Translated by John Faulkner Potts, 1910

In June 1747, Swedenborg resigned his post as assessor of the Swedish Board of Mines (Bergskollegium) in Stockholm. He explained that he was obliged to complete a work that he had begun and requested to receive half his salary as a pension. He then immersed himself in the study of Hebrew and began work on a spiritual interpretation of the Bible, with the goal of interpreting the meaning of every verse. For over ten years he devoted his energy to the task, which would become his magnum opus and the basis of all his further theological works.

 

 

The Arcana Cœlestia (‘Heavenly Mysteries’ or ‘Secrets of Heaven’), Swedenborg’s first and largest work, was written in Neo-Latin and published in eight volumes, one volume per year, from 1749 until 1756. It is an exposition of the spiritual sense of the books of Genesis and Exodus, according to the doctrine of correspondence (theology), supported by numerous quotations from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Although Swedenborg does not deny the historicity of the stories of the Patriarchs (Bible) and The Exodus from Egypt, he explains them as describing symbolically the process of spiritual growth and struggles in each individual person. Arcana Cœlestia is structured as a verse-by-verse exposition of the Biblical text, showing the correspondences (connections through symbols between the material and spiritual world) in which, according to Swedenborg, the Bible is written. Each chapter features embedded sections describing the author’s own spiritual experiences and expounding on his own theological views.

(1) FROM THE mere letter of the Word of the Old Testament no one would ever discern the fact that this part of the Word contains deep secrets of heaven, and that everything within it both in general and in particular bears reference to the Lord, to His heaven, to the church, to religious belief, and to all things connected therewith; for from the letter or sense of the letter all that anyone can see is that-to speak generally-everything therein has reference merely to the external rites and ordinances of the Jewish Church. Yet the truth is that everywhere in that Word there are internal things which never appear at all in the external things except a very few which the Lord revealed and explained to the Apostles; such as that the sacrifices signify the Lord; that the land of Canaan and Jerusalem signify heaven-on which account they are called the Heavenly Canaan and Jerusalem-and that Paradise has a similar signification.

(2) The Christian world however is as yet profoundly unaware of the fact that all things in the Word both in general and in particular, nay, the very smallest particulars down to the most minute iota, signify and enfold within them spiritual and heavenly things, and therefore the Old Testament is but little cared for. Yet that the Word is really of this character might be known from the single consideration that being the Lord’s and from the Lord it must of necessity contain within it such things as belong to heaven, to the church, and to religious belief, and that unless it did so it could not be called the Lord’s Word, nor could it be said to have any life in it. For whence comes its life except from those things that belong to life, that is to say, except from the fact that everything in it both in general and in particular bears reference to the Lord, who is the very Life itself; so that anything which does not inwardly regard Him is not alive; and it may be truly said that any expression in the Word that does not enfold Him within it, that is, which does not in its own way bear reference to Him, is not Divine.

(3) Without such a Life, the Word as to the letter is dead. The case in this respect is the same as it is with man, who-as is known in the Christian world-is both internal and external. When separated from the internal man, the external man is the body, and is therefore dead; for it is the internal man that is alive and that causes the external man to be so, the internal man being the soul. So is it with the Word, which, in respect to the letter alone, is like the body without the soul.

(4) While the mind cleaves to the literal sense alone, no one can possibly see that such things are contained within it. Thus in these first chapters of Genesis, nothing is discoverable from the sense of the letter other than that the creation of the world is treated of, and the garden of Eden which is called Paradise, and Adam as the first created man. Who supposes anything else? But it will be sufficiently established in the following pages that these matters contain arcana which have never yet been revealed; and in fact that the first chapter of Genesis in the internal sense treats in general of the new creation of man, or of his regeneration, and specifically of the Most Ancient Church; and this in such a manner that there is not the least expression which does not represent, signify, and enfold within it these things.

(5) That this is really the case no one can possibly know except from the Lord. It may therefore be stated in advance that of the Lord’s Divine mercy it has been granted me now for some years to be constantly and uninterruptedly in company with spirits and angels, hearing them speak and in turn speaking with them. In this way it has been given me to hear and see wonderful things in the other life which have never before come to the knowledge of any man, nor into his idea. I have been instructed in regard to the different kinds of spirits; the state of souls after death; hell, or the lamentable state of the unfaithful; heaven, or the blessed state of the faithful; and especially in regard to the doctrine of faith which is acknowledged in the universal heaven; on which subjects, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, more will be said in the following pages.

[THE AUTHOR, WRITING in Latin, has given his own translation, in that language, of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Word, in which, for the sake of the spiritual sense, he has rendered the originals almost as literally as possible, and it has been deemed necessary to follow him in the translation of the present work into English, but with the endeavor to avoid any needless departure from the language of the English Bible.]

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. And the earth was a void and emptiness, and thick darkness was upon the faces of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the faces of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God distinguished between the light and the darkness. 5. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6. And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it distinguish between the waters in the waters. 7. And God made the expanse, and made a distinction between the waters which were under the expanse, and the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8. And God called the expanse heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry [land] appear; and it was so. 10. And God called the dry [land] earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He seas; and God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the tender herb, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth the tender herb, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree bearing fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 13. And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14. And God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to distinguish between the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. 15. And let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth; and it was so. 16. And God made two great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night; and the stars. 17. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth; 18. And to rule in the day, and in the night, and to distinguish between the light and the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20. And God said, Let the waters cause to creep forth the creeping thing, the living soul; and let fowl fly above the earth upon the faces of the expanse of the heavens. 21. And God created great whales, and every living soul that creepeth, which the waters caused to creep forth after their kinds, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl shall be multiplied in the earth. 23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living soul after its kind; the beast, and the thing moving itself, and the wild animal of the earth, after its kind; and it was so. 25. And God made the wild animal of the earth after its kind, and the beast after its kind, and everything that creepeth on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth. 29. And God said, Behold, I give you every herb bearing seed which is upon the faces of all the earth, and every tree in which is fruit; the tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food. 30. And to every wild animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein is a living soul, every green herb for food; and it was so. 31. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

(6) THE CONTENTS. The six days, or periods, which are so many successive states of the regeneration of man, are in general as follows.

(7) The first state is that which precedes, including both the state from infancy, and that immediately before regeneration. This is called a “void” “emptiness” and “thick darkness.” And the first motion, which is the Lord’s mercy, is “the Spirit of God moving upon the faces of the waters.”

(8) The second state is when a distinction is made between those things which are of the Lord, and those which are proper to man. The things which are of the Lord are called in the word “remains” and here are especially knowledges of faith, which have been learned from infancy, and which are stored up, and are not manifested until the man comes into this state. At the present day this state seldom exists without temptation, misfortune, or sorrow, by which the things of the body and the world, that is, such as are proper to man, are brought into quiescence, and as it were die. Thus the things which belong to the external man are separated from those which belong to the internal man. In the internal man are the remains, stored up by the Lord unto this time, and for this use.

(9) The third state is that of repentance, in which the man, from his internal man, speaks piously and devoutly, and brings forth goods, like works of charity, but which nevertheless are inanimate, because he thinks they are from himself. These goods are called the “tender grass” and also the “herb yielding seed” and afterwards the “tree bearing fruit.”

(10) The fourth state is when the man becomes affected with love, and illuminated by faith. He indeed previously discoursed piously, and brought forth goods, but he did so in consequence of the temptation and straitness under which he labored, and not from faith and charity; wherefore faith and charity are now enkindled in his internal man, and are called two “luminaries.”

(11) The fifth state is when the man discourses from faith, and thereby confirms himself in truth and good: the things then produced by him are animate, and are called the “fish of the sea” and the “birds of the heavens.”

(12) The sixth state is when, from faith, and thence from love, he speaks what is true, and does what is good: the things which he then brings forth are called the “living soul” and the “beast.” And as he then begins to act at once and together from both faith and love, he becomes a spiritual man, who is called an “image.” His spiritual life is delighted and sustained by such things as belong to the knowledges of faith, and to works of charity, which are called his “food;” and his natural life is delighted and sustained by those which belong to the body and the senses; whence a combat arises, until love gains the dominion, and he becomes a celestial man.

(13) Those who are being regenerated do not all arrive at this state. The greatest part, at this day, attain only the first state; some only the second; others the third, fourth, or fifth; few the sixth; and scarcely anyone the seventh.

(14) THE INTERNAL SENSE. In the following work, by the name Lord is meant the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, and Him only; and He is called “the Lord” without the addition of other names. Throughout the universal heaven He it is who is acknowledged and adored as Lord, because He has all sovereign power in the heavens and on earth. He also commanded His disciples so to call Him, saying, “Ye call Me Lord, and ye say well, for I am” (John 13:13). And after His resurrection His disciples called Him “the Lord.”

(15) In the universal heaven they know no other Father than the Lord, because He and the Father are one, as He Himself has said: I am the way, the truth, and the life. Philip saith, Show us the Father; Jesus saith to him, Am I so long time with you, and hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:6, 8-11).

(16) Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens [coelum] and the earth. The most ancient time is called “the beginning.” By the prophets it is in various places called the “days of old” [antiquitatis] and also the “days of eternity.” The “beginning” also involves the first period when man is being regenerated, for he is then born anew, and receives life. Regeneration itself is therefore called a “new creation” of man. The expressions to “create” to “form” to “make” in almost all parts of the prophetic writings signify to regenerate, yet with a difference in the signification. As in Isaiah: Everyone that is called by My name, I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him (Isa. 43:7). And therefore the Lord is called the “Redeemer” the “Former from the womb” the “Maker” and also the “Creator;” as in the same Prophet: I am Jehovah your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King (Isa. 43:15). In David: The people that is created shall praise Jah (Ps. 102:18). Again: Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created, and Thou renewest the faces of the ground (Ps. 104:30). That “heaven” signifies the internal man; and “earth” the external man before regeneration, may be seen from what follows.

(17) Verse 2. And the earth was a void and emptiness, and darkness was upon the faces of the deep [abyssi]; and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the faces of the waters. Before his regeneration, man is called the “earth void and empty” and also the “ground” wherein nothing of good and truth has been sown; “void” denotes where there is nothing of good, and “empty” where there is nothing of truth. Hence comes “thick darkness” that is, stupidity, and an ignorance of all things belonging to faith in the Lord, and consequently of all things belonging to spiritual and heavenly life. Such a man is thus described by the Lord through Jeremiah: My people is stupid, they have not known Me; they are foolish sons, and are not intelligent; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and lo a void and emptiness, and the heavens, and they had no light (Jer. 4:22-23).

(18) The “faces of the deep” are the cupidities of the unregenerate man, and the falsities thence originating, of which he wholly consists, and in which he is totally immersed. In this state, having no light, he is like a “deep” or something obscure and confused. Such persons are also called “deeps” and “depths of the sea” in many parts of the Word, which are “dried up” or “wasted” before man is regenerated. As in Isaiah: Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art not thou it that drieth up the sea, the waters of the great deep, that maketh the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of Jehovah shall return (Isa. 51:9-11). Such a man also, when seen from heaven, appears like a black mass, destitute of vitality. The same expressions likewise in general involve the vastation of man, frequently spoken of by the Prophets, which precedes regeneration; for before man can know what is true, and be affected with what is good, there must be a removal of such things as hinder and resist their admission; thus the old man must needs die, before the new man can be conceived.

(19) By the “Spirit of God” is meant the Lord’s mercy, which is said to “move” or “brood” as a hen broods over her eggs. The things over which it moves are such as the Lord has hidden and treasured up in man, which in the Word throughout are called remains or a remnant, consisting of the knowledges of the true and of the good, which never come into light or day, until external things are vastated. These knowledges are here called “the faces of the waters.”

(20) Verse 3. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. The first state is when the man begins to know that the good and the true are something higher. Men who are altogether external do not even know what good and truth are; for they fancy all things to be good that belong to the love of self and the love of the world; and all things to be true that favor these loves; not being aware that such goods are evils, and such truths falsities. But when man is conceived anew, he then begins for the first time to know that his goods are not goods, and also, as he comes more into the light, that the Lord is, and that He is good and truth itself. That men ought to know that the Lord is, He Himself teaches in John: Except ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24). Also, that the Lord is good itself, or life, and truth itself, or light, and consequently that there is neither good nor truth except from the Lord, is thus declared: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness. He was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:1, 3-4, 9).

(21) Verses 4, 5. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God distinguished between the light and the darkness. And God called the light day, and the dark He called night. Light is called “good” because it is from the Lord, who is good itself, The “darkness” means all those things which, before man is conceived and born anew, have appeared like light, because evil has appeared like good, and the false like the true; yet they are darkness, consisting merely of the things proper to man himself, which still remain. Whatsoever is of the Lord is compared to “day” because it is of the light; and whatsoever is man’s own is compared to “night” because it is of darkness. These comparisons frequently occur in the Word.

(22) Verse 5. And the evening and the morning were the first day. What is meant by “evening” and what by “morning” can now be discerned. “Evening” means every preceding state, because it is a state of shade, or of falsity and of no faith; “morning” is every subsequent state, being one of light, or of truth and of the knowledges of faith, “Evening” in a general sense, signifies all things that are of man’s own; but “morning” whatever is of the Lord, as is said through David: The spirit of Jehovah spake in me, and His word was on my tongue; the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me. He is as the light of the morning, when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds, when from brightness, from rain, the tender herb springeth out of the earth (2 Sam. 23:2-4). As it is “evening” when there is no faith, and “morning” when there is faith, therefore the coming of the Lord into the world is called “morning;” and the time when He comes, because then there is no faith, is called “evening” as in Daniel: The Holy One said unto me, Even unto evening when it becomes morning, two thousand and three hundred (Dan. 8:14, 26). In like manner “morning” is used in the Word to denote every coming of the Lord, consequently it is an expression of new creation.

(23) Nothing is more common in the Word than for “day” to be used to denote time itself. As in Isaiah: The day of Jehovah is at hand. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh. I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place: in the day of the wrath of Mine anger. Her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged (Isa. 13:6, 9, 13, 22). And in the same Prophet: Her antiquity is of ancient days. And it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king (Isa. 23:7, 15). As “day” is used to denote time, it is also used to denote the state of that time, as in Jeremiah: Woe unto us, for the day is gone down, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out (Jer. 6:4). And again: If ye shall make vain My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, so that there be not day and night in their season (Jer. 23:20, also 25). And again: Renew our days, as of old (Lam. 5:21).

