifies the translucence of this sense from Divine truth in the internal or spiritual sense; "the God of Israel" is the Lord. (That "sapphire stone" signifies translucence from internal truths, see Arcana Coelestia 9407; and that "the God of Israel" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, see above, n. 328.) From this it is now clear that a "covenant" or conjunction is effected by means of Divine truth, and that the blood sprinkled on the altar and half of it on the people was a representative of it, since "blood" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, as was said above.

(That "covenant" signifies conjunction, see Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632.

That the law in a strict sense means the ten commandments of the Decalogue, and in a broad sense, the whole Word, thus all Divine truth, n. 2606, 3382, 6752, 7463, 9417.

That from this "Mount Sinai" signifies heaven where the Lord is, from whom is Divine truth, or from whom is the law, both in the strict and the broad sense, n. 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805, 9420; and that the altar was the principal representative of the Lord, and of the worship from the good of love, n. 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388-9389, 9714, 9963-9964, 10123, 10151, 10242, 10245, 10642.)

[8] Since "blood" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, from which is conjunction, therefore all things that were representative of things Divine proceeding from the Lord which are called celestial and spiritual were inaugurated by oil and by blood, and were then called holy. They were inaugurated by oil and blood that they might be representative, because "oil" signified the Divine good of the Divine love, and "blood" the Divine truth proceeding therefrom, for truth proceeds from good. That inaugurations and sanctifications were made by means of oil will be seen in what follows, where they are treated of in their paragraph. Here let some things in which blood was used be mentioned, as:

When Aaron and his sons were to be sanctified, blood was sprinkled upon the horns of the altar, and round about the altar, and upon Aaron and his sons, and upon their garments (Exodus 29:12, 16, 20-21; Leviticus 8:24).

Blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil that was over the ark, and upon the horns of the altar of incense (Leviticus 4:6-7, 17-18).

Before Aaron entered within the veil to the mercy-seat, he should sacrifice and burn incense, and should sprinkle the blood with the finger seven times upon the mercy-seat eastward (Leviticus 16:12-15).

The blood of the burnt-offering and of the sacrifice should be sprinkled upon the altar, around the altar, and at the base of the altar (Leviticus 1:5, 1:11, 15; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:25, 30, 34; 5:9; 8:15, 24; 17:6; Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:27).

The blood should be sprinkled upon the horns of the altar and thus expiation should be made for the altar (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:18-19).

Blood from the burnt-offerings and sacrifices was sprinkled and poured out upon the altar, around the altar, or at its base, because the altar with the burnt-offerings and sacrifices upon it represented and thence signified all worship from the good of love and the truths therefrom; and as truths proceed from good, therefore the blood was sprinkled on and poured out around the altar, for "around" signifies proceeding.

[9] (But these things can be better seen from what has been shown respecting burnt offerings and sacrifices in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows: "burnt-offerings" and "sacrifices" signified all things of worship from the good of love, and the truths therefrom, n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042. Therefore burnt-offerings and sacrifices were called bread, n. 2165, because "bread" signifies everything that nourishes the spiritual life, n. 2165, 3478, 4976, 5147, 5915, 6118, 8410, 8418, 9323, 10686. Burnt-offerings and sacrifices signified celestial Divine and spiritual Divine things, which are the internals of the church, from which are all things of worship, n. 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519; with a difference according to the differences of worship, n. 2805, 6905, 8936. Therefore there were many kinds of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and in them various processes and consisting also of various animals, n. 2830, 9391, 9990. The various things they specially signified can be known from the particulars of the procedure unfolded by the internal sense, n. Arcana Coelestia 10042. The rituals and procedures of the sacrifices contain arcana of heaven, n. Arcana Coelestia 10057. In general they contain the arcana of the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in a relative sense, the arcana of man's regeneration and his purification from evils and falsities, n. 9990, 10022, 10042, 10053, 10057. What was signified by the "meal-offerings," which were bread and cakes, which were also sacrificed, n. Arcana Coelestia 10079; what by the "drink-offering," which was wine, n. 4581, 10137)

[10] When these things are understood it can be known that "the blood of the sacrifice" in other places also in the Word signifies Divine truth, as in Ezekiel:

Say to the bird of every wing and to the beast of the field, Come together and come; gather yourselves from round about to My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel; that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. And ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you. And ye shall be satiated at My table with horse, with chariot, with every man of war. So will I give My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-21).

This treats of the restoration of the church; and "Israel" and "Jacob" mean all who are of the church, respecting whom these things therefore are said; "a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel" signifies all things of their worship; "flesh" and "fat" signify the good of love, and "blood" the truth from that good; worship is from these; an abundance of both is described by their "eating flesh and fat to satiety," and "drinking blood to drunkenness," and this "of the sacrifice;" it is therefore further said, "Ye shall be satiated at My table with horse, chariot, and every man of war," for "horse" signifies the understanding of truth, "chariot" doctrine, and the "man of war" truth fighting against falsity and destroying it. Who cannot see that "blood" here does not mean blood, as that they "should drink the blood of the princes of the earth," and "drink blood even to drunkenness, of the sacrifice?" "The princes of the earth" signify the principal truths of the church; therefore their "blood" signifies spiritual nourishment from those truths. Because such things are signified, therefore it is also said, at the end of this chapter, respecting Israel, by whom the church is signified:

Then will I not hide My faces any more from them; for I will pour out My spirit upon Israel (Ezekiel 39:29).

