Secrets of Heaven · Volume 1 · §§ 641–720

641. As this man of the church must be reformed as to that part of man which is called the understanding, before he could be reformed as to the other part which is called the will, it is here described how the things of the will were separated from those of the understanding, and were as it were covered over and reserved, lest anything should touch the will. For if things of the will, that is of cupidity, had been excited, the man would have perished, as will appear, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, hereafter. These two parts-the will and the understanding-are so distinct in man that nothing could be more distinct, as has been given me also to know with certainty from the fact that things of the understanding of spirits and angels flow into the left part of the head or brain, and things of the will into the right; and it is the same with respect to the face. When angelic spirits flow in, they do so gently like the softest breaths of air; but when evil spirits flow in, it is like an inundation into the left part of the brain with dreadful phantasies and persuasions, and into the right with cupidities, their influx being as it were an inundation of phantasies and cupidities.

642. From all this it is evident what this first description of the ark involves, with its construction of gopher wood, its mansions, and its coating within and without with pitch, namely, that one part, that of the will, was preserved from inundation; and only that part opened which is of the understanding, and is described, in verse 16, by the window, the door, and the lowest, second, and third stories. These things are not easily believed, because hitherto no one has had any idea of them. And yet they are most true. But these are the least and most general of the hidden meanings which man is ignorant of. If the individual particulars were told him, he could not apprehend even one of them.

643. But as regards the signification itself of the words: that “gopher wood” signifies concupiscences, and the “mansions” the two parts of man, is evident from the Word. Gopher wood is a wood abounding in sulphur,* like the fir, and others of its kind. On account of its sulphur it is said that it signifies concupiscences, because it easily takes fire. The most ancient people compared things in man (and regarded them as having a likeness) to gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, and wood-his inmost celestial to gold, his lower celestial to brass, and what was lowest, or the corporeal therefrom, to wood. But his inmost spiritual they compared (and regarded as having a likeness) to silver, his lower spiritual to iron, and his lowest to stone. And such in the internal sense is the signification of these things when they are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah:

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thine officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness (Isa. 60:17).

Here the Lord’s kingdom is treated of, in which there are not such metals, but spiritual and celestial things; and that these are signified is very evident from the mention of “peace” and “righteousness.” “Gold” “brass” and “wood” here correspond to each other, and signify things celestial or of the will, as before said; and “silver” “iron” and “stone” correspond to each other, and signify things spiritual or of the understanding.

[2] In Ezekiel:

They shall make a spoil of thy riches and make a prey of thy merchandise; thy stones, and thy wood (Ezek. 26:12).

It is very manifest that by “riches” and “merchandise” are not meant worldly riches and merchandise, but celestial and spiritual; and the same by the “stones” and “wood”-the “stones” being those things which are of the understanding, and the “wood” those which are of the will. In Habakkuk:

The stone crieth out of the wall, and the beam out of the wood answereth (Hab. 2:11).

The “stone” denotes the lowest degree of the understanding; and the “wood” the lowest of the will, which “answers” when anything is drawn from sensuous knowledge [scientifico sensuali]. Again:

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; and to the dumb stone, Arise, this shall teach. Behold it is fastened with gold and silver, and there is no breath in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in the temple of His holiness (Hab. 2:19-20).

Here also “wood” denotes cupidity; “stone” denotes the lowest of the understanding, and therefore to be “dumb” and to “teach” are predicated of it; “there is no breath in the midst of it” signifies that it represents nothing celestial and spiritual, just as a temple wherein are stone and wood, and these bound together with gold and silver, is to those who think nothing of what they represent.

[3] In Jeremiah:

We drink our waters for silver; our wood cometh for price (Lam. 5:4).

Here “waters” and “silver” signify the things of the understanding; and “wood” those of the will. Again:

Saying to wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast brought us forth (Jer. 2:27).

Here “wood” denotes cupidity, which is of the will, whence is the conception; and “stone” the sensuous knowledge [scientifico sensuali], from which is the “bringing forth.” Hence, in different places in the Prophets, “serving wood and stone” is put for worshiping graven images of wood and stone, by which is signified that they served cupidities and phantasies; and also “committing adultery with wood and stone” as in Jeremiah (3:9). In Hosea: My people inquire of their wood, and the staff thereof declareth unto them; because the spirit of whoredoms hath led them away (Hos. 4:12),

meaning that they make inquiry of graven images of wood, or of cupidities.

[4] In Isaiah:

Topheth is prepared from yesterday, the pile thereof is fire and mulch wood, the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning sulphur* (Isa. 30:33). Here “fire” “sulphur” and “wood” stand for foul cupidities. In general, “wood” signifies the things of the will which are lowest; the precious woods, such as cedar and the like, those which are good, as for example the cedar wood in the temple, and the cedar wood employed in the cleansing of leprosy (Lev. 14:4, 6-7); also the wood cast into the bitter waters at Marah, whereby the waters became sweet (Exod. 15:25), concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy in those places. But woods that were not precious, and those which were made into graven images, as well as those used for funeral piles and the like, signify cupidities; as in this place does the gopher wood, on account of its sulphur. So in Isaiah:

The day of vengeance of Jehovah; the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into sulphur,* and the land thereof shall become burning pitch (Isa. 34:9).

“Pitch” stands for dreadful phantasies; “sulphur” for abominable cupidities.

* The word “sulphur” was formerly used not exclusively as the name of brimstone, but also as a general term for inflammable substance. The classification of gopher here with the fir (abies), which is a turpentine tree, would seem to imply that the inflammable constituent of the gopher also was turpentine, and that this is what is meant here by “sulphur.” See Lord Bacon’s “History of Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt.” [Note in the Rotch edition.]

644. That by the “mansions” are signified the two parts of man, which are the will and the understanding, is evident from what has been stated before: that these two parts, the will and the understanding, are most distinct from each other, and that for this reason, as before said, the human brain is divided into two parts, called hemispheres. To its left hemisphere pertain the intellectual faculties, and to the right those of the will. This is the most general distinction. Besides this, both the will and the understanding are distinguished into innumerable parts, for so many are the divisions of the intellectual things of man, and so many those of the will, that they can never be described or enumerated even as to the universal genera, still less as to their species. A man is a kind of least heaven, corresponding to the world of spirits and to heaven, wherein all the genera and all the species of the things of the understanding and of the will are distinguished by the Lord in the most perfect order, so that not even the least of them is undistinguished, concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter. In heaven these divisions are called Societies, in the Word “habitations” and by the Lord “mansions” (John 14:2). Here also they are called “mansions” because they are predicated of the ark, which signifies the man of the church.

645. That to “pitch it within and without with pitch” signifies preservation from an inundation of cupidities, is evident from what has been said before. For the man of this church was first to be reformed as to the things of his understanding, and therefore he was preserved from an inundation of cupidities, which would destroy all the work of reformation. In the original text it is not indeed said that it was to be “pitched with pitch” but a word is used which denotes “protection” derived from “expiate” or “propitiate” and therefore it involves the same. The expiation or propitiation of the Lord is protection from the inundation of evil.

646. Verse 15. And thus shalt thou make it: three hundred cubits the length of the ark, fifty cubits its breadth, and thirty, cubits its height. By the numbers here as before are signified remains, that they were few; the “length” is their holiness, the “breadth” their truth, and the “height” their good.

647. That these particulars have such a signification, as that the numbers “three hundred” “fifty” and “thirty” signify remains, and that they are few; and that “length” “breadth” and “height” signify holiness, truth, and good, cannot but appear strange to everyone, and very remote from the letter. But in addition to what was said and shown above concerning numbers (at verse 3 of this chapter, that a “hundred and twenty” there signify remains of faith), it may be evident to everyone also from the fact that they who are in the internal sense, as are good spirits and angels, are beyond all such things as are earthly, corporeal, and merely of the world, and thus are beyond all matters of number and measure, and yet it is given them by the Lord to perceive the Word fully, and this entirely apart from such things. And this being true, it may therefore be very evident that these particulars involve things celestial and spiritual which are so remote from the sense of the letter that it cannot even appear that there are such things. Such are celestial and spiritual things both in general and in particular. And from this a man may know how insane it is to desire to search into those things which are matters of faith, by means of the things of sense and knowledge [sensualia et scientifica]; and to be unwilling to believe unless he apprehends them in this way.

648. That in the Word numbers and measures signify things celestial and spiritual, is very evident from the measurement of the New Jerusalem and of the Temple, in John, and in Ezekiel. Anyone may see that by the “New Jerusalem” and the “new Temple” is signified the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens and on earth, and that the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens and on earth is not subject to earthly measurement; and yet its dimensions as to length, breadth, and height are designated by numbers. From this anyone may conclude that by the numbers and measures are signified holy things, as in John:

There was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the angel stood, and said unto me, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein (Rev. 11:1).

