AC 6933. It is a common saying that everyone is neighbor to himself, that is, that one should take care of himself first of all. The doctrine of charity teaches how the case herein is.  Everyone is neighbor to himself, not in the first, but in the last place. In a prior place are others who are in good; in a still prior place is a society of many; in a place still prior is our country; in a place still prior is the church; in a place still prior is the Lord’s kingdom; and above all men and all things is the Lord.

AC 6934. The saying that everyone is neighbor to himself, and that he must take care of himself first of all, is to be understood in this way. Everyone must make provision for himself so as to have the necessaries of life, as food, clothing, a place to dwell in, and other things which are necessarily required in the civil life where he is; and this not only for himself, but also for his family; and not only for the present time, but also for the future.  Unless each person procures for himself the necessaries of life, he cannot be in a state to exercise charity toward the neighbor, for he is in need of all things.

AC 6935. The end in view declares in what way each person must be neighbor to himself, and must first of all take care of himself.  If the end is that he may become richer than others merely for the sake of riches, pleasure, eminence, and the like, the end is evil; and therefore he who from such an end believes he is neighbor to himself, injures himself to eternity.  But if the end is that he may acquire wealth for the sake of the necessaries of life, for himself and for his family, so as to be in a state to do what is good according to the commandments of the doctrine of charity, he takes care of himself for eternity.  The end itself makes the man, for the end is his love, because everyone has as the end that which he loves.

AC 6936. How the case herein is can be further seen from this similar example.  Everyone ought to take care of his body in respect to its food and clothing.  This must come first, but to the end that there may be a sound mind in a sound body. And everyone ought to take care of his mind in respect to its food, namely, in respect to such things as belong to intelligence and wisdom, to the end that his mind may thus be in a state to serve the Lord; he who does this, takes good care of himself for eternity. But he who takes care of his body merely for the sake of the body, and does not think of soundness of mind, and who does not take care of his mind in respect to such things as are of intelligence and wisdom, but in respect to such things as are contrary thereto, takes bad care of himself for eternity. From all this it is evident in what way everyone ought to be neighbor to himself, namely, not in the first place but in the last; for the end must not be for himself, but for others; and where the end is, there is the first.

AC 6937. Moreover the case herein is like that of a man who is building a house. He must first lay the foundation; but the foundation must be for the house, and the house for a place to dwell in.  And so everyone must first take care of himself, yet not for himself, but in order that he may be in a state to be of service to the neighbor, thus to his country, to the church, and above all to the Lord. He who believes that he is neighbor to himself in the first place, is like one who regards the foundation as the end, and not the house and dwelling in it; when yet the dwelling is the very first and last end, and the house together with its foundation is only a means to the end.

AC 6938. As is the case with possessions, so also is it with honors in the world: everyone is at liberty to provide himself with these also, yet not for the sake of himself, but for the sake of the neighbor: he who provides them for the sake of himself, provides ill for himself; but he who provides them for the sake of the neighbor, provides well for himself.  For he who turns his ends to himself turns himself toward hell; but he who turns his ends from himself to the neighbor, turns himself toward heaven.

1. And Moses answered, and said, And behold they will not believe me, and will not hear my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not been seen of thee.

2. And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

3. And He said, Cast it to the earth.  And he cast it to the earth, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take hold of its tail; and he put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.

5. In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

6. And Jehovah said further to him, Bring now thy hand into thy bosom. And he brought his hand into his bosom, and brought it out, and behold his hand was leprous as snow.

7. And He said, Bring back thine hand unto thy bosom; and he brought back his hand unto his bosom; and brought it forth out of his bosom, and behold it was turned again as his flesh.

8. And it shall be, if they do not believe thee, and hear the voice of the former sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9. And it shall be, if they do not believe also these two signs, and do not hear thy voice, that thou shalt take of the waters of the river, and pour out on the dry land, and the waters which thou hast taken out of the river, they shall become blood in the dry land.

10. And Moses said unto Jehovah, In me, my Lord, I am not a man of words, even from yesterday, even from the day before yesterday, even from now in Thy speaking unto Thy servant, because heavy of mouth, and heavy of tongue am I.

11. And Jehovah said unto him, Who maketh man‘s mouth? or who hath made him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I Jehovah?

12. And now go, and I will be with thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

13. And he said, In me, my Lord, send I pray by the hand Thou wilt send.

14. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that speaking he will speak. And also behold he goeth forth to meet thee; and he will see thee, and he will be glad in his heart.