It is said, "Say to the bird of every wing and to the beast of the field," because "bird of every wing" signifies spiritual truth in the whole complex, and "beast of the field" the affection of good. (That "birds" in the Word signify things spiritual, n. 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441; likewise "wings," n. 8764, 9514; that "beasts" signify affections, and "beasts of the field" the affections of good, n. 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198, 9090, 9280, 10609; and that both birds and beasts were for this reason used in sacrifices, n. 1823, 3519, 7523, 9280)

[11] In confirmation that the "beast of the field" and "bird" signify such things, I will quote here one passage only from the Word:

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and war from the earth. And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; and I will betroth thee unto Me in justice and in judgment, and in mercy and in compassions, and I will betroth thee unto Me in truth (Hosea 2:18-20).

"To make a covenant with the beast of the field and with the bird of the heavens" signifies with the affections of good and with spiritual truths, for with these the Lord is conjoined to man, since the Lord is in these with man; therefore it is called "a covenant" with them, "covenant" meaning conjunction. That "beasts" signify the affections of good, and "birds" things spiritual, will be fully shown in their paragraphs in what follows.

[12] Because "fat" in sacrifices signified Divine good, and "blood" Divine truth, both from the Lord, and because by both when received by man conjunction was effected, therefore the posterity of Jacob, that is, the Jews and Israelites, were forbidden to eat any fat or any blood (See Leviticus 3:17; 7:23-27; 17:11-14; Deut. 12:17, 12:23-25; 15:23). This was because that nation was not in any good of love, nor in any truth of good, but in the falsities of evil; and "to eat fat and blood" signified with them the mingling of truth from good with the falsity from evil, which is profanation; from which also it can be seen that "blood" signifies Divine truth. (That "fat" or "fatness" in the Word signifies the good of love, see Arcana Coelestia 353, 5943, 6409, 10033; and that the Jews and Israelites were solely in things external and not in things internal, and consequently not in spiritual truths and good, but in the falsities of evil; and that all things of their worship were external separated from what is internal, and that still by things external they could represent the internal things of worship, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248 .)

[13] Because "blood" in the sacrifices signified Divine truth, therefore also:

They were forbidden to sacrifice the blood of the sacrifice upon what was leavened (Exodus 23:18; 34:25);

for "leaven" signifies falsity, and "what was leavened" truth falsified (See Arcana Coelestia 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992).

[14] The Lord's "flesh" signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, and His "blood" signifies the Divine truth proceeding from that good, because there are two things that proceed from the Lord's Divine Human, namely, Divine good and Divine truth, the latter is His blood, and the former His flesh. That which proceeds is the celestial Divine and the spiritual Divine; and these constitute the heavens in general and in particular. (But this can be seen better from what has been shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, under the following heads. The Divine of the Lord makes Heaven, n. 7-12; the Divine of the Lord in Heaven is Love to Him and Charity towards the Neighbor, n. 13-19; The Whole Heaven, therefore, as a Whole and in Its Parts, answers to One Man, n 59-77; This is from the Lord's Divine Human, n 78-87 and further from what is said of The Sun in Heaven, and Light and Heat therefrom, and that Heat is the Divine Good, and Light Divine Truth, both proceeding from the Lord, n 116-140) From this it can in some measure be comprehended why the Divine proceeding is meant by the "flesh and blood," that is, the Divine good by "flesh," and the Divine truth by "blood."

[15] With man also there are two things that constitute his spiritual life, namely the good of love and the truth of faith. With him the will is the receptacle of the good of love, and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith. All things belonging to the mind, that is, belonging to the will and understanding, have a correspondence with all things belonging to the body, consequently the latter are moved at the nod of the former. In general, the correspondence of the will is with the flesh, and the correspondence of the understanding with the blood; consequently the voluntary that is man's own [proprium voluntarium] is meant in the Word by "flesh," and the intellectual that is his own [proprium intellectuale] by "blood," as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Simon, blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee (Matthew 16:17).

These things are mentioned that it may be known that in the Word things voluntary and intellectual, that is, spiritual things, are meant by "flesh and blood" when man is referred to, and things Divine when the Lord is referred to. But these things are for those whose minds can be elevated above natural ideas and can see causes.

[16] This also is what is signified by the "blood and water" that issued out of the Lord's breast; which is described as follows in John:

One of the soldiers pierced His side, and straightway there came out blood and water. And he that saw beareth witness, and his witness is true; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also may believe (John 19:34-35).

These things were done to signify the Lord's conjunction with the human race through Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of His love; "breast" signifies Divine love; "blood and water" signify Divine truth proceeding, "blood" the Divine truth that is for the spiritual man, and "water" the Divine truth that is for the natural man; for all things that are related in the Word respecting the Lord's passion are also significative (See above, n. 83, 195). And because these things signify His love, and man's salvation by means of Divine truth proceeding from Him, therefore the evangelist adds, "He that saw beareth witness, and his witness is true; he knoweth that he saith true things, that ye also may believe."