And concerning the New Jerusalem:

The wall of the New Jerusalem was great and high, having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels, and names written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, on the west three gates. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He that talked with me had a golden reed, to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. The city lieth four square, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal. He measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Rev. 21:12-17).

[2] The number “twelve” occurs here throughout, which is a very holy number because it signifies the holy things of faith (as said above, at verse 3 of this chapter, and as will be shown, of the Lord’s Divine mercy, at the twenty-ninth and thirtieth, chapters of Genesis). And therefore it is added that this measure is the “measure of a man, that is, of an angel.” It is the same with the new Temple and new Jerusalem in Ezekiel which are also described as to their measures (40:3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13-14, 22, 25, 30, 36, 42, 47; 41:1 to the end; 42:5-15; Zech. 2:1-2). Here too regarded in themselves the numbers signify nothing but the holy celestial and spiritual abstractedly from the numbers. So with all the numbers of the dimensions of the ark (Exod. 25:10); of the mercy seat; of the golden table; of the tabernacle; and of the altar (Exod. 25:10, 17, 23; 26, and 27:1); and all the numbers and dimensions of the temple (1 Kings 6:2-3), and many others.

649. But here the numbers or measures of the ark signify nothing else than the remains which were with the man of this church when he was being reformed, and that they were but few. This is evident from the fact that in these numbers five predominates, which in the Word signifies some or a little, as in Isaiah:

There shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the branches of a fruitful one (Isa. 17:6),

where “two or three” and “five” denote a few. Again:

One thousand at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee; until ye be left as a pole upon the top of a mountain (Isa. 30:17),where also “five” denotes a few. So too the least fine, after restitution, was a “fifth part” (Lev. 5:16; 6:5; 22:14; Num. 5:7). And the least addition when they redeemed a beast, a house, a field, or the tithes, was a “fifth part” (Lev. 27:13, 15, 19, 31).

650. That “length” signifies the holiness, “breadth” the truth, and “height” the good of whatever things are described by the numbers, cannot so well be confirmed from the Word, because they are each and all predicated according to the subject or thing treated of. Thus “length” as applied to time signifies perpetuity and eternity, as “length of days” in Ps. 23:6, and 21:4; but as applied to space it denotes holiness, as follows therefrom. And the same is the case with “breadth” and “height.” There is a trinal dimension of all earthly things, but such dimensions cannot be predicated of celestial and spiritual things. When they are predicated, greater or less perfection is meant, apart from the dimensions, and also the quality and quantity; thus here the quality, that they were remains; and the quantity, that they were few.

651. Verse 16. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it from above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lowest, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. By the “window” which was to be finished “to a cubit from above” is signified the intellectual part; by the “door at the side” is signified hearing; by the “lowest, second, and third stories” are signified the things of knowledge, of reason, and of understanding [scientifica, rationalia, et intellectualia].

652. That the “window” signifies the intellectual part, and the “door” hearing, and thus that in this verse the intellectual part of man is treated of, is evident from what has been stated before: that the man of that church was reformed in this way. There are two lives in man; one is of the will, the other of the understanding. They become two lives when there is no will, but cupidity in place of a will. Then it is the other or intellectual part that can be reformed; and afterwards through this a new will can be given, so that the two may still constitute one life, namely, charity and faith. Because man was now such that he had no will, but mere cupidity in place of it, the part which belongs to the will was closed-as stated at verse 14-and the other or intellectual part was opened; which is the subject treated of in this verse.

653. The case is this: When a man is being reformed, which is effected by combats and temptations, such evil spirits are associated with him as excite nothing but his things of knowledge and reason [scientifica ejus et rationalia]; and spirits that excite cupidities are kept entirely away from him. For there are two kinds of evil spirits, those who act upon man’s reasonings, and those who act upon his cupidities. The evil spirits who excite a man’s reasonings bring forth all his falsities, and endeavor to persuade him that they are true, and even turn truths into falsities. A man must fight against these when he is in temptation; but it is really the Lord who fights, through the angels who are adjoined to the man. As soon as the falsities are separated, and as it were dispersed, by these combats, the man is prepared to receive the truths of faith. For so long as falsities prevail, a man never can receive the truths of faith, because the principles of falsity stand in the way. When he has thus been prepared to receive the truths of faith, then for the first time can celestial seeds be implanted in him, which are the seeds of charity. The seeds of charity can never be implanted in ground where falsities reign, but only where truths reign. Thus is it with the reformation or regeneration of the spiritual man, and so it was with the man of this church which is called “Noah.” Hence it is that here the “window” and “door” of the ark are spoken of, and its “lowest, second, and third stories” which all pertain to the spiritual or intellectual man.

654. This agrees with what is at this day known in the churches: that faith comes by hearing. But faith is by no means the knowledge [cognitio] of the things that are of faith, or that are to be believed. This is only memory-knowledge [scientia]; whereas faith is acknowledgment. There can however be no acknowledgment with anyone unless the principal of faith is in him, which is charity, that is, love toward the neighbor and mercy. When there is charity, then there is acknowledgment, or faith. He who apprehends otherwise is as far away from a knowledge of faith as earth is from heaven. When charity is present, which is the goodness of faith, then acknowledgment is present, which is the truth of faith. When therefore a man is being regenerated according to the things of knowledge, of reason, and of understanding, it is to the end that the ground may be prepared-that is, his mind-for receiving charity; from which, or from the life of which, he thereafter thinks and acts. Then he is reformed or regenerated, and not before.

655. That the “window” which was to be “made perfect to a cubit from above” signifies the intellectual part, anyone may see from what has now been said; and also from the fact that when the construction of the ark is being treated of, and by the “ark” is signified the man of the church, the intellectual part cannot be otherwise compared than to a “window from above.” And so in other parts of the Word: the intellectual part of man, that is, his internal sight, whether it be reason, or mere reasoning, is called a “window.” Thus in Isaiah:

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest and not comforted, I will make thy suns (windows) of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of pleasant stones (Isa. 54:11-12).

Here “suns” are put for “windows” from the light that is admitted, or transmitted. The “suns” or “windows” in this passage are intellectual things that come from charity, and therefore they are likened to a “ruby;” the “gates” are rational things thence derived; and the “border” is that which is of knowledge and the senses [scientificum et sensuale]. The Lord’s church is here treated of.

[2] All the windows of the temple at Jerusalem represented the same: the highest of them the intellectual things; the middle, rational things; and the lowest, the things of knowledge and the senses; for there were three stories (1 Kings 6:4, 6, 8). Likewise the windows of the new Jerusalem in Ezekiel (40:16, 22, 25, 33, 36). In Jeremiah:

Death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the little child from the street, the young men from the streets [vicis] (Jer. 9:21).

Windows of the middle story are here meant, which are rational things, it being meant that they are extinguished; the “little child in the street” is truth beginning.

[3] Because “windows” signify things intellectual and rational that are of truth, they signify also reasonings that are of falsity. Thus in the same Prophet:

Woe unto him that buildeth his house in what is not righteousness, and his chambers in what is not judgment; who saith, I will build me a house of measures, and spacious chambers, and he cutteth him out windows, and it is floored with cedar, and painted with vermilion (Jer. 22:13-14).

Here “windows” denote principles of falsity. In Zephaniah:

Droves of beasts shall lie down in the midst of her, every wild animal of his kind [gentis], both the cormorant and the bittern [chippod] shall lodge in the pomegranates thereof; a voice shall sing in the window; wasting shall be upon the threshold (Zeph. 2:14).

This is said of Asshur and Nineveh; “Asshur” denotes the understanding, here vastated; a “voice singing in the windows” reasonings from phantasies.

656. That by the “door at the side” is signified hearing is now therefore evident, and there is no need that it should be confirmed by similar examples from the Word. For the ear is to the internal organs of sense as a door at the side is to a window above; or what is the same, the hearing which is of the ear, is so to the intellectual part which is of the internal sensory.

657. That by the “lowest, second, and third stories” are signified things of knowledge, of reason, and of understanding [scientifica, rationalia, et intellectualia] follows also from what has been shown. There are three degrees of things intellectual in man; the lowest is that of knowledge [scientificum]; the middle is the rational; the highest, the intellectual. These are so distinct from each other that they should never be confounded. But man is not aware of this, for the reason that he makes life consist in what is of sense and knowledge only; and while he cleaves to this, he cannot even know that his rational part is distinct from that which is concerned with knowing [scientificum]; and still less that his intellectual part is so. And yet the truth is that the Lord flows through man’s intellectual into his rational, and through his rational into the knowledge of the memory, whence comes the life of the senses of sight and of hearing. This is the true influx, and this is the true interaction of the soul with the body.