15. And thou shalt speak unto him, and shalt put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

16. And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall be that he shall be to thee for a month, and thou shalt be to him for God.

17. And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

18. And Moses went, and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go I pray and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt, and I shall see whether they yet live.  And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19. And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; because all the men seeking thy soul are dead.

20. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and made them ride upon the ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21. And Jehovah said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see all the wonders which I have put in thy hand, and thou shalt do them before Pharaoh; and I will harden his heart, and he will not send away the people.

22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah, My son, My firstborn, is Israel.

23. And I say unto thee, Send My son away, that he may serve Me; and if thou refuse to send him away, behold I will slay thy son, thy firstborn.

24. And it came to pass in the way, in the inn, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him.

25. And Zipporah took a stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and made it touch his feet; and she said, Because a bridegroom of bloods art thou to me.

26. And He ceased from him. Then she said, A bridegroom of bloods as to circumcisions.

27. And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Go to meet Moses, into the wilderness.  And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah, wherewith He had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him.

29. And Moses went, and Aaron, and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel:

30. And Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs before the eyes of the people.

31. And the people believed; and they heard that Jehovah had visited the sons of Israel, and that He had seen their affliction, and they bent themselves, and bowed themselves down.

AC 6939. There is a continuation in this chapter in the internal sense with respect to the liberation of those who are of the spiritual church. First, their state is described, namely, that if they had not hope and faith, falsities and evils, and also things profane would drag them down: these are the things signified by the three signs.

AC 6940. Afterward the law Divine is treated of, that truth was adjoined to its good; and that thus good had the power to liberate, and to insinuate hope and faith. Moses represents the law Divine as to good, and Aaron as to truth.

AC 6941. Lastly that people is treated of, in that they only represented the spiritual church; and not that this church could be instituted among them, because they were in externals without internals. This is signified by Zipporah’s circumcision of her son, and by the blood wherewith his feet were stained.

AC 6942. Verses 1-4. And Moses answered, and said, And behold they will not believe me, and will not hear my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not been seen of thee.  And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.  And He said, Cast it to the earth.  And he cast it to the earth, and it became a serpent and Moses fled from before it. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take hold of its tail; and he put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.  “And Moses answered and said,” signifies thought from the law Divine; “And behold they will not believe me, and will not hear my voice,” signifies that those who are of the spiritual church would not have faith, thus would not receive “for they will say, Jehovah hath not been seen of thee,” signifies the Divine of the Lord in His Human; “and Jehovah said unto him,” signifies foresight as to what they would be if they had not faith; “What is that in thy hand? and he said, A rod,” signifies the power of the Lord‘s Divine Human; “and He said, Cast it to the earth,” signifies the influx of the power of the Lord’s Divine natural into the sensuous; “and it became a serpent,” signifies the sensuous and corporeal man thereby separated from the internal; “and Moses fled from before it,” signifies horror at the sensuous separated; “and Jehovah said unto Moses,” signifies providence from the Divine; “Put forth thy hand, and take hold of its tail,” signifies the power of uplifting from the ultimate sensuous; “and he Put forth his hand, and took hold of it,” signifies an uplifting toward the interiors “and it became a rod in his hand,” signifies that then power was communicated from the Divine.

AC 6943. And Moses answered and said.  That this signifies thought from the law Divine, is evident from the signification of “answering and saying,” as being thought.  For that which in the historical sense of the letter is expressed by external things, in the internal sense signifies internal things; because in no other way can the spiritual things of heaven be presented to men.  For man does not apprehend bare spiritual things, neither can they be expressed in the words of human speech; and therefore spiritual things have been described by corresponding natural things, and in this way have been given to man.  Thus the Word is helpful to man in the natural world, and also to man in the spiritual world, and hence there is communication of heaven with man, and communion.  And from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (n. 6752).  Hence it is evident that by “Moses answered and said” is signified thought from the law Divine. Thought from the law Divine is from truth from the Divine; here that the sons of Israel will not believe unless they see signs and wonders.

AC 6944. And behold they will not believe me, and will not hear my voice. That this signifies that those of the spiritual church would not have faith, thus would not receive, is evident from the representation of the sons of Israel, of whom these things are said, as being those who are of the spiritual church (n. 6426, 6637); from the signification of “not believing,” as being not to have faith; and from the signification of “not hearing the voice,” as being not to receive (n. 5471, 5475).