(24) Verse 6. And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it distinguish between the waters in the waters. After the spirit of God, or the Lord’s mercy, has brought forth into day the knowledges of the true and of the good, and has given the first light, that the Lord is, that He is good itself, and truth itself, and that there is no good and truth but from Him, He then makes a distinction between the internal man and the external, consequently between the knowledges [cognitiones] that are in the internal man, and the memory-knowledges [scientifica] that belong to the external man. [Knowledges (cognitiones) are what we really know, as when we say I do not merely think so, I know it.” Memory knowledges (scientifica) are what we have in the external memory-a vast accumulation of all kinds, theological and otherwise. For precise definitions of these words by Swedenborg himself, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 27, 896, 1486, 2718, 5212. See also the Reviser’s Prefatory Notes. ] The internal man is called an “expanse;” the knowledges[cognitiones] which are in the internal man are called “the waters above the expanse;” and the memory-knowledges of the external man are called “the waters beneath the expanse.” [2] Man, before he is being regenerated, does not even know that any internal man exists, much less is he acquainted with its nature and quality. He supposes the internal and the external man to be not distinct from each other. For, being immersed in bodily and worldly things, he has also immersed in them the things that belong to his internal man, and has made of things that are distinct a confused and obscure unit. Therefore it is first said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters” and then, “Let it distinguish between the waters in the waters;” but not, Let it distinguish between the waters which are “under” the expanse and the waters which are “above” the expanse, as is afterwards said in the next verses: And God made the expanse, and made a distinction between the waters which were under the expanse, and the waters which were above the expanse, and it was so. And God called the expanse heaven (Gen. 1:7-8). [3] The next thing therefore that man observes in the course of regeneration is that he begins to know that there is an internal man, or that the things which are in the internal man are goods and truths, which are of the Lord alone. Now as the external man, when being regenerated, is of such a nature that he still supposes the goods that he does to be done of himself, and the truths that he speaks to be spoken of himself, and whereas, being such, he is led by them of the Lord, as by things of his own, to do what is good and to speak what is true, therefore mention is first made of a distinction of the waters under the expanse, and afterwards of those above the expanse. It is also an arcanum of heaven, that man, by things of his own, as well by the fallacies of the senses as by cupidities, is led and bent by the Lord to things that are true and good, and thus that every movement and moment of regeneration, both in general and in particular, proceeds from evening to morning, thus from the external man to the internal, or from “earth” to “heaven.” Therefore the expanse, or internal man, is now called “heaven.”

(25) To “spread out the earth and stretch out the heavens” is a common form of speaking with the Prophets, when treating of the regeneration of man. As in Isaiah: Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb; I am Jehovah that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself (Isa. 44:24). And again, where the advent of the Lord is openly spoken of: A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench; He shall bring forth judgment unto truth (Isa. 42:3); that is, He does not break fallacies, nor quench cupidities, but bends them to what is true and good; and therefore it follows, Jehovah God createth the heavens, and stretcheth them out; He spreadeth out the earth, and the productions thereof; He giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isa. 42:5). Not to mention other passages to the same purport.

(26) Verse 8. And the evening and the morning were the second day. The meaning of “evening” of “morning” and of “day” was shown above at verse 5.

(27) Verse 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry [land] appear; and it was so. When it is known that there is both an internal and an external man, and that truths and goods flow in from, or through, the internal man to the external, from the Lord, although it does not so appear, then those truths and goods, or the knowledges of the true and the good in the regenerating man, are stored up in his memory, and are classed among its knowledges [scientifica]; for whatsoever is insinuated into the memory of the external man, whether it be natural, or spiritual, or celestial, abides there as memory-knowledge [scientificum], and is brought forth thence by the Lord. These knowledges are the “waters gathered together into one place” and are called “seas” but the external man himself is called the “dry [land]” and presently “earth” as in what follows.

(28) Verse 10. And God called the dry [land] earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He seas; and God saw that it was good. It is a very common thing in the Word for “waters” to signify knowledges [cognitiones et scientifica], and consequently for “seas” to signify a collection of knowledges. As in Isaiah: The earth shall be full of the knowledge [scientia] of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). And in the same Prophet, where a lack of knowledges [cognitionum et scientificorum] is treated of: The waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be dried up and become utterly dry, and the streams shall recede (Isa. 19:5-6). In Haggai, speaking of a new church: I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry [land]; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory (Hag. 2:6-7). And concerning man in the process of regeneration, in Zechariah: There shall be one day, it is known to Jehovah; not day, nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light; and it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, part of them toward the eastern sea, and part of them toward the hinder sea (Zech. 14:7-8).David also, describing a vastated man who is to be regenerated and who will worship the Lord: Jehovah despiseth not His prisoners; let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the seas and everything that creepeth therein (Ps. 69:33-34). That the “earth” signifies a recipient, appears from Zechariah: Jehovah stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zech. 12:1).

(29) Verses 11, 12. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the tender herb, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth the tender herb, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree bearing fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. When the “earth” or man, has been thus prepared to receive celestial seeds from the Lord, and to produce something of what is good and true, then the Lord first causes some tender thing to spring forth, which is called the “tender herb;” then something more useful, which again bears seed in itself, and is called the “herb yielding seed;” and at length something good which becomes fruitful, and is called the “tree bearing fruit, whose seed is in itself” each according to its own kind. The man who is being regenerated is at first of such a quality that he supposes the good which he does, and the truth which he speaks, to be from himself, when in reality all good and all truth are from the Lord, so that whosoever supposes them to be from himself has not as yet the life of true faith, which nevertheless he may afterwards receive; for he cannot as yet believe that they are from the Lord, because he is only in a state of preparation for the reception of the life of faith. This state is here represented by things inanimate, and the succeeding one of the life of faith, by animate things. [2] The Lord is He who sows, the “seed” is His Word, and the “earth” is man, as He himself has deigned to declare (Matt. 13:19-24, 37-39; Mark 4:14-21; Luke 8:11-16). To the same purport He gives this description: So is the kingdom of God, as a man when he casteth seed into the earth, and sleepeth and riseth night and day, and the seed groweth and riseth up, he knoweth not how; for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear (Mark 4:26-28). By the “kingdom of God” in the universal sense, is meant the universal heaven; in a sense less universal, the true church of the Lord; and in a particular sense, everyone who is of true faith, or who is regenerate by a life of faith. Wherefore such a person is also called “heaven” because heaven is in him; and likewise the “kingdom of God” because the kingdom of God is in him as the Lord Himself teaches in Luke: Being demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them, and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20-21). This is the third successive stage of the regeneration of man, being his state of repentance, and in like manner proceeding from shade to light, or from evening to morning; wherefore it is said (verse 13), “and the evening and the morning were the third day.”

(30) Verses 14-17. And God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to distinguish between the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; and let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night; and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth. What is meant by “great luminaries” cannot be clearly understood unless it is first known what is the essence of faith, and also what is its progress with those who are being created anew. The very essence and life of faith is the Lord alone, for he who does not believe in the Lord cannot have life, as He himself has declared in John: He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God shall abide upon him (John 3:36). [2] The progression of faith with those who are being created anew is as follows. At first they have no life, for it is only in the good and the true that there is life, and none in the evil and the false; afterwards they receive life from the Lord by faith, first by faith of the memory, which is a faith of mere knowledge [fides scientifica]; next by faith in the understanding, which is an intellectual faith; lastly by faith in the heart, which is the faith of love, or saving faith. The first two kinds of faith are represented from verse 3 to verse 13, by things inanimate, but faith vivified by love is represented from verse 20 to verse 25, by animate things. For this reason love, and faith thence derived, are now here first treated of, and are called “luminaries;” love being “the greater luminary which rules by day;” faith derived from love “the lesser luminary which rules by night;” and as these two luminaries ought to make a one, it is said of them, in the singular number, “Let there be luminaries” [sit luminaria], and not in the plural [sint luminaria]. [3] Love and faith in the internal man are like heat and light in the external corporeal man, for which reason the former are represented by the latter. It is on this account that luminaries are said to be “set in the expanse of heaven” or in the internal man; a great luminary in its will, and a lesser one in its understanding; but they appear in the will and the understanding only as does the light of the sun in its recipient objects. It is the Lord’s mercy alone that affects the will with love, and the understanding with truth or faith.

(31) That the “great luminaries” signify love and faith, and are also called “sun, moon, and stars” is evident from the Prophets, as in Ezekiel: When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens and make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light; all the luminaries of the light of heaven will I make black over thee, and I will set darkness upon thy land (32:7, 8). In this passage Pharaoh and the Egyptians are treated of, by whom are meant, in the Word, the principle of mere sense and of mere knowledge [sensuale et scientificum]; and here, that by things of sense and of mere knowledge [sensualia et scientifica], love and faith had been extinguished. So in Isaiah: The day of Jehovah cometh to set the land in desolation, for the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light the sun is darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine (13:9, 10). Again, in Joel: The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of thick darkness; the earth trembleth before Him, the heavens are in commotion; the sun and the moon are blackened, and the stars withdraw their brightness (2:1, 2, 10). [2] Again, in Isaiah, speaking of the advent of the Lord and the enlightening of the Gentiles, consequently of a new church, and in particular of all who are in darkness, and receive light, and are being regenerated: Arise, shine, for thy light is come behold darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, and Jehovah shall arise upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising, Jehovah shall be to thee a light of eternity, thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for Jehovah shall be to thee a light of eternity (60:1-3, 20). So in David: Jehovah in intelligence maketh the heavens, He stretcheth out the earth above the waters He maketh great luminaries the sun to rule by day, the moon and stars to rule by night (Ps. 136:5-9). And again: Glorify ye Jehovah, sun and moon glorify Him, all ye stars of light glorify Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens (Ps. 148:3, 4). [3] In all thee passages, “luminaries” signify love and faith. It was because “luminaries” represented and signified love and faith toward the Lord that it was ordained in the Jewish Church that a perpetual luminary should be kept burning from evening till morning, for every ordinance in that church was representative of the Lord. Of this luminary it is written: Command the sons of Israel that they take oil for the luminary, to cause the lamp to ascend continually: in the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, shall Aaron and his sons order it from evening even until morning, before Jehovah (Exod. 27:20, 21). That these things signify love and faith, which the Lord kindles and causes to give light in the internal man, and through the internal man in the external, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown in its proper place.

(32) Love and faith are first called “great luminaries” and afterwards love is called a “greater luminary” and faith a “lesser luminary;” and it is said of love that it shall “rule by day” and of faith that it shall “rule by night.” As these are arcana which are hidden, especially in this end of days, it is permitted of the Lord’s Divine mercy to explain them. The reason why these arcana are more especially concealed in this end of days is that now is the consummation of the age, when there is scarcely any love, and consequently scarcely any faith, as the Lord Himself foretold in the Evangelists in these words: The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matt. 24:29). By the “sun” is here meant love, which is darkened; by the “moon” faith, which does not give light; and by the “stars” the knowledges of faith, which fall from heaven, and which are the “virtues and powers of the heavens.” [2] The Most Ancient Church acknowledged no other faith than love itself. The celestial angels also do not know what faith is except that which is of love. The universal heaven is a heaven of love, for there is no other life in the heavens than the life of love. From this is derived all heavenly happiness, which is so great that nothing of it admits of description, nor can ever be conceived by any human idea. Those who are under the influence of love, love the Lord from the heart, but yet know, declare, and perceive, that all love, and consequently all life-which is of love alone-and thus all happiness, come solely from the Lord, and that they have not the least of love, of life, or of happiness, from themselves. That it is the Lord from whom all love comes, was also represented by the great luminary or “sun” at His transfiguration, for it is written: His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light (Matt. 17:2). Inmost things are signified by the face, and the things that proceed from them, by the raiment. Thus the Lord’s Divine was signified by the “sun” or love; and His Human by the “light” or wisdom proceeding from love.

(33) It is in everyone’s power very well to know that no life is possible without some love, and that no joy is possible except that which flows from love. Such however as is the love, such is the life, and such the joy: if you were to remove loves, or what is the same thing, desires-for these are of love-thought would instantly cease, and you would become like a dead person, as has been shown me to the life. The loves of self and of the world have in them some resemblance to life and to joy, but as they are altogether contrary to true love, which consists in a man’s loving the Lord above all things, and his neighbor as himself, it must be evident that they are not loves, but hatreds, for in proportion as anyone loves himself and the world, in the same proportion he hates his neighbor, and thereby the Lord. Wherefore true love is love to the Lord, and true life is the life of love from Him, and true joy is the joy of that life. There can be but one true love, and therefore but one true life, whence flow true joys and true felicities, such as are those of the angels in the heavens.

(34) Love and faith admit of no separation, because they constitute one and the same thing; and therefore when mention is first made of “luminaries” they are regarded as one, and it is said, “Let there be [sit] luminaries in the expanse of the heavens.” Concerning this circumstance it is permitted me to relate the following wonderful particulars. The celestial angels, by virtue of the celestial love in which they are from the Lord, are from that love in all the knowledges of faith, and are in such a life and light of intelligence that scarcely anything of it can be described. But, on the other hand, spirits who are in the knowledge of the doctrinals of faith, without love, are in such a coldness of life and obscurity of light that they cannot even approach the first threshold of the court of the heavens, but flee back again. Some of them, while not living according to His precepts, say that they have believed in the Lord, and it was of such that the Lord said in Matthew: Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he that doeth My will: many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied through Thy name (Matt. 7:21, 22, to the end).[2] Hence it is evident that those who are in love are also in faith, and thereby in heavenly life, but not those who say they are in faith, and are not in the life of love. The life of faith without love is like the light of the sun without heat, as in the time of winter, when nothing grows, but all things are torpid and dead; whereas faith proceeding from love is like the light of the sun in the time of spring, when all things grow and flourish in consequence of the sun’s fructifying heat. It is precisely similar in regard to spiritual and heavenly things, which are usually represented in the Word by such as exist in the world and on the face of the earth. No faith; and faith without love, are also compared by the Lord to “winter” where He foretells the consummation of the age, in Mark: Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, for those shall be days of affliction (Mark 13:18-19). “Flight” means the last time, and also that of every man when he dies. “Winter” is a life destitute of love; the “day of affliction” is its miserable state in the other life.

(35) Man has two faculties: will and understanding. When the understanding is governed by the will they together constitute one mind, and thus one life, for then what the man wills and does he also thinks and intends. But when the understanding is at variance with the will (as with those who say they have faith, and yet live in contradiction to faith), then the one mind is divided into two, one of which desires to exalt itself into heaven, while the other tends toward hell; and since the will is the doer in every act, the whole man would plunge headlong into hell if it were not that the Lord has mercy on him.

(36) They who have separated faith from love do not even know what faith is. When thinking of faith, some imagine it to be mere thought, some that it is thought directed toward the Lord, few that it is the doctrine of faith. But faith is not only a knowledge and acknowledgment of all things that the doctrine of faith comprises, but especially is it an obedience to all things that the doctrine of faith teaches. The primary point that it teaches, and that which men should obey, is love to the Lord, and love toward the neighbor, for if a man is not in this, he is not in faith. This the Lord teaches so plainly as to leave no doubt concerning it, in Mark: The foremost of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the foremost commandment; and the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; there is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:29-31). In Matthew, the Lord calls the former of these the “first and great commandment” and says that “on these commandments hang all the law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-41). The “law and the Prophets” are the universal doctrine of faith, and the whole Word.