Without influx of the Lord’s life into the things of the understanding in man-or rather into things of the will and through these into those of understanding-and through things of understanding into things rational, and through things rational into his knowledges which are of the memory, life would be impossible to man. And even though a man is in falsities and evils, yet there is an influx of the Lord’s life through the things of the will and of the understanding; but the things that flow in are received in the rational part according to its form; and this influx gives man the ability to reason, to reflect, and to understand what truth and good are. But concerning these things, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter; and also how the case is with the life that pertains to brutes.

658. These three degrees, which in general are called those of man’s intellectual things, namely, understanding, reason, and memory-knowledge, are likewise signified, as before said, by the windows of the three stories of the temple at Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:4, 6, 8), and also as above by the rivers which went forth out of the Garden of Eden in the east. The “east” there signifies the Lord; “Eden” love, which is of the will; the “garden” intelligence thence derived; the “rivers” wisdom, reason, and memory-knowledge (concerning which see what was said before, Gen. 2:10-14).

659. Verse 17. And I, behold I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of lives from under the heavens; everything that is on the earth shall expire. By the “flood” is signified an inundation of evil and falsity; “to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of lives from under the heavens” signifies that the whole posterity of the Most Ancient Church would destroy themselves; “everything that is in the earth shall expire” signifies those who were of that church and had become such.

660. That by the “flood” is signified an inundation of evil and falsity, is evident from what has been stated before concerning the posterity of the Most Ancient Church: that they were possessed with foul cupidities, and that they immersed the doctrinal things of faith in them, and in consequence had persuasions of falsity which extinguished all truth and good, and at the same time closed up the way for remains, so that they could not operate; and therefore it could not be otherwise than that they would destroy themselves. When the way for remains is closed, the man is no longer man, because he can no longer be protected by angels, but is totally possessed by evil spirits, whose sole study and desire it is to extinguish man. Hence came the death of the antediluvians, which is described by a flood, or total inundation. The influx of phantasies and cupidities from evil spirits is not unlike a kind of flood; and therefore it is called a “flood” or inundation in various places in the Word, as of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be seen in what is premised to the following chapter.

661. To destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of lives from under the heavens. That this signifies that the whole posterity of the Most Ancient Church would destroy themselves, is evident from what is said above, and from the description of them given before: that they derived by inheritance from their parents in succession such a genius that they more than others were imbued with direful persuasions; and especially for the reason that they immersed the doctrinal things of faith that they possessed in their cupidities. It is otherwise with those who have no doctrinal things of faith, but live entirely in ignorance; these cannot so act, and therefore cannot profane holy things, and thereby close up the way for remains; and consequently they cannot drive away from themselves the angels of the Lord.

[2] Remains, as has been said, are all things of innocence, all things of charity, all things of mercy, and all things of the truth of faith, which from his infancy a man has had from the Lord, and has learned. Each and all of these things are treasured up; and if a man had them not, there could be nothing of innocence, of charity, and of mercy, and therefore nothing of good and truth in his thought and actions, so that he would be worse than the savage wild beasts. And it would be the same if he had had the remains of such things and had closed up the way by foul cupidities and direful persuasions of falsity, so that they could not operate. Such were the antediluvians who destroyed themselves, and who are meant by “all flesh wherein is the breath of lives, under the heavens.” [3] “Flesh” as before shown, signifies every man in general, and the corporeal man in particular. The “breath of lives” signifies all life in general, but properly the life of those who have been regenerated, consequently in the present case the last posterity of the Most Ancient Church. Although there was no life of faith remaining among them, yet as they derived from their parents something of seed therefrom which they stifled, it is here called the “breath of lives” or (as in Gen. 7:22) “in whose nostrils was the breathing of the breath of lives.” “Flesh under the heavens” signifies what is merely corporeal; the “heavens” are the things of the understanding that are of truth and the things of the will that are of good, on the separation of which from the corporeal a man can no longer live. What sustains man is his conjunction with heaven, that is, through heaven with the Lord.

662. Everything that is in the earth shall expire. This signifies those who were of that church and had become of this quality. It has been shown before that the “earth” does not mean the whole world, but only those who were of the church. Thus no deluge was meant here, still less a universal deluge, but the expiring or suffocation of those who existed there, when they were separated from remains, and thereby from the things of the understanding that are of truth and the things of the will that are of good, and therefore from the heavens. That the “earth” signifies the region where the church is, and therefore those who live there, may be confirmed by the following passages from the Word, in addition to those already cited. In Jeremiah:

Thus hath said Jehovah, The whole earth shall be desolate; yet will I not make a consummation. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above shall be black (Jer. 4:27-28).

Here the “earth” denotes those who dwell where the church is that is vastated. In Isaiah:

I will move the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place (Isa. 13:13).

The “earth” denotes the man who is to be vastated, where the church is. In Jeremiah:

The slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth (Jer. 25:33).Here the “end of the earth” does not signify the whole world, but only the region where the church was, and consequently the men who were of the church. Again:

I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth; a tumult shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations (Jer. 25:29, 31).

In this passage, in like manner, the whole world is not meant, but only the region where the church is, and therefore the inhabitant or man of the church; the “nations” here denote falsities. In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth (Isa. 26:21).

Here the meaning is the same. Again:

Have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood the foundations of the earth (Isa. 40:21)?

Again:

Jehovah, that createth the heavens, God Himself that formeth the earth and maketh it, He establisheth it (Isa. 45:18).

The “earth” denotes the man of the church. In Zechariah:

The saying of Jehovah, who stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zech. 12:1),

where the “earth” manifestly denotes the man of the church. The “earth” is distinguished from the “ground” as are the man of the church and the church itself, or as are love and faith.

663. Verse 18. And I will set up My covenant with thee; and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. To “set up a covenant” signifies that he would be regenerated; that “he, and his sons, and his sons’ wives” should “come into the ark” signifies that he would be saved. “Sons” are truths; “wives” are goods.

664. In the preceding verse those who destroyed themselves were treated of, but here those who were to be regenerated and thus saved, who are called “Noah.”

665. That to “set up a covenant” signifies that he would be regenerated, is very evident from the fact that there can be no covenant between the Lord and man other than conjunction by love and faith, and therefore a “covenant” signifies conjunction. For it is the heavenly marriage that is the veriest covenant; and the heavenly marriage, or conjunction, does not exist except with those who are being regenerated; so that in the widest sense regeneration itself is signified by a “covenant.” The Lord enters into a covenant with man when He regenerates him; and therefore among the ancients a covenant represented nothing else. Nothing can be gathered from the sense of the letter but that the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so many times with their descendants, was concerned with them personally, whereas they were such that they could not be regenerated; for they made worship consist in external things, and supposed the externals of worship to be holy, without internal things being adjoined to them. And therefore the covenants made with them were only representatives of regeneration. It was the same with their rites, and with Abraham himself, and with Isaac, and Jacob, who represented the things of love and faith. Likewise the high priests and priests, whatever their character, even those that were wicked, could represent the heavenly and most holy priesthood. In representatives the person is not regarded, but the thing that is represented. Thus all the kings of Israel and of Judah, even the worst, represented the royalty of the Lord; and even Pharaoh too, who set Joseph over the land of Egypt. From these and many other considerations-concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter-it is evident that the covenants so often entered into with the sons of Jacob were only religious rites that were representative.

666. That a “covenant” signifies nothing else than regeneration and the things pertaining to regeneration, is evident from various passages in the Word where the Lord Himself is called the “Covenant” because it is He alone who regenerates, and who is looked to by the regenerate man, and is the all in all of love and faith. That the Lord is the Covenant itself is evident in Isaiah:

I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isa. 42:6),

where a “covenant” denotes the Lord “a light of the nations” is faith. So in chapter 49:6, 8. In Malachi:

Behold I send Mine angel, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; behold He cometh; who may abide the day of His coming? (Mal. 3:1, 2),

where the Lord is called the “Angel of the Covenant.” The sabbath is called a “perpetual covenant” (Exod. 31:16), because it signifies the Lord Himself, and the celestial man regenerated by Him.