[17] To what has already been mentioned I will add the following from the Word.

In Zechariah:

Exult exceedingly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh. And He shall speak peace unto the Gentiles; and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the uttermost parts of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water (Zechariah 9:9-11).

This is said of the Lord, and of the establishment of the church by Him among the nations; "the blood of the covenant" here meaning Divine truth, by means of which there is conjunction of the Lord with those who are to be of His church (as above); it is therefore further said, "I will send forth thy bound ones out of the pit wherein is no water," for by these the nations that are in falsities from ignorance are signified; "the pit wherein is no water" signifying where there is no truth, and "sending them forth" signifying to free them from falsities. That "water" signifies the truth of the church, see above (n. 71); and that "the bound in the pit" signifies those who are in falsities from ignorance, and yet in a desire to know truths, see Arcana Coelestia 4728[1-8], 4744, 5038, 6854, 7950).

[18] In David:

God shall save the souls of the needy; He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence; and precious shall their blood be in His eyes. And he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba, and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless him. Upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken (Psalms 72:13-16);

this treats of the "needy," by whom those who desire truths from spiritual affection are signified; of these it is said, that "He shall redeem their soul from fraud and violence," which signifies their liberation from evils and falsities, which destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith. The reception of Divine truth by them as being acceptable and grateful, is signified by "precious shall their blood be in His eyes," "blood" here meaning Divine truth received. Their reformation is described by "he shall live, and to him shall He give of the gold of Sheba, and shall pray for him continually; all the day shall He bless him;" the "gold of Sheba" meaning the good of charity; "to pray for him continually" signifying that they shall be continually withheld from falsities and kept in truths, and "He shall bless him" signifying that they shall be continually in the good of charity and faith; it is therefore said further, "upon the top of the mountains his fruit shall be shaken;" the "top of the mountains" signifying heaven, from which they have the good of love from the Lord, which is "fruit."

[19] In Moses:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; who shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass, whilst he shall wash his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes (Genesis 49:10-11).

This prophecy treats of the Lord, of whom it is said, "he shall bind to the vine his ass's foal, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass," and "he shall wash his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes;" "vine" signifying the church, and "wine" and the "blood of grapes" Divine truth. (For what the other things signify, see the explanation of these words in Arcana Coelestia 6371-6377.) The like is meant by the "blood of grapes" in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 32:14); where the ancient church reformed by Divine truth is treated of.

[20] From what has been shown in this and the preceding article it can be seen by those who acknowledge the spiritual sense of the Word that "Thou didst redeem us to God in Thy blood" means conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of the Lord, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him; also that the like is meant by "blood" in the twelfth chapter of this prophetic book, where it is said:

That Michael and his angels overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their ³ testimony (Revelation 12:11).

It is said, "the blood of the Lamb" and "the word of testimony," because "the blood of the Lamb" signifies the reception of Divine truth from the Lord, and "the word of testimony" the acknowledgment of His Divine Human.

[21] That "blood" signifies Divine truth is still further evident from its contrary sense, in which "blood" signifies violence offered to Divine truth by the falsities of evil, and its destruction by these; and as what is signified in the genuine sense is also manifested by these contrary meanings, I will cite some passages in which "blood" and "bloods" have that significance. It is to be known that most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, and that from that sense it can be known what is signified in the genuine sense. The following will serve for illustration. In Revelation:

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became as the blood of one dead, and every living animal in the sea died. And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the fountains of the waters, and they became blood (Revelation 16:3-4).

And elsewhere:

The two witnesses have power over the waters to turn them into blood (Revelation 11:6).

In Isaiah:

The waters of Nimrim shall be desolations; and the waters of Dimon are full of blood (Isaiah 15:6, 9).

In David:

He sent darkness and made it dark. He turned their waters into blood, and made their fish to die (Psalms 105:28-29).

It is clear from these passages what "blood" signifies in the contrary sense; for blood in the genuine sense signifies Divine truth, and with those who receive it truth from good; so in the contrary sense it signifies violence offered to Divine truth, and with those who do that, it signifies falsity from evil. This contrary meaning is clear from its being said that the "waters" of "the sea," of "rivers," and of "fountains," "were turned into blood;" for "waters" signify truths, therefore "blood" here signifies falsities that destroy truths. The "living animal in the sea," and the "fish," signify truths known [vera scientifica]; so their "dying" and "being slain" by blood signify such truths also destroyed. (That "waters" signify truths, see above, n. 71; and that "fish" signify truths known [vera scientifica] of the natural man, see Arcana Coelestia 40, 991)

[22] Again in Revelation:

I saw when He had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, and the whole moon became blood (Revelation 6:12).

In Joel:

I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood, and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great day of Jehovah come (Joel 2:30-31).