AC 6945. For they will say, Jehovah hath not been seen of thee. That this signifies the Divine which is in the Lord‘s Human, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as being perception, here the perception of those who are of the spiritual church; and from the signification of “Jehovah seen,” as being the appearing of the Lord’s Divine in His Human.  That “to be seen” denotes to appear is evident, and that “Jehovah” is the Lord as to the Divine Itself and as to the Divine Human, may be seen above (n. 1736, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5041, 5663, 6281, 6303, 6905). That “Jehovah seen” denotes the appearing of the Lord‘s Divine in His Human, is evident also from the fact that His Divine cannot appear to any man, nor even to any angel, except through the Divine Human; nor the Divine Human except through the Divine truth which proceeds from Him.  Here in the internal sense the subject treated of is the liberation of those who are of the spiritual church. These were liberated by the Lord’s coming into the world, (n. 2661, 2716, 3969, 6854, 6914); and these specifically were saved by means of the Lord‘s Divine Human, (n. 2716, 2833, 2834).

[2] As regards this statement, that the people of that church would not have faith, and would not receive what the law Divine represented by Moses (that is, what the Word) says, unless they saw signs, the case is this. These people, being of the spiritual church, have no perception of truth from good, as the celestial have, but acknowledge as truth every doctrinal matter of their church which they have confirmed in themselves, and are therefore relatively in obscurity (n. 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3833, 6427, 6500, 6865), as can also be seen from the fact that they do not at all comprehend how the Lord’s Human can be Divine; nor that the Divine love in the Human can effect this; for they keep their thought in a human such as exists with man, and they do not recede from this thought when they think of the Lord, in such an entanglement are they.  The same can also be seen from the fact that neither do they comprehend how man can live after death, and at the same time have senses, such as sight, hearing, touch, and smell, and be in a human form there. That such is man when he has cast away his body and its senses and members, appears to them foreign to the truth, so enwrapped are they in things of sense, and in the memory-knowledges and fallacies thence derived; and therefore unless they believed that the body will again he conjoined with the soul, they would have no belief whatever in any resurrection.

[3] From all this it is sufficiently evident in how much obscurity they are as regards the things of heaven; and hence it is that no faith can ever be implanted in them unless they are withheld by the Lord from falsities by a mighty force. And as there was no such force before the Lord‘s coming, but only after His coming, when He had made the Human in Himself Divine, therefore they could not be taken out of the lower earth, where they were being infested by falsities, and be taken up into heaven, until after the Lord’s resurrection (n. 6914).  From this then it is that it is said that they would not believe, thus neither would receive what the law Divine, that is, the truth Divine says, unless they saw that it is so, thus unless they saw signs.

AC 6946. And Jehovah said unto him. That this signifies foresight as to what they would be if they had not faith, is evil dent from the signification of “saying,” when predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, as being foresight (n. 5361).  That it denotes foresight as to what they would be if they had not faith, is plain from the three signs treated of below; for in the internal sense these signs represent their state if they did not believe.

AC 6947. What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod. That this signifies the power of the Lord‘s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “hand,” as being power (n. 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544) and from the signification of a “rod,” as also being power (n. 4013, 4876, 4936).  That it is the power of the Lord’s Divine Human, is because by Moses is represented the Lord as to the law Divine, or the Word, which is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine Human (n. 6752). The power which is signified by “hand” is the power proceeding from the Lord’s Divine rational; but the power which is signified by “rod” is the power proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine natural.  That the “rod” denotes the power proceeding from the Lord’s Divine natural, is because a rod supports the body, like a foot, and by a “foot” is signified the natural (n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952). That “to lift up the hand” denotes power in the spiritual, and “to lift up the foot” denotes power in the natural, may be seen above (n. 5327, 5328); and for this reason, in accordance with the kind of elevation treated of in the internal sense, it was sometimes said to Moses when he was to do miracles, that he should “lift up the hand,” sometimes that he should “lift up the rod.”

AC 6948. And He said, Cast it to the earth.  That this signifies the influx of the power of the Lord‘s Divine natural into the sensuous, is evident from the signification of a “rod,” as being power in the natural, and when it is said of the Lord, as being the power proceeding from his Divine natural (n. 6947) from the signification of “casting,” or “sending forth,” as being proceeding, thus influx; and from the signification of “the earth” as being man’s external (n. 82, 913, 1411, 1733), here his sensuous and corporeal, which are the outermosts, because the rod became a serpent, and by a “serpent” is signified the sensuous and corporeal man.