[2] Since the Lord is the very covenant itself, it is evident that all that which conjoins man with the Lord is of the covenant as love and faith, and whatever is of love and faith-for these are of the Lord, and the Lord is in them; and so the covenant itself is in them, where they are received. These have no existence except with a regenerated man, with whom whatever is of the Regenerator or of the Lord is of the covenant, oil is the covenant. As in Isaiah:

My mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed away (Isa. 54:10),

where “mercy” and the “covenant of peace” denote the Lord and what belongs to Him. Again:

Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make a covenant of eternity with you, the sure mercies of David; behold, I have given Him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and a lawgiver to the nations (Isa. 66:3, 4).

“David” here denotes the Lord; the “covenant of eternity” is in those things and by those things which are of the Lord, and these are meant by going to Him and hearing, that the soul may live.

[3] In Jeremiah:

I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their heart (Jer. 32:39, 40).”

This is said of those who are to be regenerated, and of things that belong to them, namely, “one heart and one way” that is, charity and faith, which are of the Lord and so of the covenant. Again:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, for they rendered My covenant vain: but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jer. 31:31-33).

Here the meaning of a “covenant” is clearly explained, that it is the love and faith in the Lord which is with those who are to be regenerated.

[4] And again in Jeremiah, love is called the “covenant of the day” and faith the “covenant of the night” (Jer. 33:20). In Ezekiel:

I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My servant David a prince in the midst of them, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will make the evil beast to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell secure in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests (Ezek. 34:24-25).

Here regeneration is evidently treated of. “David” denotes the Lord. Again:

David shall be a prince to them to eternity; I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be a covenant of eternity with them; I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them to eternity (Ezek. 37:25-26).Here likewise regeneration is treated of. “David” and the “sanctuary” denote the Lord. And again:

I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou wast Mine; and I washed thee with waters, and washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezek. 16:8-9),

where regeneration is plainly meant. In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hos. 2:18),

meaning regeneration; the “wild beast of the field” denotes the things that are of the will; “the fowl of the heavens” those that are of the understanding. In David:

He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant to eternity (Ps. 111:9),

also meaning regeneration. It is called a “covenant” because it is given and received.

[5] But of those who are not regenerated, or what is the same, who make worship consist in external things, and esteem and worship themselves and what they desire and think as if they were gods, it is said that they render the covenant vain, because they separate themselves from the Lord. And in Jeremiah:

They have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and have bowed themselves down to other gods, and served them (Jer. 22:9).

In Moses:

He who should transgress the covenant by serving other gods-the sun, the moon, the army of the heavens-should be stoned (Deut. 17:2 seq.).The “sun” denotes the love of self; the “moon” principles of falsity; the “army of the heavens” falsities themselves. From all this it is now evident what the “ark of the covenant” signified wherein was the “covenant” or “testimony” namely, that it signified the Lord Himself; and that the “book of the covenant” also signified the Lord Himself (Exod. 24:4-7; 34:27; Deut. 4:13, 23); and likewise that by the “blood of the covenant” (Exod. 24:6, 8) was signified the Lord Himself, who alone is the Regenerator. Hence the “covenant” denotes regeneration itself.

667. Thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. That this signifies that he would be saved, is evident from what has been said before and from what follows: that he was saved because regenerated.

668. That “sons” signify truths, and “daughters” goods, has also been shown before-at chapter 5, verse 4-where “sons” and “daughters” were spoken of. But here it is “sons” and “wives” because “wives” are the goods that are adjoined to truths; for no truth can be produced unless there is a good or delight from which it is. In good and in delight there is life; but not in truth, except that which it has from good and delight. From this, truth is formed and begotten, and so is faith, which is of truth, formed and begotten by love, which is of good. It is with truth exactly as it is with light: except from the sun or a flame there is no light; it is from this that light is formed. Truth is only the form of good; and faith is only the form of love. Truth is formed from good according to the quality of the good, and faith is formed from love according to the quality of the love or charity. This then is the reason why a “wife” and “wives” are mentioned, which signify goods adjoined to truths. And hence it is said in the following verse that pairs of all were to enter into the ark, a male and a female; for without goods adjoined to truths there is no regeneration.

669. Verse 19. And of every living thing of all flesh, pairs of all shalt thou make to enter into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. By the “living soul” are signified the things of the understanding; by “all flesh” those of the will; “pairs of all shalt thou make to enter into the ark” signifies their regeneration; the “male” is truth; the “female” good.

670. That by the “living soul” are signified the things of the understanding, and by “all flesh” those of the will, is evident from what has been said before, and from what follows. By “living soul” in the Word is signified every living creature in general, of whatever kind (as in chapter 1, verses 20-24, and 2:19); but here, being immediately connected with “all flesh” it signifies the things which are of the understanding; for the reason before advanced that the man of this church was to be regenerated first as to intellectual things. And therefore in the following verse the “fowl” (which signifies intellectual or rational things) is mentioned first, and afterwards the “beasts” which are things of the will. “Flesh” specifically signifies that which is corporeal, which is of the will.

671. Pairs of all shalt thou make to enter into the ark, to keep them alive. That this signifies their regeneration, is evident from what has been said in connection with the preceding verse: that truths cannot be regenerated except through goods and delights; nor therefore the things of faith, except through those which are of charity. And for this reason it is said here that “pairs” of all should enter in, that is, both of truths which are of the understanding, and of goods which are of the will. A man who is not regenerated has no understanding of truth or will of good, but only what appear to be such, and in common speech are so called. He can however receive truths of reason and of knowledge [vera rationalia et scientifica], but they are not living. He may also have a kind of goods of the will, such as exist in the Gentiles, and even in brutes, but neither are these living; they are merely analogous. Such goods in man are not living until he is regenerated and they are thus made alive by the Lord. In the other life it is very manifestly perceived what is not alive and what is alive. Truth that is not alive is instantly perceived as something material, fibrous, closed up; and good not alive, as something woody, bony, stony. But truth and good made living by the Lord are open, vital, full of the spiritual and celestial, open and manifest even from the Lord; and this in every idea and in every act, yea, in the least of either of them. This then is why it is said that pairs should enter into the ark, to keep them alive.

672. That the male means truth and the female good, has been said and shown before. In every least thing of man there is the likeness of a kind of marriage. Whatever is of the understanding is thus coupled with something of the will, and without such a coupling or marriage nothing at all is brought forth.

673. Verse 20. Of the fowl after its kind, and of the beast after its kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, pairs of all shall enter unto thee, to keep them alive. The “fowl” signifies things intellectual; the “beast” things of the will; the “creeping thing of the ground” signifies both, but what is lowest of them; “pairs of all shall come unto thee, to keep them alive” signifies, as before, their regeneration.

674. That the “fowl” signifies things intellectual or rational has been shown before (n. 40), and that the “beast” signifies things of the will, or affections (n. 45, 46, 143, 144, 246). That the “creeping thing of the ground” signifies both, but what is lowest of them, may be plain to anyone from the fact that creeping on the ground is what is lowest. That “pairs of all shall enter unto thee, to keep them alive” signifies their regeneration, has been shown in the preceding verse.

675. As to its being said “the fowl after its kind” “the beast after its kind” and “the creeping thing after its kind” be it known that in every man there are innumerable genera, and still more innumerable species, of the things of understanding and of will, and that all these are most distinct from one another, although man does not know it. But during the regeneration of man the Lord draws them out, each and all in their order, and separates and disposes them so that they may be bent toward truths and goods and may be conjoined with them, and this with diversity according to the states, which also are innumerable. All these things can never be made perfect even to eternity, as each genus, each species, and each state, comprehends things illimitable even when uncompounded, and still more in combination. A man does not so much as know this fact; still less can he know in what manner he is regenerated. This is what the Lord says to Nicodemus concerning man’s regeneration:

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the spirit (John 3:8).

676. Verse 21. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food, for thee and for them. That he should “take to himself of all food that is eaten” signifies goods and delights; that he should “gather to himself” signifies truths; that it should be “for food for him and for them” signifies both.

677. As regards the food of the man who is to be regenerated, the case is this: Before a man can be regenerated he needs to be furnished with all things that may serve as means-with the goods and delights of the affections as means for the will; and with truths from the Word of the Lord, and also with confirmatory things from other sources, as means for the understanding. Until a man is furnished with such things he cannot be regenerated; these being for food. This is the reason why man is not regenerated until he comes to adult age. But each man has his peculiar and as it were his own food, which is provided for him by the Lord before he is regenerated.

678. That his “taking to himself of all food that is eaten” signifies goods and delights, is evident from what has been said above: that goods and delights constitute man’s life; and not so much truths, for truths receive their life from goods and delights. From infancy to old age nothing of knowledge or of reason is ever insinuated except by means of what is good and delightful, and such things are called “food” because the soul lives and derives its sustenance from them; and they are food, for without them a man’s soul cannot possibly live, as anyone may know if he will but pay attention to the matter.