Here also it is known from the contrary meaning that "blood" signifies violence offered to the Divine truth; for "sun" in the Word signifies the celestial Divine, which is the Divine good, and "moon" signifies the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine truth; it is therefore said that "the moon shall be turned into blood." (That this is the signification of "moon" see in the work on Heaven and Hell 118, 119.)

[23] In Isaiah:

He that walketh in righteousness, and speaketh uprightness, that stoppeth his ear lest he hear bloods, and shutteth his eyes lest he see evil (Isaiah 33:15);

"to stop the ear lest he hear bloods" meaning evidently not to hear falsities from evil. In David:

Thou wilt destroy those that speak falsehood; the man of blood and deceit Jehovah abhorreth (Psalms 5:6);

"the man of blood and deceit" meaning those who are in falsities from evil; it is therefore said, "Thou wilt destroy those that speak falsehood," "falsehood" in the Word signifying falsities. In Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy to Him, everyone that is written unto life in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have washed away the bloods of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of cleansing [burning] (Isaiah 4:3-4).

Because "Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine, therefore it is said, "When He shall have washed away its blood out of the midst thereof," "bloods" signifying the falsities of evil. The "spirit of judgment" signifies Divine truth, and because this purifies it is said, "by the spirit of cleansing" [burning].

[24] In Ezekiel:

In the day wherein thou wast born I passed by beside thee, and I saw thee trodden down in thy bloods, and I said unto thee, In thy bloods, live; yea, I said unto thee, In thy bloods live. I washed thee, and I washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezekiel 16:5-6, 9, 22, 36, 38).

This also treats of Jerusalem, which signifies the church in respect to the doctrine of truth, here first of the falsities of evil in which it was before it was reformed, and afterwards of its reformation; the falsities of evil are signified by its being seen "trodden down in bloods;" and its reformation by "he washed, and washed away the bloods, and anointed with oil;" "to wash" signifying to purify by truths; "to wash away bloods" signifying to remove the falsities of evil; and "to anoint with oil" signifying to endow with the good of love.

[25] In Lamentations:

For the sins of the prophets of Jerusalem, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. They have wandered blind in the streets, they have been polluted with blood, what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments (Lamentations 4:13-14).

"Prophets of Jerusalem" signify those who are to teach the truths of doctrine, and "priests" those who are to lead by truths to good; here mentioned in a contrary sense, since it is said, "for their sins;" "to shed the blood of the just" signifies to falsify truths and adulterate goods; it is therefore said, "they have wandered blind in the streets, they have been polluted with blood, what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments;" "to wander blind in the streets" signifies not to see truths at all, "streets" meaning truths; "polluted with bloods" signifies to be wholly in falsities; "what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments" signifies that what they cannot pervert they nevertheless falsify, "garments" meaning the truths that invest interior things, which truths are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word.

In Isaiah:

All uproar shall be whirled about by the earthquake, and the garment is polluted with bloods (Isaiah 9:5);

"earthquake" signifying the perversion of the church by the falsification of truth, and the "garment polluted with bloods" the falsification of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[26] In Jeremiah:

Thou hast taught evils thy ways; also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocents; I found them not in digging through, but upon all these (Jeremiah 2:33-34).

Here "blood found in the skirts" signifies the like as above by "what they cannot pollute they touch with their garments," "skirts" are the "garments." "I found them not in digging through, but upon all these" signifies that they dared not destroy the truths themselves, but that they falsified the truths of the sense of the letter, "skirts" signifying those truths.

[27] In Isaiah:

Your hands are full of bloods (Isaiah 1:15).

Your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity (Isaiah 59:3, 7).

"Hands polluted with blood, and fingers with iniquity" signifies that in all things belonging to them there is falsity and the evil of falsity; "hands" and "fingers" signify power, thus all things with them that have power. Because this is the meaning it is also said, "your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath meditated perverseness," "lies" meaning falsities, and "perverseness" the evil of falsity; "their feet make haste to shed innocent blood" signifies their hastening to destroy the good of love and charity; this is signified by "shedding innocent blood." The good of innocence is that from which is every good and truth of heaven and the church (See Heaven and Hell 276-283). From this it can be seen what is signified in a general sense by "bloods," in the plural, namely, violence offered both to the truths and the goods of the Word and of the church.

As "shedding innocent blood" signifies to destroy the good of love and of charity, every kind of precaution was taken that innocent blood should not be shed; and if it were shed:

That expiation shall be made for the land (Deuteronomy 19:10, 13; 21:1-9);

for the "land" signifies the church.

[28] In Isaiah:

Jehovah goeth forth from His place to visit the iniquity of the earth; then shall the earth reveal her bloods, and shall no more cover her slain (Isaiah 26:21).

The "bloods" that the earth shall reveal signify all the falsities and evils that have destroyed the truths and goods of the church, the "earth" being the church where these are; the "slain" signify those that have perished by falsities and evils. (That the "slain" signify those that have perished by falsities and evils, see above, n. 315.) In Revelation:

In Babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth (Revelation 18:24);

"the blood of prophets and of saints" meaning truths and goods extinguished; and the "slain" those who have perished by falsities and evils (as just above).