(37) It is said that the luminaries shall be “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years.” In these words are contained more arcana than can at present be unfolded, although in the literal sense nothing of the kind appears. Suffice it here to observe that there are alternations of things spiritual and celestial, both in general and in particular, which are compared to the changes of days and of years. The changes of days are from morning to midday, thence to evening, and through night to morning; and the changes of years are similar, being from spring to summer, thence to autumn, and through winter to spring. Hence come the alternations of heat and light, and also of the productions of the earth. To these changes are compared the alternations of things spiritual and celestial. Life without such alternations and varieties would be uniform, consequently no life at all; nor would good and truth be discerned or distinguished, much less perceived. These alternations are in the Prophets called “ordinances” [statuta], as in Jeremiah: Said Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, . . . these statutes shall not recede from before me (Jer. 31:35-36). And in the same Prophet: Said Jehovah, If My covenant of day and night stand not, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth (Jer. 33:25). But concerning these things, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, at Genesis 8:22.

(38) Verse 15. And to rule in the day, and in the night, and to distinguish between the light and the darkness; and God saw that it was good. By the “day” is meant good, by the “night” evil; and therefore goods are called works of the day, but evils works of the night; by the “light” is meant truth, and by the “darkness” falsity, as the Lord says: Men loved darkness rather than light. He that doeth truth cometh to the light (John 3:19, 21). Verse 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

(39) Verse 20. And God said, Let the waters cause to creep forth the creeping thing, the living soul; and let fowl fly above the earth upon the faces of the expanse of the heavens. After the great luminaries have been kindled and placed in the internal man, and the external receives light from them, then the man first begins to live. Heretofore he can scarcely be said to have lived, inasmuch as the good which he did he supposed that he did of himself, and the truth which he spoke that he spoke of himself; and since man of himself is dead, and there is in him nothing but what is evil and false, therefore whatsoever he produces from himself is not alive, insomuch that he cannot, from himself, do good that in itself is good. That man cannot even think what is good, nor will what is good, consequently cannot do what is good, except from the Lord, must be plain to everyone from the doctrine of faith, for the Lord says in Matthew: He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man (Matt. 13:37). Nor can any good come except from the real Fountain of good, which is One only, as He says in another place: None is good save One, God (Luke 18:19). [2] Nevertheless when the Lord is resuscitating man, that is, regenerating him, to life, He permits him at first to suppose that he does what is good and speaks what is true from himself, for at that time he is incapable of conceiving otherwise, nor can he in any other way be led to believe, and afterwards to perceive, that all good and truth are from the Lord alone. While man is thinking in such a way his truths and goods are compared to the “tender grass” and also to the “herb yielding seed” and lastly to the “tree bearing fruit” all of which are inanimate; but now that he is vivified by love and faith, and believes that the Lord works all the good that he does and all the truth that he speaks, he is compared first to the “creeping things of the water” and to the “fowls which fly above the earth” and also to “beasts” which are all animate things, and are called “living souls.”

(40) By the “creeping things which the waters bring forth” are signified the memory-knowledges [scientifica] which belong to the external man; by “birds” in general, rational and intellectual things, of which the latter belong to the internal man. That the “creeping things of the waters” or “fishes” signify memory-knowledges, is plain from Isaiah: I came and there was no man; at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish shall stink because there is no water and shall die for thirst; I clothe the heavens with blackness (Isa. 50:2-3). [2] But it is still plainer from Ezekiel, where the Lord describes the new temple, or a new church in general, and the man of the church, or a regenerate person; for everyone who is regenerate is a temple of the Lord: The Lord Jehovah said unto me, These waters that shall issue to the boundary toward the east, and shall come toward the sea, being led into the sea, and the waters shall be healed; and it shall come to pass that every living soul that shall creep forth, whithersoever the water of the rivers shall come, shall live, and there shall be exceeding much fish, because those waters shall come thither, and they shall heal, and everything shall live whither the river cometh; and it shall come to pass that fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi to En-eglaim, with the spreading of nets shall they be; their fish shall be according to its kind, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many (Ezek. 47:8-10). “Fishers from En-gedi unto En-eglaim” with the “spreading of nets” signify those who shall instruct the natural man in the truths of faith. [3] That “birds” signify things rational and intellectual, is evident from the Prophets; as in Isaiah: Calling a bird from the east, the man of My counsel from a distant land (Isa. 46:11). And in Jeremiah: I beheld and lo there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled (Jer. 4:25). In Ezekiel: I will plant a shoot of a lofty cedar, and it shall lift up a branch, and shall bear fruit, and be a magnificent cedar; and under it shall dwell every fowl of every wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell (Ezek. 17:22-23). And in Hosea, speaking of a new church, or of a regenerate man: And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the moving thing of the ground (Hos. 2:18). That “wild beast” does not signify wild beast, nor “bird” bird, must be evident to everyone, for the Lord is said to “make a new covenant” with them.

(41) Whatever is proper to man has no life in itself, and whenever it is made manifest to the sight it appears hard, like a bony and black substance; but whatever is from the Lord has life, containing within it that which is spiritual and celestial, which when presented to view appears human and living. It may seem incredible but is nevertheless most true, that every single expression, every single idea, and every least of thought in an angelic spirit, is alive, containing in its minutest particulars an affection that proceeds from the Lord, who is life itself. And therefore whatsoever things are from the Lord, have life in them, because they contain faith toward Him, and are here signified by the “living soul:” they have also a species of body, here signified by “what moves itself” or “creeps.” These truths, however, are as yet deep secrets to man, and are now mentioned only because the “living soul” and the “thing moving itself” are treated of.

(42) Verse 21. And God created great whales, and every living soul that creepeth, which the waters made to creep forth, after their kinds, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good. “Fishes” as before said, signify memory-knowledges, now animated by faith from the Lord, and thus alive. “Whales” signify their general principles, in subordination to which, and from which, are the particulars; for there is nothing in the universe that is not under some general principle, as a means that it may exist and subsist. “Whales” or “great fishes” are sometimes mentioned by the Prophets, and they there signify the generals of memory-knowledges. Pharaoh the king of Egypt (by whom is represented human wisdom or intelligence, that is, knowledge [scientia] in general), is called a “great whale.” As in Ezekiel: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great whale that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made myself (Ezek. 29:3). [2] And in another place: Take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art as a whale in the seas, and hast gone forth in thy rivers, and hast troubled the waters with thy feet (Ezek. 32:2), by which words are signified those who desire to enter into the mysteries of faith by means of memory-knowledges, and thus from themselves. In Isaiah: In that day Jehovah, with His hard and great and strong sword, shall visit upon leviathan the longish [oblongum] serpent, even leviathan the crooked serpent, and He shall slay the whales that are in the sea (Isa. 27:1). By “slaying the whales that are in the sea” is signified that such persons are ignorant of even the general principles of truth. So in Jeremiah: Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath troubled me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me as a whale, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath cast me out (Jer. 51:34),denoting that he had swallowed the knowledges of faith, here called “delicacies” as the whale did Jonah; a “whale” denoting those who possess the general principles of the knowledges of faith as mere memory-knowledges, and act in this manner.

(43) Verse 22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl shall be multiplied in the earth. Everything that has in itself life from the Lord fructifies and multiplies itself immensely; not so much while the man lives in the body, but to an amazing degree in the other life. To “be fruitful” in the Word, is predicated of the things that are of love, and to “multiply” of the things that are of faith; the “fruit” which is of love contains “seed” by which it so greatly multiplies itself. The Lord’s “blessing” also in the Word signifies fructification and multiplication, because they proceed from it. Verse 23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

(44) Verses 24, 25. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living soul after its kind, the beast, and the moving thing, and the wild animal of the earth after its kind; and it was so. And God made the wild animal of the earth after its kind, and the beast after its kind, and everything that creepeth on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. Man, like the earth, can produce nothing of good unless the knowledges of faith are first sown in him, whereby he may know what is to be believed and done. It is the office of the understanding to hear the Word, and of the will to do it. To hear the Word and not to do it, is like saying that we believe when we do not live according to our belief; in which case we separate hearing and doing, and thus have a divided mind, and become of those whom the Lord calls “foolish” in the following passage: Whosoever heareth My words, and doeth them, I will liken unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock: but everyone that heareth My words, and doeth them not, I liken to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand (Matt. 7:24, 26).The things that belong to the understanding are signified-as before shown-by the “creeping things which the waters bring forth” and also by the “fowl upon the earth” and “upon the faces of the expanse;” but those which are of the will are signified here by the “living soul which the earth produces” and by the “beast” and “creeping thing” and also by the “wild animal of that earth.”

(45) Those who lived in the most ancient times thus signified the things relating to the understanding and to the will; and therefore in the Prophets, and constantly in the Word of the Old Testament, the like things are represented by different kinds of animals. Beasts are of two kinds; the evil, so called because they are hurtful; and the good, which are harmless. Evils in man are signified by evil beasts, as by bears, wolves, dogs; and the things which are good and gentle, by beasts of a like nature, as by heifers, sheep, and lambs. The “beasts” here referred to are good and gentle ones, and thus signify affections, because it here treats of those who are being regenerated. The lower things in man, which have more connection with the body, are called “wild animals of that earth” and are cupidities and pleasures.

(46) That “beasts” signify man’s affections-evil affections with the evil, and good affections with the good-is evident from numerous passages in the Word, as in Ezekiel: Behold, I am for you, and I will look back to you, that ye may be tilled and sown, and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall be multiplied and bring forth fruit; and I will cause you to dwell as in your ancient times (Ezek. 36:9, 11, treating of regeneration). In Joel: Be not afraid ye beasts of My field, for the dwelling places of the wilderness are become grassy (Joel 2:22). In David also: So foolish was I, I was as a beast before Thee (Ps. 73:22). In Jeremiah, treating of regeneration: Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast, and I will watch over them to build and to plant (Jer. 31:27-28).[2] “Wild animals” have a similar signification, as in Hosea: In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild animal of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hos. 2:18). In Job: Thou shalt not be afraid of the wild animals of the earth, for thy covenant is with the stones of the field, and the wild animals of the field shall be at peace with thee (Job 5:22-23). In Ezekiel: I will make with you a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil wild animal to cease out of the land, that they may dwell confidently in the wilderness (Ezek. 34:25). In Isaiah: The wild animals of the field shall honor me, because I have given waters in the wilderness (Isa. 43:20). In Ezekiel: All the fowls of the heavens made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the wild animals of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations (Ezek. 31:6). This is said of the Assyrian, by whom is signified the spiritual man, and who is compared to the garden of Eden. In David: Glorify ye Him, all His angels, glorify Jehovah from the earth, ye whales, fruit trees, wild animal, and every beast, creeping thing, and flying fowl (Ps. 148:2, 7, 9-10). Here mention is made of the same things-as “whales” the “fruit tree” “wild animal” the “beast” “creeping thing” and “fowl” which, unless they had signified living principles in man, could never have been called upon to glorify Jehovah. [3] The Prophets carefully distinguish between “beasts” and “wild animals of the earth” and “beasts” and “wild animals of the field.” Nevertheless goods in man are called “beasts” just as those who are nearest the Lord in heaven are called “animals”1 both in Ezekiel and in John: All the angels stood round about the throne, and the elders, and the four animals, [This word is here correctly translated “animals” and not “beasts” as in the authorized version, for zoon in Greek, and animal in Latin and English, precisely correspond to each other, and properly signify “a living creature.” Zoon is the word used in these passages in the original, and not thar or tharion, as would be the case if beast had been intended. ] and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped the Lamb (Rev. 7:11; 19:4). Those also who have the gospel preached to them are called “creatures” because they are to be created anew: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

(47) That these words contain arcana relating to regeneration, is evident also from its being said in the foregoing verse that the earth should bring forth “the living soul, the beast, and the wild animal of the earth” whereas in the following verse the order is changed, and it said that God made “the wild animal of the earth” and likewise “the beast;” for at first, and afterwards until he becomes celestial, man brings forth as of himself; and thus regeneration begins from the external man, and proceeds to the internal; therefore here there is another order, and external things are mentioned first.

(48) Hence then it appears that man is in the fifth state of regeneration when he speaks from a principle of faith, which belongs to the understanding, and thereby confirms himself in the true and in the good. The things then brought forth by him are animate, and are called the “fishes of the sea” and the “fowl of the heavens.” He is in the sixth state, when from faith, which is of the understanding, and from love thence derived, which is of the will, he speaks truths, and does goods; what he then brings forth being called the “living soul” and the “beast.” And as he then begins to act from love, as well as from faith, he becomes a spiritual man, who is called an “image of God” which is the subject now treated of.

(49) Verse 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. In the Most Ancient Church, with the members of which the Lord conversed face to face, the Lord appeared as a Man; concerning which much might be related, but the time has not yet arrived. On this account they called no one “man” but the Lord Himself, and the things which were of Him; neither did they call themselves “men” but only those things in themselves-as all the good of love and all the truth of faith-which they perceived they had from the Lord. These they said were “of man” because they were of the Lord. [2] Hence in the Prophets, by “man” and the “Son of man” in the supreme sense, is meant the Lord; and in the internal sense, wisdom and intelligence; thus everyone who is regenerate. As in Jeremiah: I beheld the earth, and lo, it was void and emptiness, and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld and lo there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled (Jer. 4:23, 25). In Isaiah, where, in the internal sense, by “man”, is meant a regenerate person, and in the supreme sense, the Lord himself, as the One Man: Thus saith Jehovah the Holy One of Israel, and his Former, I have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even My hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their army have I commanded (Isa. 45:11-12). [3] The Lord therefore appeared to the prophets as a man, as in Ezekiel: Above the expanse, as the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it (Ezek. 1:26). And when seen by Daniel He was called the “Son of man” that is, the man, which is the same thing: I saw, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him; and there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). [4] The Lord also frequently calls Himself the “Son of man” that is, the man, and, as in Daniel, foretells His coming in glory: Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30). The “clouds of heaven” are the literal sense of the Word; “power and great glory” are the internal sense of the Word, which in all things both in general and in particular has reference solely to the Lord and His kingdom; and it is from this that the internal sense derives its power and glory.

(50) The Most Ancient Church understood by the “image of the Lord” more than can be expressed. Man is altogether ignorant that he is governed of the Lord through angels and spirits, and that with everyone there are at least two spirits, and two angels. By spirits man has communication with the world of spirits, and by angels with heaven. Without communication by means of spirits with the world of spirits, and by means of angels with heaven, and thus through heaven with the Lord, man could not live at all; his life entirely depends on this conjunction, so that if the spirits and angels were to withdraw, he would instantly perish. [2] While man is unregenerate he is governed quite otherwise than when regenerated. While unregenerate there are evil spirits with him, who so domineer over him that the angels, though present, are scarcely able to do anything more than merely guide him so that he may not plunge into the lowest evil, and bend him to some good-in fact bend him to good by means of his own cupidities, and to truth by means of the fallacies of the senses. He then has communication with the world of spirits through the spirits who are with him, but not so much with heaven, because evil spirits rule, and the angels only avert their rule. [3] But when the man is regenerate, the angels rule, and inspire him with all goods and truths, and with fear and horror of evils and falsities. The angels indeed lead, but only as ministers, for it is the Lord alone who governs man through angels and spirits. And as this is done through the ministry of angels, it is here first said, in the plural number, “Let us make man in our image;” and yet because the Lord alone governs and disposes, it is said in the following verse, in the singular number, “God created him in His own image.” This the Lord also plainly declares in Isaiah: Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I Jehovah make all things, stretching forth the heavens alone, spreading abroad the earth by Myself (Isa. 44:24). The angels moreover themselves confess that there is no power in them, but that they act from the Lord alone.