679. That “gathering to himself” means truths, is therefore evident; for “gathering” is predicated of the things that are in man’s memory, where they are gathered together. And the expression further implies that both goods and truths should be gathered in man before he is regenerated; for without goods and truths gathered together, through which as means the Lord may operate, a man can never be regenerated, as has been said. From this then it follows that “it shall be for food for thee and for them” signifies both goods and truths.

680. That goods and truths are the genuine foods of man must be evident to everyone, for he who is destitute of them has no life, but is dead. When a man is spiritually dead the foods with which his soul is fed are delights from evils and pleasantnesses from falsities-which are foods of death-and are also those which come from bodily, worldly, and natural things, which also have nothing of life in them. Moreover, such a man does not know what spiritual and celestial food is, insomuch that whenever “food” or “bread” is mentioned in the Word he supposes the food of the body to be meant; as in the Lord’s prayer, the words “Give us our daily bread” he supposes to mean only sustenance for the body; and those who extend their ideas further say it includes also other necessaries of the body, such as clothing, property, and the like. They even sharply deny that any other food is meant; when yet they see plainly that the words preceding and following involve only celestial and spiritual things, and that the Lord’s kingdom is spoken of; and besides, they might know that the Word of the Lord is celestial and spiritual.

[2] From this and other similar examples it must be sufficiently evident how corporeal is man at the present day; and that, like the Jews, he is disposed to take everything that is said in the Word in the most gross and material sense. The Lord Himself clearly teaches what is meant in His Word by “food” and “bread.” Concerning “food” He thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Labor not for the meat [or food] which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).

And concerning “bread” He says, in the same chapter:

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this Bread he shall live eternally (John 6:49-51, 58).

But at the present day there are men like those who heard these words and said: “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” and who “went back and walked no more with Him” (John 4:60, 66), to whom the Lord said: “The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life” (John 4:63).

[3] And so with respect to “water” which signifies the spiritual things of faith, and concerning which the Lord thus speaks in John:

Jesus said, Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:13-14).

But at the present day there are those who are like the woman with whom the Lord spoke at the well, and who answered, “Lord, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw” (John 4:15).

[4] That in the Word “food” means no other than spiritual and celestial food, which is faith in the Lord, and love, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Jeremiah:

The enemy hath spread out his hand upon all the desirable things of Jerusalem; for she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy congregation. All the people groan, they seek bread; they have given their desirable things for food to refresh the soul (Lam. 1:10-11).

No other than spiritual bread and food are here meant, for the subject is the sanctuary. Again:

I have cried out for my lovers, they have deceived me; my priests and mine elders in the city expired, for they sought food for themselves, to refresh their soul (Lam. 1:19),

with the same meaning. In David:

These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in its season; Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good (Ps. 104:27, 28).

Here likewise spiritual and celestial food is meant.

[5] In Isaiah:

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver, and without price (Isa. 55:1),

where “wine” and “milk” denote spiritual and celestial drink. Again:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and thou shalt call His name Immanuel; butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good; and it shall come to pass that for the abundance of milk that they shall give they shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land (Isa. 7:14-15, 22).

Here to “eat honey and butter” is to appropriate what is celestial-spiritual; “they that are left” denote remains, concerning whom also in Malachi:

Bring ye all the tithes into the treasure house, that there may be food in My house (Mal. 3:10).

“Tithes” denote remains. (Concerning the signification of “food” see above, n. 56-58, 276.)

681. The nature of celestial and spiritual food can best be known in the other life. The life of angels and spirits is not sustained by any such food as there is in this world, but by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord” as the Lord teaches in Matthew 4:4. The truth is that the Lord alone is the life of all, and that from Him come all things both in general and in particular that angels and spirits think, say, and do, and also what evil spirits think, say, and do. The reason why these latter say and do evil things is that they so receive and pervert all the goods and truths that are of the Lord. Reception and affection are according to the form of the recipient. This may be compared to the various objects that receive the light of the sun, some of which turn the light received into unpleasing and disagreeable colors, while others turn it into pleasing and beautiful colors, according to the form, determination, and disposition of their parts. The whole heaven and the entire world of spirits thus live by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord, and from this each individual has his life; and not only the whole heaven and the world of spirits, but also the whole human race. I know that these things will not be believed, nevertheless from the continuous experience of years I can assert that they are most true. Evil spirits in the world of spirits are not willing to believe that this is so; and therefore it has often been demonstrated to them-to the life-even until they have acknowledged with indignation that it is true. If angels, spirits, and men were deprived of this food they would expire in a moment.

682. Verse 22. And Noah did according to all that God commanded him; so did he. “Noah did according to all that God commanded him” signifies that thus it came to pass. That it is twice said he “did” involves both [good and truth].

683. As regards the repetition of “did” that it involves both [good and truth], it should be known that in the Word, especially in the Prophets, one thing is described in a twofold manner. Thus in Isaiah:

He passed through in peace, a way that He had not gone with his feet; who hath wrought and done it? (Isa. 41:3-4),

where one expression relates to good, and the other to truth; or, one relates to what is of the will, and the other to what is of the understanding; that is to say, “he passed over in peace” involves what is of the will, and “away he had not gone with his feet” involves what is of the understanding; and it is the same with the words “wrought” and “done.” Thus the things that pertain to the will and to the understanding, or to love and faith, or what is the same, celestial and spiritual things, are so conjoined together in the Word that in each and every thing there is a likeness of a marriage, and a relation to the heavenly marriage. It is so here, in that the one word is repeated.

684. CONCERNING THE SOCIETIES WHICH CONSTITUTE HEAVEN

There are three heavens: the First is the abode of good spirits, the Second of angelic spirits, and the Third of angels. And one heaven is more interior and pure than another, so that they are most distinct. Each heaven, the first, the second, and the third, is distinguished into innumerable societies; and each society consists of many individuals, who by their harmony and unanimity constitute as it were one person; and all the societies together are as one man. The societies are distinct from one another according to the differences of mutual love, and of faith in the Lord. These differences are so innumerable that not even the most universal genera of them can be computed; and there is not the least of difference that is not disposed in most perfect order, so as to conspire most harmoniously to a common unity, and the common unity to unanimity of individuals, and thereby to the happiness of all from each, and of each from all. Each angel and each society is therefore an image of the universal heaven, and is as it were a little heaven.

685. There are wonderful consociations in the other life which may be compared to relationships on earth: that is to say, they recognize one another as parents, children, brothers, and relations by blood and by marriage, the love being according to such varieties of relationship. These varieties are endless, and the communicable perceptions are so exquisite that they cannot be described. The relationships have no reference at all to the circumstance that those who are there had been parents, children, or kindred by blood and marriage on earth; and they have no respect to person, no matter what anyone may have been. Thus they have no regard to dignities, nor to wealth, nor to any such matters, but solely to varieties of mutual love and of faith, the faculty for the reception of which they had received from the Lord while they had lived in the world.

686. It is the Lord’s mercy, that is, His love toward the universal heaven and the universal human race, thus it is the Lord alone who determines all things both in general and in particular into societies. This mercy it is which produces conjugial love, and from this the love of parents for children, which are the fundamental and principal loves. From these come all other loves, with endless variety, which are arranged most distinctly into societies.

687. Such being the nature of heaven, no angel or spirit can have any life unless he is in some society, and thereby in a harmony of many. A society is nothing but a harmony of many, for no one has any life separate from the life of others. Indeed no angel, or spirit, or society can have any life (that is, be affected by good, exercise will, be affected by truth, or think), unless there is a conjunction thereof through many of his society with heaven and with the world of spirits. And it is the same with the human race: no man, no matter who and what he may be, can live (that is, be affected by good, exercise will, be affected by truth, or think), unless in like manner he is conjoined with heaven through the angels who are with him, and with the world of spirits, nay, with hell, through the spirits that are with him. For every man while living in the body is in some society of spirits and of angels, though entirely unaware of it. And if he were not conjoined with heaven and with the world of spirits through the society in which he is, he could not live a moment. The case in this respect is the same as it is with the human body, any portion of which that is not conjoined with the rest by means of fibers and vessels, and thus by means of functions, is not a part of the body, but is instantly separated and rejected, as having no vitality. The very societies in and with which men have been during the life of the body, are shown them when they come into the other life. And when, after the life of the body, they come into their society, they come into their veriest life which they had in the body, and from this life begin a new life; and so according to their life which they have lived in the body they either go down into hell, or are raised up into heaven.

688. As there is such conjunction of all with each and of each with all, there is also a similar conjunction of the most individual particulars of affection and the most individual particulars of thought.