[29] The like is meant by:

The blood of the prophets which was shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just even to the blood of Zachariah, the son of Barachiah, whom they slew between the temple and the altar (Matthew 23:30, 34-35; Luke 11:50-51).

In the spiritual sense, by "Abel" those who are in the good of charity are meant, and, abstractly from person, that good itself; and by "Cain" those who make faith alone the sole means of salvation, and the good of charity of no account, thus rejecting and slaying it; and by "Zachariah" those who are in the truths of doctrine are meant, and abstractly from person the truth itself of doctrine; therefore the "blood" of these two signifies the extinction of all good and truth; "whom they slew between the temple and the altar" signifies in the spiritual sense every kind of rejection of the Lord; for "temple" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and "altar" the Lord in respect to Divine good, and "between them" signifies both together.

(That "Abel" in a representative sense is the good of charity, see Arcana Coelestia 342, 354, 1179, 3325; and that "Cain" is faith alone, separated from charity, n. 340, 347, 1179[1], 3325. That "prophet" signifies the doctrine of truth, n. 2534, 7269. That "temple" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and "altar" the Lord in respect to Divine good, and in a relative sense the Lord's kingdom and church in respect to truth and good, n. 2777, 3720, 9714, 10642. That "between" the two signifies where there is a marriage of Divine truth and Divine good, n. 10001, 10025.)

[30] In the Word it is often said of those condemned to death, that "their bloods should be upon them," which means, in the spiritual sense, that damnation should be upon them because of the falsities and evils by which they had destroyed the truths and goods of the church; for in general "bloods" signify all the falsities of doctrine, of life, and of worship, by means of which come the evils that destroy the church. These evils are in part enumerated in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:10-13); these are also signified by "bloods" in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, to them that believe on His name; who were born, not of bloods nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13).

"The Lord's name" means all truths and goods by which He is to be worshiped; "bloods" mean all the falsities and evils that destroy; "the will of the flesh" and "the will of man" signify all the evils of love and the falsities of faith, for "flesh" signifies the voluntary that is man's own [proprium volutarium] from which is every evil, and "man" [vir] signifies the intellectual that is man's own [proprium intellectuale], from which is every falsity, "will" meaning where these things are; "to be born of God" is to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith, and by means of a life according to them.

1100. And a hold of every unclean and hateful bird, signifies where there are nothing but falsities from the falsified truths of the Word. This is evident from the signification of a "hold," as being where the falsifiers are, thus hell (as above); also from the signification of "every unclean and hateful bird," as being falsities from the falsified truths of the Word; for "birds" signify things rational and intellectual, thoughts, ideas, and reasonings, thus truths or falsities, and "unclean" means what flows forth from a filthy love, and especially from the love of having dominion, for this constitutes uncleanness in hell; and "hateful" signifies what flows forth from a false principle, thus from a religious principle confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word falsified. It is from correspondence that "birds" signify such things as pertain to man's thought, both spiritual and infernal, thus both truths and falsities, for these pertain to thought. That this is from correspondence is evident from the birds seen in the spiritual world, where all things that appear before the eyes and the other senses are correspondences. All sorts of animals of the earth, also flying things of heaven, both beautiful and unbeautiful, are seen there, and they appear from the affections and thoughts of angels or of spirits, the animals from affections, and the flying things from thoughts. It is known to everyone there that these are correspondences; and they know also to what affections and thoughts they correspond. That they are correspondences of affections and thoughts is made to appear most clearly; since they are instantly dissipated when the spirit or the angel goes away or stops thinking about the matter. As birds are correspondences of thoughts both rational and not rational, thus of both verities and falsities, therefore they have this signification in the Word, for all things of the Word are correspondences.

[2] That "birds" signify thoughts that are from truths, both rational and spiritual, can be seen from the following passages. In David:

Let them praise the name of Jehovah, the wild beast and every beast, creeping thing and winged bird (Psalms 148:5, 10).

That "the wild beast and beast" signify the affections of the natural man, both of truth and of good, and in the contrary sense the cupidities of falsity and evil, may be seen above (n. 522, 650, 781); therefore "winged bird" signifies thoughts. This is why it is said that they should praise Jehovah, for it is man who must praise from affections and thoughts, thus from goods and truths.

[3] In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and the war from the earth (Hosea 2:18).

This is said of the Lord's coming and of the state of heaven and the church from Him. "In that day" means the Lord's coming; "the covenant" that He will then make signifies conjunction with those who believe in Him; therefore, "the wild beast of the field and the bird of heaven" cannot mean wild beasts and birds, but must mean the things to which they correspond, which are the affections of good and truth and consequent thoughts. That there will then be no infestation from falsities and evils from hell is signified by "the bow, the sword, and the war, shall be broken in the earth."

[4] In David:

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet, flocks and herds, yea, the beasts of the fields, the birds of heaven, and the fish of the sea (Psalms 8:6-8).