[2] By the Divine power of the Lord is here meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, for there is power in Divine truth, insomuch that it is power itself (n. 3091, 4931, 6344, 6423). The Divine truth proceeding from the Lord flows into every man, through his interiors into the exteriors, even into the external Sensuous and into the corporeal, and calls forth everywhere things correspondent in their order; in the sensuous, things correspondent, it such as appear in the world and upon the earth.  But as the things which are in the world and upon the earth appear otherwise than as they are, they are therefore full of fallacies; and therefore when the sensuous is in these evils only, it must needs think against the goods and truths of faith, because it thinks from fallacies; and when Divine truth flows in, it must needs turn it into falsity.

[3] That a man who is not elevated from the sensuous, but is in it and thinks from it, thinks from fallacies, may be illustrated by examples:--The fallacies in respect to the life of man, that it is of the body, when yet it is of the spirit in the body: in respect to the sight - that it is of the eye: in respect to the hearing that it is of the ear: in respect to the speech - that it is of the tongue and mouth; when yet it is the spirit which sees, hears, and speaks, through these organs of the body.  The fallacies in respect to life - that it is permanent in man, when yet it flows in.  The fallacies in respect to the soul - that it cannot be in a human form, and in human senses and affections. The fallacies in respect to heaven and hell - that the former is above man, and the latter beneath him, when yet they are in him.  The fallacies that objects flow into the exteriors, when yet what is external does not flow into what is internal, but what is internal into what is external.  The fallacies in respect to the life after death - that it is impossible except together with the body.  Besides the fallacies in natural things, which give rise to the self-contradictory conjectures of so many persons.

[4] Who cannot see that fallacies and the falsities thence derived have dominion instead of truths, merely from the dispute which long existed in respect to the circulation of the blood, which though supported by so many experimental proofs, nevertheless long remained in doubt; and also from the dispute about the sun - that it revolved once a day around this earth, and not only the sun, but also the moon, all the planets, and the whole starry heaven; and also from the dispute which still continues in respect to the soul, its conjunction with the body, and its seat therein.  Seeing that the fallacies of the senses have dominion in such things, although their true character is plain from so many phenomena and effects, why should they not do so in such things as belong to heaven, which being spiritual are not plain except through correspondences?

[5] From all this it can now be seen what is the quality of man‘s sensuous, viewed in itself, and left to itself; namely, that it is in fallacies, and thence in falsities, thus is against the truths and goods of faith Hence it is that when man is in the sensuous and in its light, he is in thick darkness in respect to the things of the spiritual world, that is, in respect to those which are in light from the Divine; and that the sensuous light is turned into mere thick darkness when the light from heaven falls into it. The reason is, that the truths which are of the Divine light cannot be together with fallacies and the falsities thence derived; but extinguish them, and thereby induce thick darkness.

AC 6949. And it became a serpent.  That this signifies the sensuous and corporeal man separate from the internal, is evident from the signification of a “serpent,” as being a man who reasons from things sensuous (n. 195-197, 6398, 6399), thus the sensuous of man; and as by “serpent” is signified the sensuous, it signifies also the corporeal, for what the sensuous has, it has from the senses of the body. And because, regarded in itself, the sensuous is such as has been described just above (n. 6948), the “serpent” also (which is the sensuous), signifies all evil in general (n. 251, 254, 257).  That by the “serpent” is here meant the sensuous and corporeal man separated from the internal or rational, is evident from the fact that Moses fled from before it, whereby is signified horror of it; and also from the fact that by this sign is described the state of those of the spiritual church, if they did not have faith; for then their internal would be closed, nor would more of the light of heaven flow in, than to enable them to think, and from this to speak, from the sensuous separated.  All those think from the sensuous separated who defend falsities against truths, and evils against goods; in a word, all who are in evil of life, and thence in no faith, for he who lives evilly, believes nothing. Such persons excel others in the gift of reasoning, and also of persuading, especially the simple, for the reason that they speak from the fallacies of the senses, and from appearances in the world. They also know how to extinguish or veil truths by fallacies, whence also by “serpents” are signified cunning and craftiness. But when the sensuous has been conjoined with the internal, or rightly subordinated to the rational, then by a “serpent” is signified prudence and circumspection (n. 197, 4211, 6398).

AC 6950. And Moses fled from before it.  That this signifies horror at the sensuous separated, is evident from the signification of “fleeing,” as being horror, for he who feels horror at anything, flees from it; and from the signification of the “serpent,” which is that from before which he fled, as being the sensuous separated (n. 6949).