689. There is therefore an equilibrium of all and of each with respect to celestial, spiritual, and natural things, so that no one can think, feel, and act except from many, and yet everyone supposes that he does so of himself, most freely. In like manner there is nothing which is not balanced by its opposite, and opposites by intermediates, so that each by himself, and many together, live in most perfect equilibrium. And therefore no evil can befall anyone without being instantly counterbalanced; and when there is a preponderance of evil, the evil or evildoer is chastised by the law of equilibrium, as of himself, but solely for the end that good may come. Heavenly order consists in such a form and the consequent equilibrium; and that order is formed, disposed, and preserved by the Lord alone, to eternity.

690. It should be known, moreover, that there is never one society entirely and absolutely like another, nor is there one person like another in any society, but there is an accordant and harmonious variety of all; and the varieties are so ordered by the Lord that they conspire to one end, which is effected through love and faith in Him. Hence their unity. For the same reason the heaven and heavenly joy of one is never exactly and absolutely like that of another; but according to the varieties of love and faith, such are the heaven and the heavenly joy in those varieties.

691. These things in general respecting the heavenly societies are from manifold and daily experience, concerning which specifically, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter.

692. CHAPTER 7.

CONCERNING HELL.

As with regard to heaven, so with regard to hell, man has only a very general idea, which is so obscure that it is almost none at all. It is such as they who have not been beyond their huts in the woods may have of the earth. They know nothing of its empires and kingdoms, still less of its forms of government, of its societies, or of the life in the societies. Until they know these things they can have but the most general notion of the earth, so general as to be almost none. The case is the same in regard to people’s ideas about heaven and hell, when yet in each of them there are things innumerable and indefinitely more numerous than in any earthly world. How numberless they are may be evident from this alone: that just as no one ever has the same heaven, so no one has the same hell as another, and that all souls whatever who have lived in the world since the first creation come there and are gathered together.

693. As love to the Lord and toward the neighbor, together with the joy and happiness thence derived constitute heaven, so hatred against the Lord and the neighbor, together with the consequent punishment and torment, constitute hell. There are innumerable genera of hatreds, and still more innumerable species; and the hells are just as innumerable.

694. As heaven from the Lord, through mutual love, constitutes as it were one man, and one soul, and thus has regard to one end, which is the conservation and salvation of all to eternity, so, on the other hand, hell, from man’s Own, through the love of self and of the world, that is, through hatred, constitutes one devil and one mind [animus], and thus also has regard to one end, which is the destruction and damnation of all to eternity. That such is their endeavor has been perceived thousands and thousands of times, so that unless the Lord preserved all every instant, they would perish.

695. But the form and the order imposed by the Lord on the hells is such that all are held bound and tied up by their cupidities and phantasies, in which their very life consists; and this life, being a life of death, is turned into dreadful torments, so severe that they cannot be described. For the greatest delight of their life consists in being able to punish, torture, and torment one another, and this by arts unknown in the world, whereby they know how to induce exquisite suffering, just as if they were in the body, and at the same time dreadful and horrid phantasies, with terrors and horrors and many such torments. The diabolical crew take so great a pleasure in this that if they could increase and extend the pains and torments to infinity, they would not even then be satisfied, but would burn yet again to infinity; but the Lord takes away their endeavors, and alleviates the torments.

696. Such is the equilibrium of all things in the other life in both general and particular that evil punishes itself, so that in evil there is the punishment of evil. It is the same with falsity, which returns upon him who is in the falsity. Hence everyone brings punishment and torment upon himself, and rushes at the same time among the diabolical crew who inflict such torment. The Lord never sends anyone to hell, but would lead all away from hell, and still less does He lead into torment. But as the evil spirit rushes into it himself, the Lord turns all the punishment and torment to good, and to some use. No penalty is ever possible unless the Lord has in view some end of use; for the Lord’s kingdom is a kingdom of ends and uses. But the uses which the infernals can perform are the lowest uses; and when they are engaged in them they are not in so much torment, but on the cessation of the use they are sent back into hell.

697. There are with every man at least two evil spirits and two angels. Through the evil spirits the man has communication with hell; and through the angels, with heaven. Without communication with both no man can live a moment. Thus every man is in some society of infernals, although he is unaware of it. But their torments are not communicated to him, because he is in a state of preparation for eternal life. The society in which a man has been is sometimes shown him in the other life; for he returns to it, and thereby into the life that he had in the world; and from thence he either tends toward hell, or is raised up toward heaven. Thus a man who does not live in the good of charity, and does not suffer himself to be led by the Lord, is one of the infernals, and after death also becomes a devil.

698. Besides the hells there are also vastations, concerning which there is much in the Word. For in consequence of actual sins a man takes with him into the other life innumerable evils and falsities, which he accumulates and joins to himself. It is so even with those who have lived uprightly. Before these can be taken up into heaven, their evils and falsities must be dissipated, and this dissipation is called Vastation. There are many kinds of vastations, and longer and shorter periods of vastation. Some are taken up into heaven in a comparatively short time, and some immediately after death.

699. That I might witness the torment of those who are in hell, and the vastation of those who are in the lower earth, I have at different times been let down thither. To be let down into hell is not to be carried from one place to another, but to be let into some infernal society, the man remaining in the same place. But I may here relate only this experience: I plainly perceived that a kind of column surrounded me, and this column was sensibly increased, and it was intimated to me that this was the “wall of brass” spoken of in the Word.* The column was formed of angelic spirits in order that I might safely descend to the unhappy. When I was there I heard piteous lamentations, such as, O God! O God! take pity on us! take pity on us! and this for a long time. I was permitted to speak to those wretched ones, and this for a considerable time. They complained especially of evil spirits in that they desired and burned for nothing else than to torment them. They were in despair, saying that they believed their torment would be eternal; but I was permitted to comfort them.

* Jer. 1:18; 15:20.

700. The hells being as we have stated so numerous, in order to give some regular account of them, they shall be treated of as follows -I. Concerning the hells of those who have lived a life of hatred, revenge, and cruelty. II. Concerning the hells of those who have lived in adulteries and lasciviousnesses; and concerning the hells of the deceitful, and of sorceresses. III. Concerning the hells of the avaricious; and the filthy Jerusalem there, and the robbers in the wilderness; also concerning the excrementitious hells of those who have lived in mere pleasures. IV. Afterwards concerning other hells which are distinct from the above. V. Finally concerning those who are in vastation. The description of these will be found prefixed and appended to the following chapters.

CHAPTER 7.

1. And Jehovah said unto Noah, Enter thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation.

2. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the man [vir] and his wife; and of the beast that is not clean by twos, the man and his wife.

3. Of the fowl of the heavens also by sevens, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the faces of the whole earth.

4. For in yet seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every substance that I have made will I destroy from off the faces of the ground.

5. And Noah did according to all that Jehovah commanded him.

* * * * * * * * * *

6. And Noah was a son of six hundred years, and the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, from before the waters of the flood.

8. Of the clean beast, and of the beast that is not clean, and of the fowl, and of everything that creepeth upon the ground,

9. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

10. And it came to pass after the seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

* * * * * * * * * *

11. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in that day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the cataracts of heaven were opened.

12. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

* * * * * * * * * *

13. In the self-same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark.

14. They, and every wild animal after its kind, and every beast after its kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and every fowl after its kind, every flying thing, every winged thing.

15. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of lives.

* * * * * * * * * *

16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him. And Jehovah shut after him.

17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up from off the earth.

18. And the waters were strengthened, and were increased exceedingly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

* * * * * * * * * *

19. And the waters were strengthened very exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered.

20. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and covered the mountains.

21. And all flesh died that creepeth upon the earth, as to fowl, and as to beast, and as to wild animal, and as to every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; and every man.

22. All in whose nostrils was the breathing [flatus] of the breath of lives, of all that was in the dry [land], died.

23. And He destroyed every substance that was upon the faces of the ground, from man even to beast, even to creeping thing, and even to the fowl of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only was left, and that which was with him in the ark.

24. And the waters were strengthened upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

701. THE CONTENTS.

The subject here treated of in general is the preparation of a new church. As the subject before was the intellectual things of that church, so here it is the things of the will (verses 1 to 5).

702. Next its temptations are treated of, which are described as to its intellectual things from verses 6 to 10, and as to the things of the will in verses 11, 12.

703. Afterwards the protection of this church is treated of, and its preservation (verses 13 to 15). But what its state was, that it was fluctuating, is described in verses 16 to 18.

704. Finally the last posterity of the Most Ancient Church is treated of in regard to its character: that it was possessed by persuasions of falsity and by cupidities of the love of self to such a degree that it perished (verses 19 to 24).