This treats of the Lord, of whom it is here said that "He shall have dominion over all the works of Jehovah's hands," which does not mean terrestrial things, such as flocks, herds, beasts, birds, and fishes. For what have these things to do with His dominion, which is in the heavens, and from the heavens over men on the earth, whom He will lead to life eternal? Therefore the spiritual things of the church are what are meant, "flock" signifying in general all things spiritual with man, "herd" all things natural with him that correspond to things spiritual, "beasts of the fields" affections of good in the natural man that pertain to the church (for "field" signifies the church), "birds of heaven" signify the thoughts of the rational man, and "fishes of the sea" knowledges.

[5] In Ezekiel:

I will take of the shoot of a high cedar, in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it, that it may lift up the bough and bear fruit and become a magnificent cedar; that under it may dwell every bird of every wing, in the shades of its branches shall they dwell (Ezekiel 17:22-23).

This means the establishment of a new church by the Lord; its establishment anew or from its first rise is meant by "the shoot of a high cedar," "cedar" here as elsewhere in the Word signifies the spiritual rational church, such as was the church with the ancients after the flood. "To plant a shoot in the mountain of the height of Israel" signifies in spiritual good, which is the good of charity, "the mountain of the height of Israel" signifying that good; "to become a magnificent cedar" signifies the full establishment of that church; "that under it may dwell every bird of every wing" signifies that there will be rational truths of every kind in that church; "to dwell in the shade of its branches" signifies these terminated in natural truths, since these cover and guard rational truths that are from a spiritual origin.

[6] In the same:

Ashur a cedar in Lebanon, which has become high. 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 all great nations (Ezekiel 31:3, 5-6).

Here, too, "cedar" signifies the spiritual rational church, since "Assyria" signifies the rational; and as "cedar" signifies the church, it follows that "the birds of the heavens that have built their nests in its branches," and "the beasts of the field that have brought forth under them," mean rational thoughts respecting the truths of the church, and the affections of them; and this being the meaning it is added, "In his shade have dwelt all great nations."

[7] In Daniel:

Nebuchadnezzar in a dream saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great; and it grew and became strong, and the height thereof reached even unto heaven, and the sight thereof unto the end of the earth; the leaf thereof was beautiful, and the flower thereof much; and in it was food for all. The beast of the field had shade under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches of it, and all flesh was nourished by it. But a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven, crying out, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaf, and scatter his flower; let the beast flee away from under it, and the birds from his branches (Daniel 4:10-14, 20-21).

Here, too, "tree" signifies the church called Babylon in its beginning and progress, and here that church in the knowledges of truth and good. Its beginning and progress is described in the words, "it became great and strong, the leaf thereof was beautiful, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all;" its affections of good and thoughts of truth are signified by "the beast of the field that had shade under it, and the birds that dwelt in its branches." That it lifted up its dominion over the holy things of the church and of heaven, is meant by "a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven, and cried out, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches." That "beast and bird" here signify affections and thoughts is evident from its being said, when the tree was cut down, "let the beast flee away from under it, and the birds from his branches."

[8] "The birds of heaven" have a similar signification in the Gospels:

Jesus said, The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and it becometh a tree, so that the winged things of heaven come and build nests in the branches thereof (Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:19).

"A tree from a grain of mustard seed" signifies a man of the church, and also a church beginning from a very little spiritual good by means of truth; for if only a very little spiritual good takes root with a man it grows like a seed in good ground. And as a "tree" thus signifies a man of the church, it follows that "the winged things of heaven" that made nests in its branches signify the knowledges of truth and thoughts therefrom. Anyone can see this is not a mere comparison, for if it were, what would be the need of such things in the Word and of like things in the Prophets?

[9] So again in David:

Jehovah sendeth forth fountains into the streams, they go between the mountains. They give drink to every wild beast of the fields; the wild asses quench their thirst; by them the bird of the heavens dwells, from among the boughs they utter their voices. The trees of Jehovah are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted, where the birds make their nests; as to the stork her house is in the fir trees (Psalms 104:10-12, 16-17).

Such things as these also would not have been said in the Divine Word unless each particular of them had been a correspondence of things spiritual and celestial, and consequently holy. For otherwise why should it be said that "streams from fountains go between the mountains, and give drink to every wild beast of the field; that the wild asses quench their thirst, and by them the bird of the heavens dwells, and utters its voice among the boughs, and the stork in the fir trees"? But when by "fountains" truths of the Word are understood, by "rivers" intelligence therefrom, by "mountains" goods of love, by "wild beast of the fields" affections of truth, by "wild asses" the rational, and by "birds of the heavens" thoughts from Divine truths, then the Word is the holy Divine; otherwise it would be merely human.

[10] In Job:

Ask, I pray, the beasts, and they shall teach thee, or the birds of heaven, and they shall tell thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who doth not know from all these that the hand of Jehovah doeth this? (Job 12:7-9).

Evidently "beasts, birds of heaven, and fishes of the sea," do not mean here beasts, birds, and fishes, for these cannot be asked, or teach, or tell, or declare "that the hand of Jehovah doeth this;" but these signify the things that pertain to man's intelligence, "beasts" meaning his affections, "birds of heaven" his thoughts, and "fishes of the sea" cognitions and knowledges [cognitiones et scientifica]. From these man can teach that the hand of Jehovah doeth it. Unless the things of man's intelligence were signified by "beasts, birds, and fishes," it could not be asked, "Who doth not know from all these?"