AC 6951. And Jehovah said unto Moses.  That this signifies providence from the Divine, is evident from the signification of “saying,” when predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, as being foresight (n. 6946); and because it denotes foresight, it also denotes providence, for these two are conjoined together, because the Lord provides what He foresees.  He foresees evil and provides good.  Here therefore by “Jehovah said,” is signified providence, because the serpent is now turned into a rod, that is, evil into good.  And from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord in respect to Divine truth: thus providence from the Divine is predicated of the Lord as to the Human when He was in the world.

AC 6952. Put forth thy hand and take hold of its tail. That this signifies the power of uplifting from the ultimate sensuous, is evident from the signification of “hand,” as being power (n. 6947); and from the signification of the “tail of the serpent,” as being the ultimate of the sensuous.  That a “serpent” denotes the sensuous may be seen above (n. 6949), thus its “tail” is the ultimate or lowest of the sensuous.  Uplifting is signified by “putting forth and taking hold of,” for he who puts forth the hand and takes hold of any creeping thing of the earth, lifts it up. As by the “serpent” is signified the sensuous separated, and hence reasoning from the fallacies of the senses about the truths of faith, by the “tail of the serpent” is signified falsity itself, for this is the ultimate or lowest, and he who is in falsity, thus in the ultimate and lowest, looks wholly downward, or outward, that is, into the world and to the earth; but not upward or inward, that is, into heaven and to the Lord.

[2] That such things are signified by the “tail of the serpent,” is evident in John:--

The locusts had tails like unto scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their power was to do harm to men (Rev. 9:10);

where “tails like unto scorpions, and stings in the tails,” denote cunning reasonings from falsities, by which they persuade, and thus do harm, wherefore it is said that “their power is to do harm to men.”

[3] Again:--

The tails of the horses were like unto serpents, having heads, and by them they do harm (Rev. 9:19);

where in like manner “tails like serpents” denote reasonings from falsities, by which harm is done and especially because it is said that “such were the tails of the horses, and that they had heads; ”for by “horses” is signified the intellectual, and also by “head.” Hence by “tails” are here signified more cunning reasonings from fallacies and the derivative falsities against truths, which reasonings are lowest, for the more cunning any reasonings are against truths, the lower they are.

[4] Again:--

The tail of the dragon drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them into the earth (Rev. 12:4);

where the “tail of the dragon” in like manner denotes reasonings from falsities; the “stars of heaven,” the knowledges of good and truth; “to cast them to the earth” denotes to destroy them.  That the “dragon” is the “serpent,” which seduces by reasonings from falsities, and which seduced the mother of the living, or Eve, in paradise, by means of the tree of knowledge, that is, by means of memory-knowledges from the sensuous, thus from fallacies, is clear also in John:--

The great dragon was cast down the old serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, which seduceth the whole world (Rev. 12:9).

[5] That the “tail” in general denotes the sensuous separated, which looks not up but down, thus not to heaven, but to earth, and consequently denotes falsity, is evident in these passages:--

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush; the old man and the honorable, he is the head; and the prophet, the teacher of a lie, he is the tail (Isa. 9:14, 15);

where the “tail” manifestly denotes falsity, which in the Word is called a “lie.” Again:--

There shall not be for Egypt any work, which shall make head and tail, branch and rush (Isa. 19:15);

where “rush” denotes what is lowest.  In Moses:--

Thus Jehovah shall make thee the head, and not the tail; that thou mayest be upward only, and not downward, when thou shalt obey the commandments of thy God (Deut. 28:13).

[6] The “tail” denotes the lowest, which looks downward or outward, that is, into the world and to the earth, but not to heaven and to the Lord.  For the interiors of man together with his sensuous things are lifted upward by the Lord when the man is in the good of faith and of charity; but if he is in evil and falsity, then his interiors together with his sensuous things look downward, thus only to the things that are in the world, whereby he puts off the human nature, and puts on the bestial; for wild beasts look downward, or only to those things which are on the earth.  He who looks downward, wills what is evil and thinks what is false, but he who is lifted upward by the Lord, wills what is good and thinks what is true; the uplifting by the Lord takes place actually, and from this a removal from evils and falsities, which the angels perceive by the very sense.  This is like the tendency to the center of gravity: the center is where the Lord is in His sun.  Toward this the heads of the angels are lifted up; but the feet of the infernals.  Thus the former look upward, and the latter downward (n. 3641, 3643).