705. THE INTERNAL SENSE. The subject here specifically treated of is the “flood” by which is signified not only the temptations which the man of the church called “Noah” had to undergo before he could be regenerated, but also the desolation of those who could not be regenerated. Both temptations and desolations are compared in the Word to “floods” or “inundations” of waters, and are so called. Temptations are denoted in Isaiah:

For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but in great compassions will I gather thee again. In an inundation of anger I hid my faces from thee for a moment; but in the mercy of eternity will I have compassion upon thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer. For this is the waters of Noah unto Me, to whom I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee and rebuke thee, O thou afflicted and tossed with tempests and not comforted (Isa. 54:7-9, 11).

This is said of the church that is to be regenerated, and concerning its temptations, which are called the “waters of Noah.”

[2] The Lord Himself also calls temptations an “inundation” in Luke:

Jesus said, Everyone that cometh unto Me, and heareth My sayings and doeth them is like unto a man building a house, who digged, and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when an inundation came, the stream beat upon that house, but could not shake it, because it had been founded upon the rock (Luke 6:47-48).That temptations are here meant by an “inundation” must be evident to everyone. Desolations are also denoted in Isaiah:

The Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Asshur and all his glory; and he riseth up above all his channels, and shall go over all his banks: and he shall go through Judah; he shall inundate and go through; he shall reach even to the neck (Isa. 8:7-8).

“The king of Asshur” here stands for phantasies, principles of falsity, and the derivative reasonings, which desolate man, and which desolated the antediluvians.

[3] In Jeremiah:

Thus hath said Jehovah, Behold waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an inundating stream, and shall inundate the land and the fullness thereof, the city and them that dwell therein (Jer. 47:2-3).

This is said of the Philistines, who represent those who take up false principles, and reason from them concerning spiritual things, which reasonings inundate man, as they did the antediluvians. The reason why both temptations and desolations are compared in the Word to “floods” or “inundations” of waters, and are so called, is that they are similarly circumstanced; it being evil spirits who flow in with their persuasions and the false principles in which they are, and excite such things in man. With the man who is being regenerated, these are temptations; but with the man who is not being regenerated they are desolations.

706. Verse 1. And Jehovah said unto Noah, Enter thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. “Jehovah said unto Noah” signifies that so it came to pass (“Jehovah” is named because charity is now treated of); “enter thou and all thy house into the ark” signifies the things that are of the will, which is the “house;” to “enter into the ark” here signifies to be prepared; “for thee have I seen righteous in this generation” signifies that he had good whereby he might be regenerated.

707. Here, as far as the fifth verse, are found almost the same things that were said in the previous chapter, merely changed in some little measure, and it is the same in the verses that follow. One who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word cannot but think that this is merely a repetition of the same thing. Similar instances occur in other parts of the Word, especially in the Prophets, where the same thing is expressed in different words; and sometimes is also taken up again and described a second time. But, as before said, the reason is that there are two faculties in man which are most distinct from each other-the will, and the understanding-and the two are treated of in the Word distinctively. This is the reason of the repetition. That this is the case here will be evident from what follows.

708. Jehovah said unto Noah. That this signifies that so it came to pass, is evident from the consideration that with Jehovah there is nothing else than Being [Esse]: that which He says comes to pass and is done; just as in the preceding chapter at verse 13, and elsewhere, where the expression “Jehovah said” means that it came to pass and was done.

709. The name “Jehovah” is here used because the subject now treated of is charity. In the preceding chapter, from the ninth verse to the end it is not said “Jehovah” but “God” for the reason that the subject there treated of is the preparation of “Noah” (that is, of the man of the church called “Noah”) as to the things of his understanding, which relate to faith; whereas the subject here treated of is his preparation as to the things of the will, which are of love. When the things of the understanding, or the truths of faith, are the subject treated of, the name “God” is used, but when the things of the will, or the goods of love are treated of, the name “Jehovah” is used. For the things of the understanding, or of faith, do not constitute the church, but the things of the will, which are of love. Jehovah is in love and charity and not in faith unless it is a faith of love or of charity. And therefore in the Word faith is compared to “night” and love to “day”; as in the first chapter of Genesis, where the “great lights” are spoken of, it is said that the “greater light” or the sun, which signifies love, should rule the day, and the “lesser light” or the moon, which signifies faith, should rule the night (Gen. 1:14, 16); and it is the same in the Prophets (Jer. 31:35; 33:20; Ps. 136:8, 9; Rev. 8:12).

710. Enter thou end all thy house into the ark. That this signifies the things that are of the will, is therefore evident. In the preceding chapter, where the things of the understanding are meant, it is expressed differently, namely: “Thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (verse 18). That a “house” signifies the will and what is of the will, is evident in various places in the Word; as in Jeremiah:

Their houses shall be turned over unto others, their fields and their wives together (Jer. 6:12).

Here “houses” and also “fields” and “wives” relate to things which are of the will. Again:

Build ye houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them (Jer. 29:5, 28).

Here “building houses and dwelling in them” relates to the will; “planting gardens” to the understanding: and it is the same in other passages. And the “house of Jehovah” is frequently mentioned as signifying the church wherein love is the principal; the “house of Judah” as signifying the celestial church; and the “house of Israel” as signifying the spiritual church. As “house” signifies the church, the mind of the man of the church (wherein are the things of the will and of the understanding, or of charity and faith), is also signified by “house.”

711. That to “enter into the ark” is to be prepared, has been stated before, at verse 18 of the preceding chapter. But there it signified that he was prepared for salvation as to things of the understanding, which are truths of faith; but here as to things of the will, which are goods of charity. Unless a man is prepared, that is, furnished with truths and goods, he can by no means be regenerated, still less undergo temptations. For the evil spirits who are with him at such a time excite his falsities and evils; and if truths and goods are not present, to which they may be bent by the Lord, and by which they may be dispersed, he succumbs. These truths and goods are the remains which are reserved by the Lord for such uses.

712. For thee have I seen righteous in this generation. That this signifies that he had good whereby he might be regenerated, was stated and shown at the ninth verse of the preceding chapter. In that place “righteous” or “just” signifies the good of charity; and “perfect” the truth of charity. It is there said “generations” in the plural, because things of the understanding are treated of; and here, “generation” in the singular, because things of the will are treated of. For the will comprehends in itself the things of the understanding, but the understanding does not comprehend in itself those of the will.

713. Verse 2. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens the man and his wife; and of the beast that is not clean by twos, the man and his wife. By “every clean beast” are signified affections of good; by “sevens” is signified that they are holy; by “man and his wife” that the truths were conjoined with goods. By the “beast not clean” are signified evil affections; by “two” that they are relatively profane; by “man and wife” falsities conjoined with evils.

714. That affections of good are signified by “every clean beast” is evident from what has been said and shown before respecting beasts (n. 45-46, 142-143, 246). The reason why affections are thus signified is that man in himself, and regarded in what is his own, is nothing but a beast. He has very similar senses, appetites, desires; and all his affections are very similar. His good, nay, even his best loves, are very similar; as the love for companions of his own kind, the love of his children, and of his wife; so that they do not at all differ. But his being man, and more than beast, consists in his having an interior life, which beasts never have nor can have. This life is the life of faith and love from the Lord. And if this life were not within everything that he has in common with beasts, he would not be anything else. Take only one example-love toward companions: if he should love them only for the sake of himself, and there were nothing more heavenly or Divine in his love, he could not from this be called a man, because it is the same with beasts. And so with all the rest. If therefore there were not the life of love from the Lord in his will, and the life of faith from the Lord in his understanding, he would not be a man. By virtue of the life which he has from the Lord he lives after death; because the Lord adjoins him to Himself. And thus he can be in His heaven with the angels, and live to eternity. And even if a man lives as a wild beast, and loves nothing whatever but himself and what regards himself, yet so great is the Lord’s mercy-for it is Divine and Infinite-that He does not leave him, but continually breathes into him His own life, through the angels; and even supposing that he receives it no otherwise, it still causes him to be able to think, to reflect, to understand whether a thing is good or evil-in relation to what is moral, civil, worldly, or corporeal-and therefore whether it is true or false.

715. As the most ancient people knew, and when they were in self-humiliation acknowledged, that they were nothing but beasts and wild beasts, and were men solely by virtue of what they had from the Lord, therefore whatever pertained to themselves they not only likened to but called beasts and birds; things of the will they compared to beasts, and called beasts; and things of the understanding they compared to and called birds. But they distinguished between good affections and evil affections. Good affections they compared to lambs, sheep, kids, she-goats, he-goats, rams, heifers, oxen-for the reason that they were good and gentle, and serviceable to life, since they could be eaten, and their skins and wool could furnish clothing. These are the principal clean beasts. But those which are evil and fierce, and not serviceable to life, are unclean beasts.