(51) As regards the “image” an image is not a likeness, but is according to the likeness; it is therefore said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The spiritual man is an “image” and the celestial man a “likeness” or similitude. In this chapter the spiritual man is treated of; in the following, the celestial. The spiritual man, who is an “image” is called by the Lord a “son of light” as in John: He that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:35-36). He is called also a “friend:” Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you (John 15:14-15). But the celestial man, who is a “likeness” is called a “son of God” in John: As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become sons of God, even 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). -1 The Greek is [???] See below, at n. 374.3. [Reviser.]-

(52) So long as man is spiritual, his dominion proceeds from the external man to the internal, as is here said: “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” But when he becomes celestial, and does good from love, then his dominion proceeds from the internal man to the external, as the Lord, in David, describes Himself, and thereby also the celestial man, who is His likeness: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, the flock and all cattle, and also the beasts of the fields, the fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas (Ps. 8:6-8). Here therefore “beasts” are first mentioned, and then “fowl” and afterwards the “fish of the sea” because the celestial man proceeds from love, which belongs to the will, differing herein from the spiritual man, in describing whom “fishes” and “fowl” are first named, which belong to the understanding, and this to faith; and afterwards mention is made of “beasts.”

(53) Verse 27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him. The reason why “image” is here twice mentioned, is that faith, which belongs to the understanding, is called “His image;” whereas love, which belongs to the will, and which in the spiritual man comes after, but in the celestial man precedes, is called the “image of God.”

(54) Male and female created He them. What is meant by “male and female” in the internal sense, was well known to the Most Ancient Church, but when the interior sense of the Word was lost among their posterity, this arcanum also perished. Their marriages were their chief sources of happiness and delight, and whatever admitted of the comparison they likened to marriage, in order that in this way they might perceive its felicity. Being also internal men, they were delighted only with internal things. External things they merely saw with the eyes, but thought of what was represented. So that outward things were nothing to them, save as these could in some measure be the means of causing them to turn their thoughts to internal things, and from these to celestial things, and so to the Lord who was their all, and consequently to the heavenly marriage, from which they perceived the happiness of their marriages to come. The understanding in the spiritual man they therefore called male, and the will female, and when these acted as a one they called it a marriage. From that church came the form of speech which became customary, whereby the church itself, from its affection of good, was called “daughter” and “virgin”-as the “virgin of Zion” the “virgin of Jerusalem”-and also “wife.” But on these subjects see the following chapter, at verse 23, and chapter 3, verse 15.

(55) Verse 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth. As the most ancient people called the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or of faith and love, a marriage, everything of good produced from that marriage they called “fructifications” and everything of truth, “multiplications.” Hence they are so called in the Prophets, as for instance in Ezekiel: I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful, and I will cause you to dwell as in your ancient times, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, yea, I will cause man to walk upon you, even My people Israel (Ezek. 36:11-12).By “man” is here meant the spiritual man who is called Israel; by “ancient times” the Most Ancient Church; by “beginnings” the Ancient Church after the flood. The reason why “multiplication” which is of truth, is first mentioned, and “fructification” which is of good, afterwards, is that the passage treats of one who is to become regenerated, and not of one who is already regenerated. [2] When the understanding is united with the will, or faith with love, the man is called by the Lord “a married land” as in Isaiah: Thy land shall be no more termed waste, but thou shalt be called Hephzibah [my delight is in her], and thy land Beulah [married], for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married (Isa. 62:4). The fruits thence issuing, which are of truth, are called “sons” and those which are of good are called “daughters” and this very frequently in the Word. [3] The earth is “replenished” or filled, when there are many truths and goods; for when the Lord blesses and speaks to man, that is, works upon him, there is an immense increase of good and truth, as the Lord says in Matthew: The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heavens come and build their nests in the branches thereof (Matt. 13:31-32). A “grain of mustard seed” is man’s good before he becomes spiritual, which is “the least of all seeds” because he thinks that he does good of himself, and what is of himself is nothing but evil. But as he is in a state of regeneration, there is something of good in him, but it is the least of all. [4] At length as faith is joined with love it grows larger, and becomes an “herb;” and lastly, when the conjunction is completed, it becomes a “tree” and then the “birds of the heavens” (in this passage also denoting truths, or things intellectual) “build their nests in its branches” which are memory-knowledges. When man is spiritual, as well as during the time of his becoming spiritual, he is in a state of combat, and therefore it is said, “subdue the earth and have dominion.”

(56) Verse 29. And God said, Behold, I give you every herb bearing seed which is upon the faces of all the earth; and every tree in which is fruit; the tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food. The celestial man is delighted with celestial things alone, which being in agreement with his life are called celestial food. The spiritual man is delighted with spiritual things, and as these are in agreement with his life they are called spiritual food. The natural man in like manner is delighted with natural things, which, being of his life, are called food, and consist chiefly of memory-knowledges. As the spiritual man is here treated of, his spiritual food is described by representatives, as by the “herb bearing seed” and by the “tree in which is fruit” which are called, in general, the “tree yielding seed.” His natural food is described in the following verse.

(57) The “herb bearing seed” is every truth which regards use; the “tree in which is fruit” is the good of faith; “fruit” is what the Lord gives to the celestial man, but “seed producing fruit” is what He gives to the spiritual man; and therefore it is said, the “tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food.” That celestial food is called fruit from a tree, is evident from the following chapter, where the celestial man is treated of. In confirmation of this we will here cite only these words of the Lord from Ezekiel: By the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, there cometh up every tree of food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; it is born again in its month; because these its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine (Ezek. 47:12). “Waters issuing out of the sanctuary” signify the life and mercy of the Lord, who is the “sanctuary.” “Fruit” is wisdom, which shall be food for them; the “leaf” is intelligence which shall be for their use, and this use is called “medicine.” But that spiritual food is called “herb” appears from David: My shepherd, I shall not want; Thou makest me to lie down in pastures of herb (Ps. 23:1-2).

(58) Verse 30. And to every wild animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, I give every green herb for food; and it was so. The natural meat of the same man is here described. His natural is signified by the “wild animal of the earth” and by the “fowl of the heavens” to which there are given for food the vegetable and the green of the herb. Both his natural and his spiritual food are thus described in David: Jehovah causeth the grass to grow for the beast, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth (Ps. 104:14), where the term “beast” is used to express both the wild animal of the earth and the fowl of the heavens which are mentioned in verses 11 and 12 of the same Psalm.

(59) The reason why the “vegetable and the green of the herb” only are here described as food for the natural man, is this. In the course of regeneration, when man is being made spiritual, he is continually engaged in combat, on which account the church of the Lord is called “militant;” for before regeneration cupidities have the dominion, because the whole man is composed of mere cupidities and the falsities thence derived. During regeneration these cupidities and falsities cannot be instantaneously abolished, for this would be to destroy the whole man, such being the only life which he has acquired; and therefore evil spirits are suffered to continue with him for a long time, that they may excite his cupidities, and that these may thus be loosened, in innumerable ways, even to such a degree that they can be inclined by the Lord to good, and the man be thus reformed. In the time of combat, the evil spirits, who bear the utmost hatred against all that is good and true, that is, against whatever is of love and faith toward the Lord-which things alone are good and true, because they have eternal life in them-leave the man nothing else for food but what is compared to the vegetable and the green of the herb; nevertheless the Lord gives him also a food which is compared to the herb bearing seed, and to the tree in which is fruit, which are states of tranquillity and peace, with their joys and delights; and this food the Lord gives the man at intervals. [2] Unless the Lord defended man every moment, yea, even the smallest part of every moment, he would instantly perish, in consequence of the indescribably intense and mortal hatred which prevails in the world of spirits against the things relating to love and faith toward the Lord. The certainty of this fact I can affirm, having been now for some years (notwithstanding my remaining in the body) associated with spirits in the other life, even with the worst of them, and I have sometimes been surrounded by thousands, to whom it was permitted to spit forth their venom, and infest me by all possible methods, yet without their being able to hurt a single hair of my head, so secure was I under the Lord’s protection. From so many years’ experience I have been thoroughly instructed concerning the world of spirits and its nature, as well as concerning the combat which those being regenerated must needs endure, in order to attain the happiness of eternal life. But as no one can be so well instructed in such subjects by a general description as to believe them with an undoubting faith, the particulars of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be related in the following pages.

(60) Verse 31. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. This state is called “very good” the former ones being merely called “good;” because now the things which are of faith make a one with those which are of love, and thus a marriage is effected between spiritual things and celestial things.

(61) All things relating to the knowledges of faith are called spiritual, and all that are of love to the Lord and our neighbor are called celestial; the former belong to man’s understanding, and the latter to his will.

(62) The times and states of man’s regeneration in general and in particular are divided into six, and are called the days of his creation; for, by degrees, from being not a man at all, he becomes at first something of one, and so by little and little attains to the sixth day, in which he becomes an image of God.

(63) Meanwhile the Lord continually fights for him against evils and falsities, and by combats confirms him in truth and good. The time of combat is the time of the Lord’s working; and therefore in the Prophets the regenerate man is called the work of the fingers of God. Nor does He rest until love acts as principal; then the combat ceases. When the work has so far advanced that faith is conjoined with love, it is called “very good;” because the Lord then actuates him, as His likeness. At the end of the sixth day the evil spirits depart, and good spirits take their place, and the man is introduced into heaven, or into the celestial paradise; concerning which in the following chapter.

(64) This then is the internal sense of the Word, its veriest life, which does not at all appear from the sense of the letter. But so many are its arcana that volumes would not suffice for the unfolding of them. A very few only are here set forth, and those such as may confirm the fact that regeneration is here treated of, and that this proceeds from the external man to the internal. It is thus that the angels perceive the Word. They know nothing at all of what is in the letter, not even the proximate meaning of a single word; still less do they know the names of the countries, cities, rivers, and persons, that occur so frequently in the historical and prophetical parts of the Word. They have an idea only of the things signified by the words and the names. Thus by Adam in paradise they perceive the Most Ancient Church, yet not that church, but the faith in the Lord of that church. By Noah they perceive the church that remained with the descendants of the Most Ancient Church, and that continued to the time of Abram. By Abraham they by no means perceive that individual, but a saving faith, which he represented; and so on. Thus they perceive spiritual and celestial things entirely apart from the words and names.

(65) Certain ones were taken up to the first entrance court of heaven, when I was reading the Word, and from there conversed with me. They said they could not there understand one whit of any word or letter therein, but only what was signified in the nearest interior sense, which they declared to be so beautiful, in such order of sequence, and so affecting them, that they called it Glory.

(66) There are in the Word, in general, four different styles. The first is that of the Most Ancient Church. Their mode of expression was such that when they mentioned terrestrial and worldly things they thought of the spiritual and celestial things which these represented. They therefore not only expressed themselves by representatives, but also formed these into a kind of historical series, in order to give them more life; and this was to them delightful in the very highest degree. This is the style of which Hannah prophesied, saying: Speak what is high! high! Let what is ancient come out of your mouth (1 Sam. 2:3). Such representatives are called in David, “Dark sayings of old” (Ps. 78:2-4). These particulars concerning the creation, the garden of Eden, etc., down to the time of Abram, Moses had from the descendants of the Most Ancient Church. [2] The second style is historical, which is found in the books of Moses from the time of Abram onward, and in those of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings. In these books the historical facts are just as they appear in the sense of the letter; and yet they all contain, in both general and particular, quite other things in the internal sense, of which, by the Lord’s Divine mercy, in their order in the following pages. The third style is the prophetical one, which was born of that which was so highly venerated in the Most Ancient Church. This style however is not in connected and historical form like the most ancient style, but is broken, and is scarcely ever intelligible except in the internal sense, wherein are deepest arcana, which follow in beautiful connected order, and relate to the external and the internal man; to the many states of the church; to heaven itself; and in the inmost sense to the Lord. The fourth style is that of the Psalms of David, which is intermediate between the prophetical style and that of common speech. The Lord is there treated of in the internal sense, under the person of David as a king.

(67) AS OF the Lord’s Divine mercy it has been given me to know the internal meaning of the Word, in which are contained deepest arcana that have not before come to anyone’s knowledge, nor can come unless the nature of the other life is known (for very many things of the Word’s internal sense have regard to, describe, and involve those of that life), I am permitted to disclose what I have heard and seen during some years in which it has been granted me to be in the company of spirits and angels.

(68) I am well aware that many will say that no one can possibly speak with spirits and angels so long as he lives in the body; and many will say that it is all fancy, others that I relate such things in order to gain credence, and others will make other objections. But by all this I am not deterred, for I have seen, I have heard, I have felt.

(69) Man was so created by the Lord as to be able while living in the body to speak with spirits and angels, as in fact was done in the most ancient times; for, being a spirit clothed with a body, he is one with them. But because in process of time men so immersed themselves in corporeal and worldly things as to care almost nothing for aught besides, the way was closed. Yet as soon as the corporeal things recede in which man is immersed, the way is again opened, and he is among spirits, and in a common life with them.

(70) As it is permitted me to disclose what for several years I have heard and seen, it shall here be told, first, how the case is with man when he is being resuscitated; or how he enters from the life of the body into the life of eternity. In order that I might know that men live after death, it has been given me to speak and be in company with many who were known to me during their life in the body; and this not merely for a day or a week, but for months, and almost a year, speaking and associating with them just as in this world. They wondered exceedingly that while they lived in the body they were, and that very many others are, in such incredulity as to believe that they will not live after death; when in fact scarcely a day intervenes after the death of the body before they are in the other life; for death is a continuation of life.

(71) But as these matters would be scattered and disconnected if inserted among those contained in the text of the Word, it is permitted, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, to append them in some order, at the beginning and end of each chapter; besides those which are introduced incidentally.

(72) At the end of this chapter, accordingly, I am allowed to tell how man is raised from the dead and enters into the life of eternity.

 

CHAPTER 2 1. And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them. 2. And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because that in it He rested from all His work which God in making created. 4. These are the nativities of the heavens and of the earth when He created them, in the day in which Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens. 5. And there was no shrub of the field as yet in the earth, and there was no herb of the field as yet growing, because Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth. And there was no man to till the ground. 6. And He made a mist to ascend from the earth, and watered all the faces of the ground. 7. And Jehovah God formed man, dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul. 8. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9. And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree desirable to behold, and good for food; the tree of lives also, in the midst of the garden; and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and was into four heads. 11. The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12. And the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. 14. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth eastward toward Assyria; and the fourth river is Euphrates. 15. And Jehovah God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden, to till it and take care of it. 16. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die.