[7] Again:--

The stranger that is in the midst of thee shall ascend above thee upward more and more; but thou shalt descend downward more and more; he shall be for the head, and thou shalt be for the tail (Deut. 28:43, 43, 44);

where the sense is similar.  In Isaiah:--

Say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart soften, because of the two tails of these smoking fire-brands, on account of the wrath of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah (Isa. 7:4);

“Rezin king of Syria” denotes knowledges of evil.  That “Syria” denotes knowledges of good, may be seen above, (n. 1232, 1234, 3680) thus in the opposite sense, knowledges of evil.  The “soil of Remaliah the king of Samaria” denotes knowledges of falsity.  Knowledges of evil and knowledges of falsity are “tails,” because they are lowest things. “Smoking firebrands” denote wrath.

AC 6953. And he put forth his hand, and took hold of it. That this signifies an uplifting toward the interiors, is evident from the signification of “putting forth the hand and taking hold,” when said of what lies beneath, as being to be uplifted toward higher things, or what is the same, toward the interiors (n. 6952); from the signification of “hand,” as being interior power (n. 6952); and from the signification of a “serpent,” which is what he took hold of, as being the sensuous and reasoning thence (n. 6949); that when the sensuous is uplifted toward the interiors, power is communicated from the Divine, will be seen in what now follows.

AC 6954. And it became a rod in his hand. That this signifies that then was communicated power from the Divine, is evident from the signification of the “ serpent which became a rod,” as being the sensuous (n. 6949); from the signification of a “rod,” as being power in the natural; and from the signification of the “hand,” as being interior power; both powers being from the Divine (n. 6952).  The case herein is this.  From himself man looks downward only, that is, into the world, and to the earth, because from himself he is in evil and falsity; and when he looks thither, then the sensuous has dominion, and interior things makes no opposition, because they follow the force of the stream, and yield to it.  Nevertheless not from himself but from the Lord, man looks upward, that is, to heaven and to the Lord, which is effected by means of an uplifting and when the interiors are uplifted, the sensuous also is uplifted, but its light is then obscured, because the light of heaven has dominion. When this takes place, good and truth from the Lord flow in, and are also received; and this is meant by power communicated from the Divine.  Yet no others can be uplifted in this way than those who have lived in the good of faith and of charity.  That the upliftings are toward the interiors, has been given me to know from living experience, for they have been observed a thousand times.

AC 6955. Verses 5-7.  In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Jehovah said further to him, Bring now thy hand into thy bosom. And he brought his hand into his bosom, and brought it out, and behold his hand was leprous, as snow.  And He said, Bring back thine hand into thy bosom; and he brought back his hand into his bosom, and brought it forth out of his bosom, And behold it was turned again as his flesh.  “In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee,” signifies that they may have faith in respect to the Lord’s Divine Human; “the God of their fathers,” signifies that it was the Divine of the Ancient Church; “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” signifies the Lord as to the Divine Itself and the Divine Human; “and Jehovah said further to him,” signifies foresight as to what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church, if they did not have faith; “Bring thy hand into thy bosom,” signifies the appropriation of truth; “and he brought his hand into his bosom,” signifies the accomplishment; “and he brought it out,” signifies that it was thence; “and behold his hand was leprous, as snow,” signifies the profanation of truth; “and He said,” signifies providence in respect to what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did have faith; “Bring back thine hand unto thy bosom,” signifies the appropriation of truth; “and he brought back his hand unto his bosom,” signifies the accomplishment; “and he brought it forth out of his bosom,” signifies that it was thence; “and behold it was turned again as his flesh,” signifies that then it was good.

AC 6956. In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee.  That this signifies that they may have faith in respect to the Lord‘s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “believing,” as being to have faith - not faith that Jehovah or the Lord was seen with the eyes, but faith in the Lord in the spiritual sense of the term; and from the signification of “Jehovah seen,” as being the appearing of the Lord in His Divine Human (n. 6945).  Thus by “they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee” is signified that they may have faith in respect to the Lord’s Divine Human.

AC 6957. The God of their fathers.  That this signifies that it was the Divine of the Ancient Church, is evident from the signification of “the God of their fathers,” as being the Divine of the Ancient Church (n. 6876, 6884), where also it may be seen that this was the Lord in respect to the Divine Human.

AC 6958. The God of Abraham, the God of Israel, and the God of Jacob.  That this signifies the Lord as to the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, is evident from what was shown above (n. 6847), where the same words occur.