716. That holy things are signified by “seven” is evident from what has been said before respecting the seventh day, or the sabbath (n. 84-87), namely, that the Lord is the seventh day; and that from Him every celestial church, or celestial man, is a seventh day, and indeed the celestial itself, which is most holy because it is from the Lord alone. For this reason, in the Word, “seven” signifies what is holy; and in fact, as here, in the internal sense partakes not at all of the idea of number. For they who are in the internal sense, as angels and angelic spirits are, do not even know what number is, and therefore not what seven is. Therefore it is not meant here that seven pairs were to be taken of all the clean beasts; or that there was so much of good in proportion to evil as seven to two; but that the things of the will with which this man of the church was furnished were goods, which are holy, whereby he could be regenerated, as was said above.

[2] That “seven” signifies what is holy, or holy things, is evident from the rituals in the representative church, wherein the number seven so frequently occurs. For example, they were to sprinkle of the blood and the oil seven times, as related in Leviticus:

Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them; and he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, to sanctify them (Lev. 8:10-11).

Here “seven times” would be entirely without significance if what is holy were not thus represented. And in another place: When Aaron came into the holy place it is said: He shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle with his finger upon the faces of the mercy seat toward the east; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times (Lev. 16:14).

And so at the altar:

He shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and sanctify it (Lev. 16:19).

The particulars here, each and all, signify the Lord Himself, and therefore the holy of love; that is to say, the “blood” the “mercy seat” and also the “altar” and the “east” toward which the blood was to be sprinkled, and therefore also “seven.”

[3] And likewise in the sacrifices, of which in Leviticus:

If a soul shall sin through error, and if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, he shall slay the bullock before Jehovah, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah, toward the veil of the sanctuary (Lev. 4:2-3, 6).

Here in like manner “seven” signifies what is holy; because the subject treated of is expiation, which is of the Lord alone, and therefore the subject treated of is the Lord. Similar rites were also instituted in respect to the cleansing of leprosy, concerning which in Leviticus:

Of the blood of the bird, with cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop, the priest shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall make him clean. In like manner he was to sprinkle of the oil that was upon the palm of his left hand seven times before Jehovah. And so in a house where there was leprosy, he was to take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and with the blood of the bird sprinkle seven times (Lev. 14:6-7, 27, 51).Here anyone may see that there is nothing at all in the “cedar wood” the “scarlet” the “oil” the “blood of a bird” nor yet in “seven” except from the fact that they are representative of holy things. Take away from them what is holy, and all that remains is dead, or profanely idolatrous. But when they signify holy things there is Divine worship therein, which is internal, and is only represented by the externals. The Jews indeed could not know what these things signified; nor does anyone at the present day know what was signified by the “cedar wood” the “hyssop” the “scarlet” and the “bird.” But if they had only been willing to think that holy things were involved which they did not know, and so had worshiped the Lord, or the Messiah who was to come, who would heal them of their leprosy-that is, of their profanation of holy things-they might have been saved. For they who so think and believe are at once instructed in the other life, if they desire, as to what each and all things represented.

[4] And in like manner it was commanded respecting the red heifer:

The priest shall take of her blood with his finger and sprinkle of her blood toward the face of the tent of meeting seven times (Num. 19:4).

As the “seventh day” or “sabbath” signified the Lord, and from Him the celestial man, and the celestial itself, the seventh day in the Jewish Church was of all religious observances the most holy; and hence came the “sabbath of sabbath” in the seventh year (Lev. 25:4), and the “jubilee” that was proclaimed after the seven sabbaths of years, or after seven times seven years (25:8-9). That in the highest sense “seven” signifies the Lord, and hence the holy of love, is evident also from the golden candlestick and its seven lamps (concerning which in Exod. 25:31-33, 37; 37:17-19, 23; Num. 8:2, 3; Zech. 4:2) and of which it is thus written by John:

Seven golden lampstands; and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like unto the Son of man (Rev. 1:12-13).

It very clearly appears in this passage that the “lampstand with the seven lamps” signifies the Lord, and that the “lamps” are the holy things of love, or celestial things; and therefore they were “seven.”

[5] And again:

Out of the throne went forth seven torches of fire, burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 4:5).

Here the “seven torches” that went forth out of the throne of the Lord are the seven lights, or lamps. The same is signified wherever the number “seven” occurs in the Prophets, as in Isaiah:

The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the breach of His people (Isa. 30:26).

Here the “sevenfold light, as the light of seven days” does not signify sevenfold, but the holy of the love signified by the “sun.” See also what was said and shown above respecting the number “seven” (chapter 4, verse 15). From all this again it is clearly evident that whatever numbers are used in the Word never mean numbers (as was also shown before, chapter 6:3).

717. It is also evident from all this that the subject here treated of is the things of man’s will, or the good and holy things in him which are predicated of the will. For it is said that he should “take of the clean beast by sevens;” and the same is said in the following verse concerning the “fowl.” But in the preceding chapter (verses 19, 20), it is not said that he should “take by sevens” but by “twos” or pairs; because there things of the understanding are treated of, which are not holy in themselves, but are holy from love, which is of the will.

718. That by “man [vir] and wife” is signified that the truths were conjoined with goods, is evident from the signification of “man” as being truth, which is of the understanding, and from the signification of “wife” as being good, which is of the will (concerning which before), and also from the fact that man has not the least of thought, nor the least of affection and action, in which there is not a kind of marriage of the understanding and the will. Without a kind of marriage, nothing ever exists or is produced. In the very organic forms of man, both composite and simple, and even in the most simple, there is a passive and an active, which, if they were not coupled as in a marriage, like that of man and wife, could not even be there, still less produce anything, and the case is the same throughout universal nature. These incessant marriages derive their source and origin from the heavenly marriage; and thereby there is impressed upon everything in universal nature, both animate and inanimate, an idea of the Lord’s kingdom.

719. That evil affections are signified by the “beasts not clean” is evident from what has been said and shown before respecting the clean beasts. They are called “clean” because they are gentle, good, and useful. The unclean-of which there are genera and species-are the contrary, being fierce, evil, and not useful. In the Word also they are described as wolves, bears, foxes, swine, and many others; and various cupidities and evil dispositions are signified by them. As to its being here said that unclean beasts also (that is, evil affections) should be brought into the ark, the truth is that the man of that church is here described such as he was in character, and this by the ark, and therefore by the things that were in the ark, or that were brought into the ark; that is to say, the things are described that were in the man before he was regenerated. There were in him the truths and goods with which he had been furnished and gifted by the Lord before regeneration; for without truths and goods no one can ever be regenerated. But here the evils that were in him are spoken of, and are signified by the unclean beasts. There are evils in man which must be dispersed while he is being regenerated, that is, which must be loosened and attempered by goods; for no actual and hereditary evil in man can be so dispersed as to be abolished. It still remains implanted; and can only be so far loosened and attempered by goods from the Lord that it does not injure, and does not appear, which is an arcanum hitherto unknown. Actual evils are those which are loosened and attempered, and not hereditary evils; which also is a thing unknown.

720. That “pairs” signify things relatively profane, is evident from the signification of the number “two.” A “pair” or “two” not only signifies marriage (and is, when predicated of the heavenly marriage, a holy number), but it also signifies the same as “six.” That is to say, as the six days of labor are related to the seventh day of rest, or the holy day, so is the number “two” related to “three;” and therefore the third day in the Word is taken for the seventh, and involves almost the same, on account of the Lord’s resurrection on the third day. And hence the Lord’s coming into the world, and in glory, and every coming of the Lord, is described equally by the “seventh” and by the “third” day. For this reason the two days that precede are not holy, but relatively are profane. Thus in Hosea:

Come and let us return unto Jehovah, for He hath wounded, and He will heal us; He hath smitten and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him (Hos. 6:1-2).

And in Zechariah:

It shall come to pass in all the land, saith Jehovah, that two parts therein shall be cut off and die, and the third shall be left therein; and I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined (Zech. 13:8-9).

And that silver was most pure when purified seven times appears in Psalm 12:6; from all of which it is plain that as “seven” does not signify seven, but things that are holy, so by “pairs” are signified not pairs, but things relatively profane; and therefore the meaning is not that the unclean beasts, or evil affections, in comparison with the clean beasts, or good affections, were few in the proportion of two to seven, for the evils in man are far more numerous than the goods.