(73) THE CONTENTS. When from being dead a man has become spiritual, then from spiritual he becomes celestial, as is now treated of (verse 1).

(74) The celestial man is the seventh day, on which the Lord rests (verses 2, 3).

(75) His knowledge and his rationality [scientificum et rationale ejus] are described by the shrub and the herb out of the ground watered by the mist (verses 5, 6).

(76) His life is described by the breathing into him of the breath of lives (verse 7).

(77) Afterwards his intelligence is described by the garden in Eden, in the east; in which the trees pleasant to the sight are perceptions of truth, and the trees good for food are perceptions of good. Love is meant by the tree of lives, faith by the tree of knowledge [scientiae] (verses 8-9).

(78) Wisdom is meant by the river in the garden. From thence were four rivers, the first of which is good and truth; the second is the knowledge [cognitio] of all things of good and truth, or of love and faith. These are of the internal man. The third is reason, and the fourth is memory-knowledge [scientia], which are of the external man. All are from wisdom, and this is from love and faith in the Lord (verses 10-14).

(79) The celestial man is such a garden. But as the garden is the Lord’s, it is permitted this man to enjoy all these things, and yet not to possess them as his own (verse 15).

(80) He is also permitted to acquire a knowledge of what is good and true by means of every perception from the Lord, but he must not do so from himself and the world, nor search into the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of memory-knowledge [sensualia et scientifica]; which would cause the death of his celestial nature (verses 16, 17).

(81) THE INTERNAL SENSE. This chapter treats of the celestial man, as the preceding one did of the spiritual, who was formed out of a dead man. But as it is unknown at this day what the celestial man is, and scarcely what the spiritual man is, or a dead man, it is permitted me briefly to state the nature of each, that the difference may be known. First, then, a dead man acknowledges nothing to be true and good but what belongs to the body and the world, and this he adores. A spiritual man acknowledges spiritual and celestial truth and good; but he does so from a principle of faith, which is likewise the ground of his actions, and not so much from love. A celestial man believes and perceives spiritual and celestial truth and good, acknowledging no other faith than that which is from love, from which also he acts. [2] Secondly: The ends which influence a dead man regard only corporeal and worldly life, nor does he know what eternal life is, or what the Lord is; or should he know, he does not believe. The ends which influence a spiritual man regard eternal life, and thereby the Lord. The ends which influence a celestial man regard the Lord, and thereby His kingdom and eternal life. [3] Thirdly: A dead man, when in combat almost always yields, and when not in combat, evils and falsities have dominion over him, and he is a slave. His bonds are external, such as the fear of the law, of the loss of life, of wealth, of gain, and of the reputation which he values for their sake. The spiritual man is in combat, but is always victorious; the bonds by which he is restrained are internal, and are called the bonds of conscience. The celestial man is not in combat, and when assaulted by evils and falsities, he despises them, and is therefore called a conqueror. He is apparently restrained by no bonds, but is free. His bonds, which are not apparent, are perceptions of good and truth.

(82) Verse 1. And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them. By these words is meant that man is now rendered so far spiritual as to have become the “sixth day;” “heaven” is his internal man, and “earth” his external; “the army of them” are love, faith, and the knowledges thereof, which were previously signified by the great luminaries and the stars. That the internal man is called “heaven” and the external “earth” is evident from the passages of the Word already cited in the preceding chapter, to which may be added the following from Isaiah: I will make a man more rare than solid gold, even a man than the precious gold of Ophir; therefore I will smite the heavens with terror, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place (Isa. 13:12-13). Thou forgettest Jehovah thy Maker, that stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth; but I will put My words in thy mouth, and I will hide thee in the shadow of My hand, that I may stretch out the heaven, and lay the foundation of the earth (Isa. 51:13, 16). From these words it is evident that both “heaven” and “earth” are predicated of man; for although they refer primarily to the Most Ancient church, yet the interiors of the Word are of such a nature that whatever is said of the church may also be said of every individual member of it, who, unless he were a church, could not possibly be a part of the church, just as he who is not a temple of the Lord cannot be what is signified by the temple, namely, the church and heaven. It is for this reason that the Most Ancient Church is called “man” in the singular number.

(83) The “heavens and the earth and all the army of them” are said to be “finished” when man has become the “sixth day” for then faith and love make a one. When they do this, love, and not faith, or in other words the celestial principle, and not the spiritual, begins to be the principal, and this is to be a celestial man.

(84) Verses 2, 3. And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in making created. The celestial man is the “seventh day” which, as the Lord has worked during the six days, is called “His work;” and as all combat then ceases, the Lord is said to “rest from all His work.” On this account the seventh day was sanctified, and called the Sabbath, from a Hebrew word meaning “rest.” And thus was man created, formed, and made. These things are very evident from the words.

(85) That the celestial man is the “seventh day” and that the seventh day was therefore hallowed, and called the Sabbath, are arcana which have not hitherto been discovered. For none have been acquainted with the nature of the celestial man, and few with that of the spiritual man, whom in consequence of this ignorance they have made to be the same as the celestial man, notwithstanding the great difference that exists between them, as may be seen in n. 81. As regards the seventh day, and as regards the celestial man being the “seventh day” or “Sabbath” this is evident from the fact that the Lord Himself is the Sabbath; and therefore He says: The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), which words imply that the Lord is Man himself, and the Sabbath itself. His kingdom in the heavens and on the earth is called, from Him, a Sabbath, or eternal peace and rest. [2] The Most Ancient Church, which is here treated of, was the Sabbath of the Lord above all that succeeded it. Every subsequent inmost church of the Lord is also a Sabbath; and so is every regenerate person when he becomes celestial, because he is a likeness of the Lord. The six days of combat or labor precede. These things were represented in the Jewish church by the days of labor, and by the seventh day, which was the Sabbath; for in that church there was nothing instituted which was not representative of the Lord and of His kingdom. The like was also represented by the ark when it went forward, and when it rested, for by its journeyings in the wilderness were represented combats and temptations, and by its rest a state of peace; and therefore, when it set forward, Moses said: Rise up, Jehovah, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thy faces. And when it rested, he said, Return, Jehovah, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel (Num. 10:35-36). It is there said of the ark that it went from the Mount of Jehovah “to search out a rest for them” (Num. 10:33). [3] The rest of the celestial man is described by the Sabbath in Isaiah: If thou bring back thy foot from the Sabbath, so that thou doest not thy desire in the day of My holiness, and callest the things of the Sabbath delights to the holy of Jehovah, honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own desire, nor speaking a word; then shalt thou be delightful to Jehovah, and I will cause thee to be borne over the lofty things of the earth, and will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob (Isa. 58:13-14). Such is the quality of the celestial man that he acts not according to his own desire, but according to the good pleasure of the Lord, which is his “desire.” Thus he enjoys internal peace and happiness-here expressed by “being uplifted over the lofty things of the earth”-and at the same time external tranquility and delight, which is signified by “being fed with the heritage of Jacob.”

(86) When the spiritual man, who has become the “sixth day” is beginning to be celestial, which state is here first treated of, it is the “eve of the Sabbath” represented in the Jewish Church by the keeping holy of the Sabbath from the evening. The celestial man is the “morning” to be spoken of presently.

(87) Another reason why the celestial man is the “Sabbath” or “rest” is that combat ceases when he becomes celestial. The evil spirits retire, and good ones approach, as well as celestial angels; and when these are present, evil spirits cannot possibly remain, but flee far away. And since it was not the man himself who carried on the combat, but the Lord alone for the man, it is said that the Lord “rested.”

(88) When the spiritual man becomes celestial, he is called the “work of God” because the Lord alone has fought for him, and has created, formed, and made him; and therefore it is here said, “God finished His work on the seventh day;” and twice, that “He rested from all His work.” By the Prophets man is repeatedly called the “work of the hands and of the fingers of Jehovah;” as in Isaiah, speaking of the regenerate man: Thus hath said Jehovah the Holy One of Israel, and his Former, Seek ye signs of Me, signs concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even My hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their army have I commanded. For thus hath said Jehovah that createth the heavens, God Himself that formeth the earth and maketh it; He establisheth it, He created it not a void, He formed it to be inhabited; I am Jehovah and there is no God else besides Me (Isa. 45:11-12, 18, 21). Hence it is evident that the new creation, or regeneration, is the work of the Lord alone. The expressions to “create” to “form” and to “make” are employed quite distinctively, both in the above passage-”creating the heavens, forming the earth, and making it”-and in other places in the same Prophet, as: Everyone that is called by My name, I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him (Isa. 43:7), and also in both the preceding and this chapter of Genesis; as in the passage before us: “He rested from all His work which God in making created.” In the internal sense this usage always conveys a distinct idea; and the case is the same where the Lord is called “Creator” “Former” or “Maker.”

(89) Verse 4. These are the nativities of the heavens and of the earth, when He created them, in the day in which Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens. The “nativities of the heavens and of the earth” are the formations of the celestial man. That his formation is here treated of is very evident from all the particulars which follow, as that no herb was as yet growing; that there was no man to till the ground, as well as that Jehovah God formed man, and afterwards, that He made every beast and bird of the heavens, notwithstanding that the formation of these had been treated of in the foregoing chapter; from all which it is manifest that another man is here treated of. This however is still more evident from the fact, that now for the first time the Lord is called “Jehovah God” whereas in the preceding passages, which treat of the spiritual man, He is called simply “God;” and, further, that now “ground” and “field” are mentioned, while in the preceding passages only “earth” is mentioned. In this verse also “heaven” is first mentioned before “earth” and afterwards “earth” before “heaven;” the reason of which is that “earth” signifies the external man, and “heaven” the internal, and in the spiritual man reformation begins from “earth” that is, from the external man, while in the celestial man, who is here treated of, it begins from the internal man, or from “heaven.”

(90) Verses 5, 6. And there was no shrub of the field as yet in the earth, and there was no herb of the field as yet growing, because Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth; and there was no man to till the ground. And He made a mist to ascend from the earth, and watered all the faces of the ground. By the “shrub of the field” and the “herb of the field” are meant in general all that his external man produces. The external man is called “earth” while he remains spiritual, but “ground” and also “field” when he becomes celestial. “Rain” which is soon after called “mist” is the tranquility of peace when combat ceases.

(91) But what these things involve cannot possibly be perceived unless it is known what man’s state is while from being spiritual he is becoming celestial, for they are deeply hidden. While he is spiritual, the external man is not yet willing to yield obedience to and serve the internal, and therefore there is a combat; but when he becomes celestial, then the external man begins to obey and serve the internal, and therefore the combat ceases, and tranquility ensues (see n. 87). This tranquility is signified by “rain” and “mist” for it is like a vapor with which the external man is watered and bedewed from the internal; and it is this tranquility, the offspring of peace, which produces what are called the “shrub of the field” and the “herb of the field” which, specifically, are things of the rational mind and of the memory [rationalia et scientifica] from a celestial spiritual origin.

(92) The nature of the tranquility of peace of the external man, on the cessation of combat, or of the unrest caused by cupidities and falsities, can be known only to those who are acquainted with a state of peace. This state is so delightful that it surpasses every idea of delight: it is not only a cessation of combat, but is life proceeding from interior peace, and affecting the external man in such a manner as cannot be described; the truths of faith, and the goods of love, which derive their life from the delight of peace, are then born.

(93) The state of the celestial man, thus gifted with the tranquility of peace-refreshed by the rain-and delivered from the slavery of what is evil and false, is thus described by the Lord in Ezekiel: I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land, and they shall dwell confidently in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods; and I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the rain to come down in his season; rains of blessing shall they be. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be upon their ground in confidence, and shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the reins of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that make them to serve them; and ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, ye are a man, and I am your God (Ezek. 34:25-27, 31). And that this is effected on the “third day” which in the Word signifies the same as the “seventh” is thus declared in Hosea: After two days will He vivify us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him and we shall know, and shall follow on to know Jehovah: His going forth is prepared as the dawn, and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the late rain watering the earth (Hos. 6:2-3). And that this state is compared to the “growth of the field” is declared by Ezekiel, when speaking of the Ancient Church: I have caused thee to multiply as the growth of the field, and thou hast increased and hast grown up, and hast come to excellent ornaments (Ezek. 16:7). And it is also compared to: A shoot of the Lord’s planting, and a work of the hands of Jehovah God (Isa. 60:21).

(94) Verse 7. And Jehovah God formed man, dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [spiraculum] of lives, and man became a living soul. To “form man, dust from the ground” is to form his external man, which before was not man; for it is said (verse 5) that there was “no man to till the ground.” To “breathe into his nostrils the breath of lives” is to give him the life of faith and love; and by “man became a living soul” is signified that his external man also was made alive.

(95) The life of the external man is here treated of-the life of his faith or understanding in the two former verses, and the life of his love or will in this verse. Hitherto the external man has been unwilling to yield to and serve the internal, being engaged in a continual combat with him, and therefore the external man was not then “man.” Now, however, being made celestial, the external man begins to obey and serve the internal, and it also becomes “man” being so rendered by the life of faith and the life of love. The life of faith prepares him, but it is the life of love which causes him to be “man.”

(96) As to its being said that “Jehovah God breathed into his nostrils” the case is this: In ancient times, and in the Word, by “nostrils” was understood whatever was grateful in consequence of its odor, which signifies perception. On this account it is repeatedly written of Jehovah, that He “smelled an odor of rest” from the burnt-offerings, and from those things which represented Him and His kingdom; and as the things relating to love and faith are most grateful to Him, it is said that “He breathed through his nostrils the breath of lives.” Hence the anointed of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord, is called the “breath of the nostrils” (Lam. 4:20). And the Lord Himself signified the same by “breathing on His disciples” as written in John: He breathed on them and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

(97) The reason why life is described by “breathing” and by “breath” is also that the men of the Most Ancient Church perceived states of love and of faith by states of respiration, which were successively changed in their posterity. Of this respiration nothing can as yet be said, because at this day such things are altogether unknown. The most ancient people were well acquainted with it, and so are those who are in the other life, but no longer anyone on this earth, and this was the reason why they likened spirit or life to “wind.” The Lord also does this when speaking of the regeneration of man, in John: [In the original languages, “wind” “spirit” and “breath” are all expressed by the same word.] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, and knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth so is everyone that is born of the spirit (John 3:8). So in David: By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the breath of His mouth (Ps. 33:6). And again: Thou gatherest their breath, they expire, and return to their dust; Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created, and Thou renewest the faces of the ground (Ps. 104:29-30).That the “breath” [spiraculum] is used for the life of faith and of love, appears from Job: He is the spirit in man, and the breath of Shaddai giveth them understanding (Job 32:8). Again in the same: The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of Shaddai hath given me life (Job 33:4).

(98) Verse 8. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward [ab oriente] in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. By a “garden” is signified intelligence; by “Eden” love; by the “east” the Lord; consequently by the “garden of Eden eastward” is signified the intelligence of the celestial man, which flows in from the Lord through love.