[11] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, Say to the bird of every wing, and to every wild beast of the field, Gather yourselves and come, gather yourselves from every side to a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel. And I will give My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17, 21).

This describes the establishment of the church among the nations, and the invitation and calling to it, for it is said, "So will I give my glory among the nations;" therefore "the bird of every wing," and "every wild beast of the field," signify all who are in the affection of good and the understanding of truth.

[12] So in Revelation:

An angel standing in the sun cried out with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and be gathered together to the supper of the great God (Revelation 19:17).

Here "birds flying in the midst of heaven" cannot mean birds, but men who are rational and spiritual; for they are invited to the supper of the great God.

[13] In Jeremiah:

I beheld the mountains, and lo they were moved, and all the hills were overturned; I beheld, when lo there was no man, and all the birds of heaven were flown away. I beheld when Carmel was a wilderness, and all its cities were desolated (Jeremiah 4:24-26).

This was said of the devastation of the church as to all its good and truth. "Mountains and valleys" signify celestial and spiritual loves; and "to be moved and overturned" signifies to perish. For in the spiritual world, when there no longer exists in spirits any celestial or spiritual love, the mountains are actually moved and the hills overthrown upon which they dwelt. "All the birds were flown away" signifies that there was no longer any knowledge and consequent thought of truth; "there was no man" signifies no understanding of truth; "Carmel was a wilderness" signifies a church destitute of good and truth; and "its cities desolated" signifies that there were no longer any doctrinals of truth.

[14] In the same:

The habitations are laid waste, so that no man passeth through, neither do they hear the voice of cattle; from the bird of the heavens even to the beast they have flown away, they have gone; for I will make Jerusalem heaps, a habitation of dragons (Jeremiah 9:10-11; 12:9).

Here, too, the devastation of the church is described. "The habitations that are laid waste, so that no man passeth through," signify the doctrinals of the church which were from the Word, in which now there is no good or truth; "the voice of cattle which they do not hear," signifies good of charity and truth of faith, of which there is none; "the birds of the heavens and even the beasts are flown away, they have gone" signifies that there is no longer any thought of truth from the knowledge of it, nor any affection of good. This evidently does not mean the flying away of the birds of heaven and the going away of the beasts of the earth, but the vastation of the church as to doctrine, for it is added, "I will make Jerusalem into heaps, a habitation of dragons," "Jerusalem" signifying the church as to doctrine, and "making it into heaps, and into a habitation of dragons," its devastation.

[15] In Hosea:

There is no truth and no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land. Therefore the land shall mourn for the wild beast of the field, and for the bird of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea shall be gathered together (Hosea 4:1, 3).

Evidently "the wild beast of the field, the bird of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea," have the same signification here as above, for here, too, the devastation of the church is treated of, for it is said, "there is no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land," and "the land" signifies the church.

[16] In Zephaniah:

I will consume man and beast, I will consume the bird of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, I will cut off man from the faces of the land (Zephaniah 1:3).

"To consume man and beast" signifies to destroy spiritual and natural affection; "to consume the birds of the heavens and the fishes of the sea" signifies to destroy the perceptions and knowledges of truth; and as these signify things pertaining to the church it is said, "I will cut off man from the faces of the land," "man" signifying everything of the church.

[17] In David:

God said, I know every bird of the mountains, and the wild beast of My fields is with Me (Psalms 50:11).

In Ezekiel:

There shall be a great earthquake upon the land of Israel, and the fishes of the sea, and the bird of the heavens, and the wild beast of the field, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man who is upon the faces of the earth shall tremble before Me (Ezekiel 38:19-20).

Here "the bird of the heavens and the wild beast of the field" have the same signification as above. "Earthquake" signifies a change of state of the church.

[18] In Isaiah:

Woe to the land shadowed with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush. The bird of the mountains and the beasts of the earth shall be left, but the bird shall loathe it, and every beast of the earth shall despise it (Isaiah 18:1, 6).

This treats of the establishment of the church with the nations and the devastation of the Jewish church; therefore "the bird and beast of the earth" signify the knowledges of truth and the affections of good.

[19] In the same:

I am God, and there is no God besides, and there is none like Me, calling a bird from the east, a man of counsel from a land far off (Isaiah 46:9, 11).

The "bird" called from the east signifies the truth of the Word, which is said to be "from the east" because it is from the good of love, "the east" being the good of love. Otherwise, what could be meant by "God shall call a bird from the east, and a man of counsel from a land far off"? "A man of counsel" means a man who is intelligent from truths that are from the good of love.

[20] In Hosea:

Ephraim, as a bird shall his glory fly away, from the birth and from the belly and from conception (Hosea 9:11).

In the same:

I will not return to destroy Ephraim. They shall go after Jehovah. With honor shall they come as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria (Hosea 11:9-11).