AC 6959. And Jehovah said further to him. That this signifies foresight as to what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did not have faith, is evident from the signification of “Jehovah said,” as being foresight (n. 6946). The reason why these words denote what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did not have faith, is that in what follows the subject treated of is what would be the further quality of those who are of the spiritual church (who are represented by the sons of Israel), if they did not have faith, namely, that they would be profaners of truth.  For the first miracle of the rod becoming a serpent signifies their state, that they would become altogether sensuous and corporeal. This miracle of the hand becoming leprous signifies profanation, for this succeeds if the church persists in faithlessness.

[2] In their childhood, and afterward in their youth, they of the spiritual church have faith in the doctrinal things of their church, but at that time they have faith from parents and masters, and not from themselves, and therefore if they afterward recede from faith, they profane the truth only slightly, which profanation can be removed by Divine means, and thus the man be freed from the guilt of it.  But if a man has faith in the doctrine of the church, and in the Word, from himself, that is, by confirmations in himself, and if be then afterward recedes, and denies in himself what he had before believed, especially if he lives contrary to the truth which he had confirmed in himself, and either explains it in his own favor, or altogether rejects it, he profanes the truth; and this because he commingles and conjoins together within himself truth and falsity.  As such persons have scarcely any remains of truth and good, in the other life they finally become like skeletons; and have as little life remaining “s have the bones relatively to the organic life of the flesh.  But still harder is the lot of those who profane good than that of those who profane truth, they who are of the Lord‘s spiritual church can profane truth but not so much good.

[3] As ”leprosy“ signifies the profanation of truth, and as this is the subject treated of in what follows, see first of all what has been before said and shown about profanation, namely: That they who are within the church can profane holy things, but not they who are without it (n. 2051, 3399): That holy things cannot be profaned, except by those who have previously acknowledged them (n. 1008, 1010, 1059, 3398, 3898, 4289): That it is also profanation to acknowledge and believe truths and goods, and yet to live contrary to them (n. 4601): That man is withheld from profanation as much as possible (n. 301-303, 1327, 1328, 3398, 3402): That the lot of profaners is the worst of all in the other life (n. 6348).

AC 6960. Bring now thy hand into thy bosom. That this signifies the appropriation of truth, is evident from the signification of ”hand,“ as being power (n. 6947); and from the signification of ”bosom,“ as being love; for that which is of the breast corresponds to love, because therein is the heart, which corresponds to celestial love, and the lungs, which correspond to spiritual love (n. 3635, 3883-3896, 4112, 4113, 4133). And as from this the bosom corresponds to love, by it is also signified man’s own, for that is man‘s own which is of his love.  Therefore here by ”bringing the hand into the bosom“ is signified appropriation that it is the appropriation of truth, is plain from what follows, and also from the fact that spiritual power consists in truth (n. 6948).

[2] That the ”bosom“ denotes that very thing which belongs to man, thus his own, and from this, appropriation and conjunction by love, is evident from the following passages:--

Confide ye not in a companion, put not trust in a guide; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom (Micah 7:5);

where ”she that lieth in the bosom“ denotes one who has been conjoined with him by means of love.  For this also a wife is called ”the wife of her husband’s bosom“ (Deut. 28:54; 2 Sam. 12:8) and a husband is called ”the husband of his wife‘s bosom“ (Deut. 28:56); and this because one belongs to the other.  And in David:--

My prayer shall fall back upon my bosom (Ps. 35:13);

meaning that it would return to himself.

Remember Lord the reproach of Thy servants, how I do bear in my bosom all the great peoples (Ps. 89:50);

meaning with himself, as his own.  In Isaiah:--

He feedeth his flock like a shepherd, He gathereth the lambs in His arm, and carrieth them in His bosom (Isa. 40:11)

where the sense is the same.

[3] In Luke:--

Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall be given into your bosom (Luke 6:38);

”to be given into the bosom“ denotes for themselves as their own.  In the same:

And it came to pass that Lazarus died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22);

”to be carried into Abraham‘s bosom“ denotes to the Lord (who is meant by ”Abraham“), from conjunction through love.

[4] And in John:--

There was lying in Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved; he, leaning on Jesus‘ breast, saith unto Him, Lord who is it? (John 13:23, 25)

” to lie in the bosom“ manifestly denotes to be loved, and to be conjoined through love.  Again:--

No one hath ever seen God; the only-begotten son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18);

”in the bosom of the Father“ denotes to be one.

[5] The ”bosom“ denotes that very thing which belongs to man, and also appropriation not by love, in the following passages:--

I will recompense, I will recompense upon their bosom your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together; I will measure the price of their work upon their bosom (Isa. 14:6, 7).

Jehovah doing mercy to thousands and recompensing the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them (Jer. 32:18).