(99) Life, or the order of life, with the spiritual man, is such that although the Lord flows in, through faith, into the things of his understanding, reason, and memory [in ejus intellectualia, rationalia, et scientifica], yet as his external man fights against his internal man, it appears as if intelligence did not flow in from the Lord, but from the man himself, through the things of memory and reason [per scientifica et rationalia]. But the life, or order of life, of the celestial man, is such that the Lord flows in through love and the faith of love into the things of his understanding, reason, and memory [in ejus intellectualia, rationalia, et scientifica], and as there is no combat between the internal and the external man, he perceives that this is really so. Thus the order which up to this point had been inverted with the spiritual man, is now described as restored with the celestial man, and this order, or man, is called a “garden in Eden in the east.” In the supreme sense, the “garden planted by Jehovah God in Eden in the east” is the Lord Himself. In the inmost sense, which is also the universal sense, it is the Lord’s kingdom, and the heaven in which man is placed when he has become celestial. His state then is such that he is with the angels in heaven, and is as it were one among them; for man has been so created that while living in this world he may at the same time be in heaven. In this state all his thoughts and ideas of thoughts, and even his words and actions, are open, even from the Lord, and contain within them what is celestial and spiritual; for there is in every man the life of the Lord, which causes him to have perception.

(100) That a “garden” signifies intelligence, and “Eden” love, appears also from Isaiah: Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, confession and the voice of singing (Isa. 51:3). In this passage, “wilderness” “joy” and “confession” are terms expressive of the celestial things of faith, or such as relate to love; but “desert” “gladness” and “the voice of singing” of the spiritual things of faith, or such as belong to the understanding. The former have relation to “Eden” the latter to “garden;” for with this prophet two expressions constantly occur concerning the same thing, one of which signifies celestial, and the other spiritual things. What is further signified by the “garden in Eden” may be seen in what follows at verse 10.

(101) That the Lord is the “east” also appears from the Word, as in Ezekiel: He brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh the way of the east, and behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was as the voice of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory (Ezek. 43:1-2, 4). It was in consequence of the Lord’s being the “east” that a holy custom prevailed in the representative Jewish Church, before the building of the temple, of turning their faces toward the east when they prayed.

(102) Verse 9. And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree desirable to behold, and good for food; the tree of lives also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge [scientiae] of good and evil. A “tree” signifies perception; a “tree desirable to behold” the perception of truth; a “tree good for food” the perception of good; the “tree of lives” love and the faith thence derived; the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” faith derived from what is sensuous, that is, from mere memory-knowledge [scientia].

(103) The reason why “trees” here signify perceptions is that the celestial man is treated of, but it is otherwise when the subject is the spiritual man, for on the nature of the subject depends that of the predicate.

(104) At this day it is unknown what Perception is. It is a certain internal sensation from the Lord alone, as to whether a thing is true and good; and it was very well known to the Most Ancient church. This perception is so perfect with the angels, that by it they are aware and have knowledge of what is true and good; of what is from the Lord, and what from themselves; and also of the quality of anyone who comes to them, merely from his approach, and from a single one of his ideas. The spiritual man has no perception, but has conscience. A dead man has not even conscience; and very many do not know what conscience is, and still less what perception is.

(105) The “tree of lives” is love and the faith thence derived; “in the midst of the garden” is in the will of the internal man. The will, which in the Word is called the “heart” is the primary possession of the Lord with man and angel. But as no one can do good of himself, the will or heart is not man’s, although it is predicated of man; cupidity, which he calls will, is man’s. Since then the will is the “midst of the garden” where the tree of lives is placed, and man has no will, but mere cupidity, the “tree of lives” is the mercy of the Lord, from whom comes all love and faith, consequently all life.

(106) But the nature of the “tree of the garden” or perception; of the “tree of lives” or love and the faith thence derived; and of the “tree of knowledge” or faith originating in what is sensuous and in mere memory-knowledge, will be shown in the following pages.

(107) Verse 10. And a river went out of Eden, to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and was into four heads. A “river out of Eden” signifies wisdom from love, for “Eden” is love; “to water the garden” is to bestow intelligence; to be “thence parted into four heads” is a description of intelligence by means of the four rivers, as follows.

(108) The most ancient people, when comparing man to a “garden” also compared wisdom, and the things relating to wisdom, to “rivers;” nor did they merely compare them, but actually so called them, for such was their way of speaking. It was the same afterwards in the Prophets, who sometimes compared them, and sometimes called them so. As in Isaiah: Thy light shall arise in darkness, and thy thick darkness shall be as the light of day, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like an outlet of waters, whose waters lie not (Isa. 58:10-11). Treating of those who receive faith and love. Again, speaking of the regenerate: As the valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river’s side; as lignaloes [The Latin is tentoria, “tents” seemingly a misprint for santalos.] which Jehovah hath planted, as cedar-trees beside the waters (Num. 24:6). In Jeremiah: Blessed is the man who trusteth in Jehovah; he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that sendeth forth her roots by the river (Jer. 17:7-8). In Ezekiel the regenerate are not compared to a garden and a tree, but are so called: The waters made her to grow, the deep of waters uplifted her, the river ran round about her plant, and sent out its channels to all the trees of the field; she was made beautiful in her greatness, in the length of her branches, for her root was by many waters. The cedars in the garden of God did not hide her; the fir-trees were not like her boughs, and the plane-trees were not like her branches, nor was any tree in the garden of God equal to her in her beauty; I have made her beautiful by the multitude of her branches, and all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied her (Ezek. 31:4, 7-9). From these passages it is evident that when the most ancient people compared man, or the things in man, to a “garden” they added the “waters” and “rivers” by which he might be watered, and by these waters and rivers meant such things as would cause his growth.

(109) That although wisdom and intelligence appear in man, they are, as has been said, of the Lord alone, is plainly declared in Ezekiel by means of similar representatives: Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; for the face of the house is the east; and he said, These waters issue out to the border toward the east, and go down into the plain, and come to the sea, which being led into the sea, the waters shall be healed; and it shall come to pass that every living soul which creepeth, whithersoever the water of the rivers shall come, shall live. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, there come up all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; it is born again in its months, because these its waters issue out of the sanctuary, and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine (Ezek. 47:1, 8-9, 12). Here the Lord is signified by the “east” and by the “sanctuary” whence the waters and rivers issued. In like manner in John: He showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street thereof, and of the river on this side and that, was the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaf of the tree was for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:1-2).

(110) Verses 11, 12. The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. The “first” river, or “Pishon” signifies the intelligence of the faith that is from love; “the land of Havilah” signifies the mind; “gold” signifies good; “bdellium and the onyx stone” truth. “Gold” is mentioned twice because it signifies the good of love and the good of faith from love; and “bdellium and the onyx stone” are mentioned because the one signifies the truth of love, and the other the truth of faith from love. Such is the celestial man.

(111) It is however a very difficult matter to describe these things as they are in the internal sense, for at the present day no one knows what is meant by faith from love, and what by the wisdom and intelligence thence derived. For external men scarcely know of anything but memory-knowledge [scientia], which they call intelligence and wisdom, and faith. They do not even know what love is, and many do not know what the will and understanding are, and that they constitute one mind. And yet each of these things is distinct, yea, most distinct, and the universal heaven is ordinated by the Lord in the most distinct manner according to the differences of love and faith, which are innumerable.

(112) Be it known moreover that there is no wisdom which is not from love, thus from the Lord; nor any intelligence except from faith, thus also from the Lord; and that there is no good except from love, thus from the Lord; and no truth except from faith, thus from the Lord. What are not from love and faith, and thus from the Lord, are indeed called by these names, but they are spurious.

(113) Nothing is more common in the Word than for the good of wisdom or of love to be signified and represented by “gold.” All the gold in the ark, in the temple, in the golden table, in the candlestick, in the vessels, and upon the garments of Aaron, signified and represented the good of wisdom or of love. So also in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel: In thy wisdom and in thine intelligence thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver in thy treasures (Ezek. 18:4), where it is plainly said that from wisdom and intelligence are “gold and silver” or the good and the true, for “ silver here signifies truth, as it does also in the ark and in the temple. In Isaiah: The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of Jehovah (Isa. 60:6). Thus also: The wise men from the east, who came to Jesus when He was born, fell down and worshiped Him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:1, 11). Here also “gold” signifies good; “frankincense and myrrh” things that are grateful because from love and faith, and which are therefore called “the praises of Jehovah.” Wherefore it is said in David: He shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for him continually, and every day shall He bless him (Ps. 72:15).

(114) The truth of faith is signified and represented in the Word by precious “stones” as by those in the breast-plate of judgment, and on the shoulders of Aaron’s ephod. In the breast-plate, “gold, blue, bright crimson, scarlet double-dyed, and fine-twined linen” represented such things as are of love, and the precious “stones” such as are of faith from love; as did likewise the two “stones of memorial” on the shoulders of the ephod, which were onyx stones, set in ouches of gold (Exod. 28:9-22). This signification of precious stones is also plain from Ezekiel, where, speaking of a man possessed of heavenly riches, which are wisdom and intelligence, it is said: Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the ruby, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the sapphire, the chrysoprase, the emerald, and gold; the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared; thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created (Ezek. 28:12, 13, 15), which words it must be evident to everyone do not signify stones, but the celestial and spiritual things of faith; yea, each stone represented some essential of faith.

(115) When the most ancient people spoke of “lands” they understood what was signified by them, just as those at the present day who have an idea that the land of Canaan and Mount Zion signify heaven, do not so much as think of any land or mountain when these places are mentioned, but only of the things which they signify. It is so here with the “land of Havilah” which is mentioned again in Genesis 25:18, where it is said of the sons of Ishmael, that they “dwelt from Havilah even unto Shur, which is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria.” Those who are in a heavenly idea perceive from these words nothing but intelligence, and what flows from intelligence. So by to “compass”-as where it is said that the river Pishon “compasseth the whole land of Havilah”-they perceive a flowing in; as also in the onyx stones on the shoulders of Aaron’s ephod being encompassed with ouches of gold (Exod. 28:11), they perceive that the good of love should inflow into the truth of faith. And so in many other instances.

(116) Verse 13. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. The “second river” which is called “Gihon” signifies the knowledge [cognitio] of all things that belong to the good and the true, or to love and faith, and the “land of Cush” signifies the mind or faculty. The mind is constituted of the will and the understanding; and what is said of the first river has reference to the will, and what of this one to the understanding to which belong the knowledges [cognitiones] of good and of truth.

(117) The “land of Cush” or Ethiopia, moreover, abounded in gold, precious stones, and spices, which, as before said, signify good, truth, and the things thence derived which are grateful, such as are those of the knowledges of love and faith. This is evident from the passages above cited (n. 113) from Isa. 60:6; Matt. 2:1, 11; Ps. 72:15. That similar things are meant in the Word by “Cush” or “Ethiopia” and also by “Sheba” is evident from the Prophets, as in Zephaniah, where also the “rivers of Cush” are mentioned: In the morning He will give His judgment for light; for then will I turn to the people with a clear language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve Him with one shoulder; from the passage of the rivers of Cush My suppliants shall bring Mine offering (Zeph. 3:5, 9-10). And in Daniel, speaking of the king of the north and of the south: He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and the Lybians and the Ethiopians shall be under his steps (Dan. 11:43), where “Egypt” denotes memory-knowledges [scientifica], and the “Ethiopians” knowledges [cognitiones]. [2] So in Ezekiel: The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, these were thy merchants, in the chief of all spices, and in every precious stone, and in gold (Ezek. 27:22), by whom in like manner are signified knowledges [cognitiones] of faith. So in David, speaking of the Lord, consequently of the celestial man: In his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace until there shall be no moon; the kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer a gift (Ps. 72:7, 10).These words, as is plain from their connection with the preceding and subsequent verses, signify celestial things of faith. Similar things were signified by the queen of Sheba, who came to Solomon, and proposed hard questions, and brought him spices, gold, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:1-2). For all things contained in the historical parts of the Word, as well as in the Prophets, signify, represent, and involve arcana.

(118) Verse 14. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth eastward toward Asshur; and the fourth river it is Phrath. The “river Hiddekel” is reason, or the clearsightedness of reason. “Asshur” is the rational mind; the “river which goeth eastward toward Asshur” signifies that the clearsightedness of reason comes from the Lord through the internal man into the rational mind, which is of the external man; “Phrath” or Euphrates, is memory-knowledge [scientia], which is the ultimate or boundary.

(119) That “Asshur” signifies the rational mind, or the rational of man, is very evident in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel: Behold, Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches and a shady grove, and lofty in height; and her offshoot was among the thick boughs. The waters made her grow, the deep of waters uplifted her, the river ran round about her plant (Ezek. 31:3-4). The rational is called a “cedar in Lebanon;” the “offshoot among the thick boughs” signifies the knowledges of the memory, which are in this very plight. This is still clearer in Isaiah: In that day shall there be a path from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur shall come into Egypt, and Egypt into Asshur, and the Egyptians shall serve Asshur. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the land, that Jehovah Zebaoth shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Asshur the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance (Isa. 19:23-25). By “Egypt” in this and various other passages is signified memory-knowledges, by “Asshur” reason, and by “Israel” intelligence.

(120) As by “Egypt” so also by “Euphrates” are signified memory-knowledges [scientiae seu scientifica], and also the sensuous things from which these knowledges come. This is evident from the Word in the Prophets, as in Micah: My she-enemy hath said, Where is Jehovah thy God? The day in which He shall build thy walls [macerias], that day shall the decree be far removed; that day also He shall come even to thee from Asshur, and to the cities of Egypt, and to the river [Euphrates] (Micah 7:10-12). So did the prophets speak concerning the coming of the Lord who should regenerate man so that he might become like the celestial man. In Jeremiah: What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what hast thou to do in the way of Asshur, to drink the waters of the river [Euphrates]? (Jer. 2:18), where “Egypt” and “Euphrates” likewise signify memory-knowledges, and “Asshur” reasonings thence derived. In David: Thou hast made a vine to go forth out of Egypt; Thou hast cast out the nations; Thou hast planted her; Thou hast sent out her shoots even to the sea, and her twigs to the river (Euphrates) (Ps. 80:8, 11), where also the “river Euphrates” signifies what is sensuous and of the memory [sensuali et scientifico]. For the Euphrates was the boundary of the dominions of Israel toward Assyria, as the knowledge of the memory is the boundary of the intelligence and wisdom of the spiritual and celestial man. The same is signified by what was said to Abraham: Unto thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates (Gen. 15:18). These two boundaries have a like signification.

(121) The nature of celestial order, or how the things of life proceed, is evident from these rivers, namely, from the Lord, who is the “East” and that from Him proceeds wisdom, through wisdom intelligence, through intelligence reason, and so by means of reason the knowledges of the memory are vivified. This is the order of life, and such are celestial men; and therefore, since the elders of Israel represented celestial men, they were called “wise, intelligent, and knowing” (Deut. 1:13, 15). Hence it is said of Bezaleel, who constructed the ark, that he was: Filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge [scientia], and in all work (Exod. 31:3; 35:31; 36:1-2).