"Ephraim" signifies the understanding of the truths of the church; and this is why he is compared to a bird, and it is said, "as a bird shall his glory fly away." Also in Hosea (Hosea 7:12) he is compared to a bird, for a "bird" signifies everything pertaining to the understanding, including the knowing, the thinking, and the reasoning faculties; while everything that is delightful and pleasurable, thus that pertains to the will and affection, is signified by "beast and wild beast." "The bird from Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty, which pertains to the natural man; and "the dove from Assyria" the rational faculty, since "Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty, and "Assyria" the rational faculty. Here a church to be established by the Lord is treated of.

[21] As most things of the Word have also a contrary sense, so have birds, and in that sense they signify fallacies from the sensual man, also reasonings from falsities against truths, and also falsities themselves, worse and more noxious according to the genera and the species of unclean birds; rapacious birds signifying especially the falsities that destroy truths. In many passages of the Word it is said that men "should be given for food to birds and wild beasts," which signifies that they would altogether perish by fallacies, falsities, consequent reasonings, cupidities of evil, and in general by evils and falsities from hell. This is signified by "being given for food to the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth" in the following passages. In Jeremiah:

The carcass of this people shall be for food to the bird of the heavens, none shall frighten them away (Jeremiah 7:33).

In the same:

I will visit upon you in four kinds, with the sword to kill, and with dogs to drag about, and with the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy (Jeremiah 15:3).

In the same:

They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, that their carcass may become food for the birds of the heavens and the beast of the earth (Jeremiah 16:4; 19:7; 34:20).

In Ezekiel:

Upon the faces of the field thou shalt fall, thou shalt not be brought together nor gathered; I have given thee for food to the wild beast of the earth and the bird of heaven (Jeremiah 29:5).

Upon the mountains of Israel thou shalt fall; I have given thee for food to the bird of the heavens of every wing and to the wild beast of the field (Jeremiah 39:4).

This is said of Gog. In David:

The nations have come into Thine inheritance, they have defiled the temple of Thy holiness; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps, the carcass of Thy servants have they given for food to the bird of the heavens, the flesh of Thy saints to the wild beast of the earth (Psalms 79:1-2).

[22] Because of this signification of "the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth," and because the nations of the land of Canaan signified the evils and the falsities of the church, it was customary for the Jewish nation to expose the carcasses of their enemies after their slaughter to the wild beasts and birds, by which they were devoured. This is why it was formerly regarded as horrible and profane, and is still so regarded, to leave dead men upon the face of the earth unburied, even after a battle. Also this is the signification in the Word of "not being buried," and of "bones drawn out of the graves and cast forth." Infernal falsities are signified also by:

The birds that came down upon the carcasses, that Abram drove away (Genesis 15:11).

Also by the birds in Revelation (Revelation 19:21);

Also by the birds that devoured that which was sown on the hard way (Matthew 13:3, 4; Mark 4:4; Luke 8:5).

In Daniel:

In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the meal offering to cease. At last upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation, and even to the consummation and decision it shall drop upon the devastation (Daniel 9:27).

This is said of the total devastation of the Jewish church which was when the Lord was born. Its devastation by horrible falsities is signified by "the bird of abominations"; that falsity is here meant by "bird" is clearly evident. It is to be known that there are many kinds of falsities, and that each of them is signified by its own kind of bird; and these are enumerated in Moses (Leviticus 11:13; and Deuteronomy 14:11-20), and are mentioned in various parts of the Word, as the eagle, the kite, the woodpecker, the raven, the screech owl, the spoonbill, the heron, the owl, the horned owl, the dragon, and others.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)

[23] About God and about Divine things, which are called in heaven celestial and spiritual, and in the world ecclesiastical and theological, there is thought from light; there is also thought not from light about them. Those have thought not from light who know about these things but do not understand them. Such are all those at the present day who wish the understanding to be kept under obedience to faith, holding even that a thing must be believed and not understood, and claiming that intellectual faith is not true faith. But these are such as are not interiorly in the genuine affection of truth, and consequently are in no enlightenment; and many of them are in the pride of self-intelligence, and in the love of ruling over the souls of men by means of the holy things of the church, not knowing that truth wishes to be in the light, since the light of heaven is the Divine truth, and that a truly human understanding is moved by that light and sees from it, and that when the understanding does not see from that light it is the memory that has faith and not the man; and such faith is blind, because without an idea from the light of truth; for the understanding is the man, and the memory introduces. If what is not understood must be believed a man might be taught like a parrot to speak and to remember, even that there is holiness in the bones of the dead and in sepulchers, that carcasses perform miracles, that man will be tormented in purgatory if he does not consecrate his wealth to idols or to monasteries, that men are gods because heaven and hell are in their power, with other like things which man must believe from a blind faith and from a closed understanding, and thus from the light of both extinguished. But be it known that all the truths of the Word, which are the truths of heaven and of the church, can be seen by the understanding, in heaven spiritually, in the world rationally; for a truly human understanding is the sight itself of these truths, for it is separated from what is material, and when separated it sees truths as clearly as the eye sees objects; it sees truths as it loves them, for as it loves them it is enlightened. The angels have wisdom in consequence of seeing truths; when, therefore, it is said to any angel that this or that must be believed although it is not understood, the angel answers, Do you think that I am insane, or that you are God whom I am to believe if I do not see? It may be falsity from hell.