(122) Verse 15. And Jehovah God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden, to till it and take care of it. By the “garden of Eden” are signified all things of the celestial man, as described; by to “till it and take care of it” is signified that it is permitted him to enjoy all these things, but not to possess them as his own, because they are the Lord’s.

(123) The celestial man acknowledges, because he perceives, that all things both in general and in particular are the Lord’s. The spiritual man does indeed acknowledge the same, but with the mouth, because he has learned it from the Word. The worldly and corporeal man neither acknowledges nor admits it; but whatever he has he calls his own, and imagines that were he to lose it, he would altogether perish.

(124) That wisdom, intelligence, reason, and knowledge [scientia] are not of man, but of the Lord, is very evident from all that the Lord taught; as in Matthew, where the Lord compares Himself to a householder, who planted a vineyard, and hedged it round, and let it out to husbandmen (21:33); and in John: The Spirit of truth shall guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself, but what things soever He shall hear, He shall speak; He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall declare it unto you (John 16:13-14). And in another place: A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27). That this is really so is known to everyone who is acquainted with even a few of the arcana of heaven.

(125) Verse 16. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden, eating thou mayest eat. To “eat of every tree” is to know from perception what is good and true; for, as before observed, a “tree” signifies perception. The men of the Most Ancient Church had the knowledges of true faith by means of revelations, for they conversed with the Lord and with angels, and were also instructed by visions and dreams, which were most delightful and paradisal to them. They had from the Lord continual perception, so that when they reflected on what was treasured up in the memory they instantly perceived whether it was true and good, insomuch that when anything false presented itself, they not only avoided it but even regarded it with horror: such also is the state of the angels. In place of this perception of the Most Ancient Church, however, there afterwards succeeded the knowledge [cognitio] of what is true and good from what had been previously revealed, and afterwards from what was revealed in the Word.

(126) Verse 17. But of the tree of the knowledge [scientia] of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die. These words, taken together with those just explained, signify that it is allowable to become acquainted with what is true and good by means of every perception derived from the Lord, but not from self and the world; that is, we are not to inquire into the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of the memory [per sensualia et scientifica], for in this case the celestial of faith is destroyed.

(127) A desire to investigate the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of the memory, was not only the cause of the fall of the posterity of the Most Ancient Church, as treated of in the following chapter, but it is also the cause of the fall of every church; for hence come not only falsities, but also evils of life.

(128) The worldly and corporeal man says in his heart, If I am not instructed concerning the faith, and everything relating to it, by means of the things of sense, so that I may see, or by means of those of the memory [scientifica], so that I may understand, I will not believe; and he confirms himself in this by the consideration that natural things cannot be contrary to spiritual. Thus he is desirous of being instructed from things of sense in what is celestial and Divine, which is as impossible as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle; for the more he desires to grow wise by such means, the more he blinds himself, till at length he believes nothing, not even that there is anything spiritual, or that there is eternal life. This comes from the principle which he assumes. And this is to “eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” of which the more anyone eats, the more dead he becomes. But he who would be wise from the Lord, and not from the world, says in his heart that the Lord must be believed, that is, the things which the Lord has spoken in the Word, because they are truths; and according to this principle he regulates his thoughts. He confirms himself by things of reason, of knowledge, of the senses, and of nature [per rationalia, scientifica, sensualia et naturalia], and those which are not confirmatory he casts aside.

(129) Everyone may know that man is governed by the principles he assumes, be they ever so false, and that all his knowledge and reasoning favor his principles; for innumerable considerations tending to support them present themselves to his mind, and thus he is confirmed in what is false. He therefore who assumes as a principle that nothing is to be believed until it is seen and understood, can never believe, because spiritual and celestial things cannot be seen with the eyes, or conceived by the imagination. But the true order is for man to be wise from the Lord, that is, from His Word, and then all things follow, and he is enlightened even in matters of reason and of memory-knowledge [in rationalibus et scientificis]. For it is by no means forbidden to learn the sciences, since they are useful to his life and delightful; nor is he who is in faith prohibited from thinking and speaking as do the learned of the world; but it must be from this principle-to believe the Word of the Lord, and, so far as possible, confirm spiritual and celestial truths by natural truths, in terms familiar to the learned world. Thus his starting-point must be the Lord, and not himself; for the former is life, but the latter is death.

(130) He who desires to be wise from the world, has for his “garden” the things of sense and of memory-knowledge [sensualia et scientifica]; the love of self and the love of the world are his “Eden”; his “east” is the west, or himself; his “river Euphrates” is all his memory-knowledge [scientificum], which is condemned; his “second river” where is “Assyria” is infatuated reasoning productive of falsities; his “third river” where is “Ethiopia” is the principles of evil and falsity thence derived, which are the knowledges of his faith; his “fourth river” is the wisdom thence derived, which in the Word is called “magic.” And therefore “Egypt”-which signifies memory-knowledge [scientia]-after the knowledge became magical, signifies such a man, because, as may be seen from the Word, he desires to be wise from self. Of such it is written in Ezekiel: Thus hath said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great whale that lieth in the midst of his rivers, who hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. And the land of Egypt shall be for a solitude, and a waste, and they shall know that I am Jehovah, because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it (Ezek. 29:3, 9). Such men are also called “trees of Eden in hell” in the same Prophet, where also Pharaoh, or the Egyptian, is treated of in these words: When I shall have made him descend into hell with them that descend into the pit; to whom art thou thus made like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be made to descend with the trees of Eden into the lower earth, in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his crew (Ezek. 31:16, 18), where the “trees of Eden” denote knowledges [scientifica et cognitiones] from the Word, which they thus profane by reasonings. Genesis 2, verses 18-25 18. And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help as with him. 19. And Jehovah God formed out of the ground every beast of the field, and every fowl of the heavens, and brought it to the man to see what he would call it; and whatsoever the man called every living soul, that was the name thereof. 20. And the man gave names to every beast, and to the fowl of the heavens, and to every wild animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a help as with him. 21. And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the place thereof. 22. And the rib which Jehovah God had taken from the man, He built into a woman, and brought her to the man. 23. And the man said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; therefore she shall be called wife, because she was taken out of man [vir]. 24. Therefore shall a man [vir] leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. 25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

(131) THE CONTENTS. The posterity of the Most Ancient Church, which inclined to their Own, [The Latin word proprium is the term used in the original text that in this and other places has been rendered by the expression “Own.” The dictionary meaning of propius, as an adjective, is “one’s own” “proper” “belonging to one’s self alone” “special” “particular” “peculiar.” The neuter of this which is the word proprium, when used as a noun means “possession” “property;” also “a peculiarity” “characteristic mark” “distinguishing sign” “characteristic.” The English adjective “own” is defined by Webster to mean “belonging to” “belonging exclusively or especially to” “peculiar;” so that our word “own” is a very exact equivalent of proprius, and if we make it a noun by writing it “Own” in order to answer to the Latin proprium, we effect a very close translation.] is here treated of.

(132) Since man is such as not to be content to be led by the Lord, but desires to be led also by himself and the world, or by his Own, therefore the Own which was granted him is here treated of (verse 18).

(133) And first it is given him to know the affections of good and the knowledges of truth with which he is endowed by the Lord; but still he inclines to his Own (verses 19, 20).

(134) Wherefore he is let into a state of his Own, and an Own is given him, which is described by the rib built into a woman (verses 21 to 23).

(135) Celestial and spiritual life are adjoined to the man’s Own, so that they appear as a one (verse 24).

(136) And innocence from the Lord is insinuated into this Own, so that it still might not be unacceptable (verse 25).

(137) THE INTERNAL SENSE The first three chapters of Genesis treat in general of the Most Ancient Church, which is called “Man” [homo] from its first period to its last, when it perished: the preceding part of this chapter treats of its most flourishing state, when it was a celestial man; here it now treats of those who inclined to their Own, and of their posterity.

(138) Verse 18. And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help as with him. By “alone” is signified that he was not content to be led by the Lord, but desired to be led by self and the world; by a “help as with him” is signified man’s Own, which is subsequently called a “rib built into a woman.”

(139) In ancient times those were said to “dwell alone” who were under the Lord’s guidance as celestial men, because such were no longer infested by evils, or evil spirits. This was represented in the Jewish Church also by their dwelling alone when they had driven out the nations. On this account it is sometimes said of the Lord’s church, in the Word, that she is “alone” as in Jeremiah: Arise, get you up to a quiet nation that dwelleth confidently, saith the Lord, which hath neither gates nor bar; they dwell alone (Jer. 49:31). In the prophecy of Moses: Israel hath dwelt confidently alone (Deut. 33:28). And still more clearly in the prophecy of Balaam: Lo, the people dwelleth alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations (Num. 23:9), where “nations” signify evils. This posterity of the Most Ancient Church was not disposed to dwell alone, that is, to be a celestial man, or to be led by the Lord as a celestial man, but, like the Jewish Church, desired to be among the nations. And because they desired this, it is said, “it is not good that the man should be alone” for he who desires is already in evil, and it is granted him.

(140) That by “a help as with him” is signified man’s Own, is evident both from the nature of this Own, and from what follows. As however the man of the church who is here treated of was well disposed, an Own was granted him, but of such a kind that it appeared as it were his own, and therefore it is said “a help as with him.”

(141) Innumerable things might be said about man’s Own in describing its nature with the corporeal and worldly man, with the spiritual man, and with the celestial man. With the corporeal and worldly man, his Own is his all, he knows of nothing else than his Own, and imagines, as before said, that if he were to lose this Own he would perish. With the spiritual man also his Own has a similar appearance, for although he knows that the Lord is the life of all, and gives wisdom and understanding, and consequently the power to think and to act, yet this knowledge is rather the profession of his lips than the belief of his heart. But the celestial man discerns that the Lord is the life of all and gives the power to think and to act, for he perceives that it is really so. He never desires his Own, nevertheless an Own is given him by the Lord, which is conjoined with all perception of what is good and true, and with all happiness. The angels are in such an Own, and are at the same time in the highest peace and tranquility, for in their Own are those things which are the Lord’s, who governs their Own, or them by means of their Own. This Own is the veriest celestial itself, whereas that of the corporeal man is infernal. But concerning this Own more hereafter.

(142) Verses 19, 20. And Jehovah God formed out of the ground every beast of the field, and every fowl of the heavens, and brought it to the man to see what he would call it; and whatsoever the man called every living soul, that was the name thereof. And the man gave names to every beast, and to the fowl of the heavens, and to every wild animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a help as with him. By “beasts” are signified celestial affections, and by “fowls of the heavens” spiritual affections; that is to say, by “beasts” are signified things of the will, and by “fowls” things of the understanding. To “bring them to the man to see what he would call them” is to enable him to know their quality, and his “giving them names” signifies that he knew it. But notwithstanding that he knew the quality of the affections of good and of the knowledges of truth that were given him by the Lord, still he inclined to his Own, which is expressed in the same terms as before-that “there was not found a help as with him.”

(143) That by “beasts” and “animals” were anciently signified affections and like things in man, may appear strange at the present day; but as the men of those times were in a celestial idea, and as such things are represented in the world of spirits by animals, and in fact by such animals as they are like, therefore when they spoke in that way they meant nothing else. Nor is anything else meant in the Word in those places where beasts are mentioned either generally or specifically. The whole prophetic Word is full of such things, and therefore one who does not know what each beast specifically signifies, cannot possibly understand what the Word contains in the internal sense. But, as before observed, beasts are of two kinds- evil or noxious beasts, and good or harmless ones-and by the good beasts are signified good affections, as for instance by sheep, lambs, and doves; and as it is the celestial, or the celestial spiritual man, who is treated of, such are here meant. That “beasts” in general signify affections, may be seen above, confirmed by some passages in the Word (n. 45, 46), so that there is no need of further confirmation.

(144) That to “call by name” signifies to know the quality, is because the ancients, by the “name” understood the essence of a thing, and by “seeing and calling by name” they understood to know the quality. The reason was that they gave names to their sons and daughters according to the things which were signified, for every name had something peculiar in it, from which, and by which, they might know the origin and the nature of their children, as will be seen in a future part of this work, when, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, we come to treat of the twelve sons of Jacob. As therefore the names implied the source and quality of the things named, nothing else was understood by “calling by name.” This was the customary mode of speaking among them, but one who does not understand this may wonder that such things should be signified.

(145) In the Word also by “name” is signified the essence of a thing, and by “seeing and calling by name” is signified to know the quality. As in Isaiah: I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My chosen, I have even called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, and thou hast not known Me (Isa. 45:3-4). In this passage, to “call by name” and to “surname” signifies to foreknow the quality. Again: Thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall declare (Isa. 62:2),signifying to become of another character, as appears from the preceding and subsequent verses. Again: Fear not, O Israel, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine (Isa. 43:1), denoting that He knew their quality. Again in the same Prophet: Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their army by number. He will call them all by name (Isa. 40:26), meaning that He knew them all. In the Revelation: Thou hast a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments: he that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:4-5). Whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 13:8). By “names” in these passages are by no means meant names, but qualities; nor is the name of anyone ever known in heaven, but his quality.

(146) From what has been stated, the connection of what is signified may be seen. In verse 18 it is said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help as with him” and presently “beasts” and “birds” are spoken of, which nevertheless had been treated of before, and immediately it is repeated that “for the man there was not found a help as with him” which denotes that although he was permitted to know his quality as to the affections of good, and knowledges of truth, still he inclined to his Own; for those who are such as to desire what is their own, begin to despise the things of the Lord, however plainly they may be represented and shown to them.

(147) Verse 21. And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the place thereof. By a “rib” which is a bone of the chest, is meant man’s Own, in which there is but little vitality, and indeed an Own which is dear to him; by “flesh in the place of the rib” is meant an Own in which there is vitality; by a “deep sleep” is meant the state into which he was let so that he might seem to himself to have what is his own, which state resembles sleep, because while in it he knows not but that he lives, thinks, speaks, and acts, from himself. But when he begins to know that this is false, he is then roused as it were out of sleep, and becomes awake.

(148) The reason why what is man’s own (and indeed an Own which is dear to him) is called a “rib” which is a bone of the chest, is that among the most ancient people the chest signified charity, because it contains both the heart and the lungs; and bones signified the viler things, because they possess a minimum of vitality; while flesh denoted such as had vitality. The ground of these significations is one of the deepest arcana known to the men of the most Ancient Church, concerning which of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter.

(149) In the Word also, man’s Own is signified by “bones” and indeed an Own vivified by the Lord, as in Isaiah: Jehovah shall satisfy thy soul in droughts, and make thy bones alert, and thou shalt be like a watered garden (Isa. 58:11). Again: Then shall ye see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall sprout as the blade (Isa. 66:14). In David: All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto Thee? (Ps. 35:10). This is still more evident from Ezekiel, where he speaks of bones receiving flesh, and having spirit put into them: The hand of Jehovah set me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones; and He said to me, prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah; thus saith the Lord Jehovih to these bones, Behold, I bring breath [spiritus] into you, and ye shall live, and I will lay sinews upon you, and will make flesh come upon you, and cover you with skin, and I will put breath [spiritus] in you, and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah (Ezek. 37:1, 4-6). [2] The Own of man, when viewed from heaven, appears like a something that is wholly bony, inanimate, and very ugly, consequently as being in itself dead, but when vivified by the Lord it looks like flesh. For man’s Own is a mere dead thing, although to him it appears as something, indeed as everything. Whatever lives in him is from the Lord’s life, and if this were withdrawn he would fall down as dead as a stone; for man is only an organ of life, and such as is the organ, such is the life’s affection. The Lord alone has what is His Own; by this Own He redeemed man, and by this Own He saves him. The Lord’s Own is Life, and from His Own, man’s Own, which in itself is dead, is made alive. The Lord’s Own is also signified by the Lord’s words in Luke: A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have (Luke 24:39). It was also meant by not a bone of the paschal lamb being broken (Exod. 12:46).

(150) The state of man when in his Own, or when he supposes that he lives from himself, is compared to “deep sleep” and indeed by the ancients was called deep sleep; and in the Word it is said of such that they have “poured out upon them the spirit of deep sleep” (Isa. 29:10), and that they sleep a sleep (Jer. 51:57). That man’s Own is in itself dead, and that no one has any life from himself, has been shown so clearly in the world of spirits, that evil spirits who love nothing but their Own, and obstinately insist that they live from themselves, were convinced by sensible experience, and were forced to confess that they do not live from themselves. For a number of years I have been permitted in an especial manner to know how the case is with what is man’s own, and it has been granted to me to perceive clearly that I could think nothing from myself, but that every idea of thought flows in, and sometimes I could perceive how and whence it flowed in. The man who supposes that he lives from himself is therefore in what is false, and by believing that he lives from himself appropriates to himself everything evil and false, which he would never do if his belief were in accordance with the real truth of the case.

(151) Verse 22. And the rib which Jehovah God had taken from the man He built into a woman, and brought her to the man. By to “build” is signified to raise up what has fallen; by the “rib” man’s Own not vivified; by a “woman” man’s own vivified by the Lord; by “He brought her to the man” that what is his own was granted him. The posterity of this church did not wish, like their parents, to be a celestial man, but to be under their own self-guidance; and, thus inclining to their Own, it was granted to them, but still an Own vivified by the Lord, and therefore called a “woman” and afterwards a “wife.”

(152) It requires but little attention in anyone to discern that woman was not formed out of the rib of a man, and that deeper arcana are here implied than any person has heretofore been aware of. And that by the “woman” is signified man’s Own, may be known from the fact that it was the woman who was deceived; for nothing ever deceives man but his Own, or what is the same, the love of self and of the world.

(153) The rib is said to be “built into a woman” but it is not said that the woman was “created” or “formed” or “made” as before when treating of regeneration. The reason of this is that to “build” is to raise up that which has fallen; and in this sense it is used in the Word, where to “build” is predicated of evils; to “raise up” of falsities; and to “renew” of both; as in Isaiah: They shall build the wastes of eternity, they shall set up again the ancient desolations, and they shall renew the cities of the waste, the desolations of generation and generation (Isa. 61:4). “Wastes” in this and other passages signify evils; “desolations” falsities; to “build” is applied to the former, to “set up again” to the latter, and this distinction is carefully observed in other places by the prophets, as where it is said in Jeremiah: Yet still will I build thee, and thou shall be built, O virgin of Israel (Jer. 31:4).

(154) Nothing evil and false is ever possible which is not man’s Own, and from man’s Own, for the Own of man is evil itself, and consequently man is nothing but evil and falsity. This has been evident to me from the fact that when the things of man’s Own are presented to view in the world of spirits, they appear so deformed that it is impossible to depict anything more ugly, yet with a difference according to the nature of the Own, so that he to whom the things of the Own are visibly exhibited is struck with horror, and desires to flee from himself as from a devil. But truly the things of man’s Own that have been vivified by the Lord appear beautiful and lovely, with variety according to the life to which the celestial of the Lord can be applied; and indeed those who have been endowed with charity, or vivified by it, appear like boys and girls with most beautiful countenances; and those who are in innocence, like naked infants, variously adorned with garlands of flowers encircling their bosoms, and diadems upon their heads, living and sporting in a diamond-like aura, and having a perception of happiness from the very inmost.

(155) The words “a rib was built into a woman” have more things inmostly concealed in them than it is possible for anyone ever to discover from the letter; for the Word of the Lord is such that its inmost contents regard the Lord Himself and His kingdom, and from this comes all the life of the Word. And so in the passage before us, it is the heavenly marriage that is regarded in its inmost contents. The heavenly marriage is of such a nature that it exists in the Own, which, when vivified by the Lord, is called the “bride and wife” of the Lord. Man’s Own thus vivified has a perception of all the good of love and truth of faith, and consequently possesses all wisdom and intelligence conjoined with inexpressible happiness. But the nature of this vivified Own, which is called the “bride and wife” of the Lord, cannot be concisely explained. Suffice it therefore to observe that the angels perceive that they live from the Lord, although when not reflecting on the subject they know no other than that they live from themselves; but there is a general affection of such a nature that at the least departure from the good of love and truth of faith they perceive a change, and consequently they are in the enjoyment of their peace and happiness, which is inexpressible, while they are in their general perception that they live from the Lord. It is this Own also that is meant in Jeremiah, where it is said: Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man (Jer. 31:22) It is the heavenly marriage that is signified in this passage also, where by a “woman” is meant the Own vivified by the Lord, of which woman the expression “to compass” is predicated, because this Own is such that it encompasses, as a rib made flesh encompasses the heart.

(156) Verse 23. And the man said, This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; therefore she shall be called wife, because she was taken out of man [vir]. “Bone of bones and flesh of flesh” signify the Own of the external man; “bone” this Own not so much vivified, and “flesh” the Own that is vivified. Man [vir], moreover, signifies the internal man, and from his being so coupled with the external man as is stated in the subsequent verse, the Own which was before called “woman” is here denominated “wife.” “Now” signifies that it was thus effected at this time because the state was changed.

(157) Inasmuch as “bone of bones and flesh of flesh” signified the Own of the external man in which was the internal, therefore in ancient times all those were called “bone of bones and flesh of flesh” who could be called their own [proprii], and were of one house, or of one family, or in any degree of relationship. Thus Laban said of Jacob, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh (Gen. 29:14). And Abimelech said of his mother’s brethren, and of the family of the house of his mother’s father, Remember that I am your bone and your flesh (Judges 9:2). The tribes of Israel also said of themselves to David, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh (2 Sam. 5:1).

(158) That man [vir] signifies the internal man, or what is the same, one who is intelligent and wise, is plain from Isaiah: I behold, and there is no man [vir], even among them, and there is no counselor (Isa. 41:28), meaning none wise and intelligent. Also in Jeremiah: Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if ye can find a man, if there be any executing judgment, seeking the truth (Jer. 5:1) “One who executes judgment” means a wise person; and “one who seeks the truth” an intelligent one.

(159) But it is not easy to perceive how the case is with these things unless the state of the celestial man is understood. In the celestial man the internal man is distinct from the external, indeed so distinct that the celestial man perceives what belongs to the internal man, and what to the external, and how the external man is governed through the internal by the Lord. But the state of the posterity of this celestial man, in consequence of desiring their Own, which belongs to the external man, was so changed that they no longer perceived the internal man to be distinct from the external, but imagined the internal to be one with the external, for such a perception takes place when man inclines to his Own.

(160) Verse 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. To “leave father and mother” is to recede from the internal man, for it is the internal which conceives and brings forth the external; to “cleave unto his wife” is that the internal may be in the external; to “be one flesh” that they are there together; and because before, the internal man, and the external from the internal were spirit, but now they have become flesh. Thus was celestial and spiritual life adjoined to the Own, that they might be as one.

(161) This posterity of the Most Ancient Church was not evil, but was still good; and because they desired to live in the external man, or in their Own, this was permitted them by the Lord, what is spiritual celestial, however, being mercifully insinuated therein. How the internal and external act as a one, or how they appear as a one, cannot be known unless the influx of the one into the other is known. In order to conceive some idea of it, take for example an action. Unless in an action there is charity, that is, love and faith, and in these the Lord, that action cannot be called a work of charity, or the fruit of faith.

(162) All the laws of truth and right flow from celestial beginnings, or from the order of life of the celestial man. For the whole heaven is a celestial man because the Lord alone is a celestial man, and as He is the all in all of heaven and the celestial man, they are thence called celestial. As every law of truth and right descends from celestial beginnings, or from the order of life of the celestial man, so in an especial manner does the law of marriages. It is the celestial (or heavenly) marriage from and according to which all marriages on earth must be derived; and this marriage is such that there is one Lord and one heaven, or one church whose head is the Lord. The law of marriages thence derived is that there shall be one husband and one wife, and when this is the case they represent the celestial marriage, and are an exemplar of the celestial man. This law was not only revealed to the men of the Most Ancient Church, but was also inscribed on their internal man, wherefore at that time a man had but one wife, and they constituted one house. But when their posterity ceased to be internal men, and became external, they married a plurality of wives. Because the men of the Most Ancient Church in their marriages represented the celestial marriage, conjugial love was to them a kind of heaven and heavenly happiness, but when the Church declined they had no longer any perception of happiness in conjugial love, but in pleasure from a number, which is a delight of the external man. This is called by the Lord “hardness of heart” on account of which they were permitted by Moses to marry a plurality of wives, as the Lord Himself teaches: For the hardness of your heart Moses wrote you this precept, but from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh; wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh; what therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder (Mark 10:5-9).

(163) Verse 25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Their being “naked, and not ashamed” signifies that they were innocent, for the Lord had insinuated innocence into their Own, to prevent its being unacceptable.

(164) The Own of man, as before stated, is mere evil, and when exhibited to view is most deformed, but when charity and innocence from the Lord are insinuated into the Own, it then appears good and beautiful (as before observed, n. 154). Charity and innocence not only excuse the Own (that is, what is evil and false in man), but as it were abolish it, as may be observed in little children, in whom what is evil and false is not merely concealed, but is even pleasing, so long as they love their parents and one another, and their infantile innocence shows itself. Hence it may be known why no one can be admitted into heaven unless he possesses some degree of innocence; as the Lord has said: Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them (Mark 10:14-16).

(165) That the “nakedness of which they were not ashamed” signifies innocence, is proved by what follows, for when integrity and innocence departed they were ashamed of their nakedness, and it appeared to them disgraceful, and they therefore hid themselves. The same is evident also from the representations in the world of spirits, for when spirits wish to exculpate themselves and prove their guiltlessness, they present themselves naked in order to testify their innocence. Especially is it evident from the innocent in heaven, who appear as naked infants decorated with garlands according to the nature of their innocence; while those who have not so much innocence are clad in becoming and shining garments (of diamond silk as you might say), as the angels were occasionally seen by the prophets.

(166) Such are some of the things contained in this chapter of the Word, but those here set forth are but few. And as the celestial man is treated of, who at the present day is known to scarcely anyone, even these few things cannot but appear obscure to some.

(167) If anyone could know how many arcana each particular verse contains, he would be amazed, for the number of arcana contained is past telling, and this is very little shown in the letter. To state the matter shortly: the words of the letter, exactly as they are, are vividly represented in the world of spirits, in a beautiful order. For the world of spirits is a world of representatives, and whatever is vividly represented there is perceived, in respect to the minute things contained in the representatives, by the angelic spirits who are in the second heaven; and the things thus perceived by the angelic spirits are perceived abundantly and fully in inexpressible angelic ideas by the angels who are in the third heaven, and this in boundless variety in accordance with the Lord’s good pleasure. Such is the Word of the Lord.

(168) CONCERNING THE RESUSCITATION OF MAN FROM THE DEAD, AND HIS ENTRANCE INTO ETERNAL LIFE Being permitted to describe in connected order how man passes from the life of the body into the life of eternity, in order that the way in which he is resuscitated might be known, this has been shown me, not by hearing, but by actual experience.

(169) I was reduced into a state of insensibility as to the bodily senses, thus almost into the state of dying persons, retaining however my interior life unimpaired, attended with the power of thinking, and with sufficient breathing for life, and finally with a tacit breathing, that I might perceive and remember what happens to those who have died and are being resuscitated.

(170) Celestial angels were present who occupied the region of the heart, so that as to the heart I seemed united with them, and so that at length scarcely anything was left to me except thought, and the consequent perception, and this for some hours.

(171) I was thus removed from communication with spirits in the world of spirits, who supposed that I had departed from the life of the body.

(172) Besides the celestial angels, who occupied the region of the heart, there were also two angels sitting at my head, and it was given me to perceive that it is so with everyone.

(173) The angels who sat at my head were perfectly silent, merely communicating their thoughts by the face, so that I could perceive that another face was as it were induced upon me; indeed two, because there were two angels. When the angels perceive that their faces are received, they know that the man is dead.

(174) After recognizing their faces, they induced certain changes about the region of the mouth, and thus communicated their thoughts, for it is customary with the celestial angels to speak by the province of the mouth, and it was permitted me to perceive their cogitative speech.

(175) An aromatic odor was perceived, like that of an embalmed corpse, for when the celestial angels are present, the cadaverous odor is perceived as if it were aromatic, which when perceived by evil spirits prevents their approach.

(176) Meanwhile I perceived that the region of the heart was kept very closely united with the celestial angels, as was also evident from the pulsation.

(177) It was insinuated to me that man is kept engaged by the angels in the pious and holy thoughts which he entertained at the point of death; and it was also insinuated that those who are dying usually think about eternal life, and seldom of salvation and happiness, and therefore the angels keep them in the thought of eternal life.

(178) In this thought they are kept for a considerable time by the celestial angels before these angels depart, and those who are being resuscitated are then left to the spiritual angels, with whom they are next associated. Meanwhile they have a dim idea that they are living in the body.

(179) As soon as the internal parts of the body grow cold, the vital substances are separated from the man, wherever they may be, even if inclosed in a thousand labyrinthine interlacings, for such is the efficacy of the Lord’s mercy (which I had previously perceived as a living and mighty attraction), that nothing vital can remain behind.

(180) The celestial angels who sat at the head remained with me for some time after I was as it were resuscitated, but they conversed only tacitly. It was perceived from their cogitative speech that they made light of all fallacies and falsities, smiling at them not indeed as matters for derision, but as if they cared nothing about them. Their speech is cogitative, devoid of sound, and in this kind of language they begin to speak with the souls with whom they are at first present.

(181) As yet the man, thus resuscitated by the celestial angels, possesses only an obscure life; but when the time comes for him to be delivered to the spiritual angels, then after a little delay, when the spiritual angels have approached, the celestial depart; and it has been shown me how the spiritual angels operate in order that the man may receive the benefit of light, as described in the continuation of this subject prefixed to the following chapter.