Recompense to our neighbors seven-fold into their bosom their reproach wherewith they have reproached Thee, O Lord (Ps. 79:12);

”to recompense into their bosom“ denotes into themselves.

AC 6961. And he brought his hand into his bosom.  That this signifies the accomplishment, namely, of the appropriation of truth, is evident from what has already been said.

AC 6962. And he brought it out.  That this signifies that it was thence, is evident from the signification of ”bringing the hand out of the bosom and seeing“ as being to observe what was its quality, thus that it was thence.

AC 6963. And behold his hand was leprous, as snow.  That this signifies the profanation of truth, is evident from the signification of ”hand,“ as being power (n. 6947), and as being truth, because spiritual power consists in truth (n. 6948, 6960); and from the signification of ”leprosy,“ as being profanation, specifically, the profanation of truth.  In the historic Word much is said about leprosy, and about its various appearances in the skin, and about the judgment thence to be formed of its quality - whether the leper was to be shut in, or to go out of the camp, or to be set at liberty; and also about leprosy in garments, in vessels, and in the very houses. Leprosy is so much treated of, not on account of leprosy as a disease, but because it signified the profanation of truth, thus for the sake of the spiritual sense; and because the Jews and the Israelites were capable of profaning truth more than other people.

[2] For if they had known the internal things of the Word, and the truths themselves which were represented by the rites of the church among them, and had faith in them, and yet had lived according to their inclination, namely in the love of self and the love of the world, in hatred and revenge among themselves, and in cruelty toward the Gentiles, they must needs have profaned the truths in which they once had faith; for to believe in truths and to live contrary to them, is to profane them. And therefore they were withheld as far as possible from the knowledges of internal truth (n. 3398, 3489); insomuch that they did not even know that they would live after death; neither did they believe that the Messiah would come to save souls eternally, but to exalt that nation above all others in the universe.  And because that nation was such, and also is such at this day, therefore they are still withheld from faith, even though they live in the midst of Christendom.  Hence then it is that the nature of leprosy was so particularly described.

[3] That ”leprosy“ signifies the profanation of truth, is plain from the statutes concerning leprosy that are recorded by Moses in Lev. 13. In this description there is contained in the internal sense the whole nature of the profanation of truth - as what the nature of this profanation is if recent, what if old, what if inward in man, what if also outward, what if curable, what if incurable, what are the means of cure, and other particulars, which cannot be at all known to anyone, except by means of the internal sense of the Word.

[4] But as it is profanations which are described by ”leprosy,“ it is not allowable to explain in detail what is contained in the description of it. Moreover heaven is horrified at the bare mention of what is profane.  I may quote this passage only:--

If the leprosy effloresce fully in the skin, and the leprosy cover the whole skin of him that hath the plague, from his head even to his heel, under every look of the priest’s eyes; and the priest see, and behold the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, then he shall pronounce the plague clean; it is all turned white, he is clean. But in the day that there shall appear in him living flesh, he shall be unclean (Lev. 13:12-14);

unless it is known from the internal sense how the case herein is, namely, that he is clean who is all leprous from his head even unto his heel, it must appear like a paradox; but by ”one leprous from his head to his heel“ is meant one who knows internal truths, but does not acknowledge or believe them.  Such a one is not inwardly in profanation, but outwardly, which profanation is removed, and therefore he is clean. But if he knows the truths of faith, and believes them, and yet lives contrary to them, he is in profanation inwardly, as is the case also with one who has once believed, and afterward denies.  Therefore it is said, ”in the day that there shall appear in him living flesh, he shall be unclean;“ by ”living flesh“ is meant acknowledgment and faith (n. 6959).

AC 6964. And he said. That this signifies providence in respect to what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did have faith, is evident from the signification of ”Jehovah said,“ as being providence (n. 6951); that it denotes what their quality would be if they did have faith, is plain from what follows.  For by ”his hand turned again as his flesh“ is signified that then they would have spiritual good; the opposite of which is that the hand became leprous by being brought into his bosom, by which is signified that they who are of the spiritual church would be in the profanation of truth, if they did not have faith (n. 6959, 6963).

AC 6965. Bring back thy hand unto thy bosom.  That this signifies the appropriation of truth, is evident from the signification of ”bringing the hand into the bosom,“ as being the appropriation of truth (n. 6960).

AC 6966. And he brought back his hand unto his bosom. That this signifies the accomplishment, may be seen above (n. 6961).

AC 6967. And he brought it forth out of his bosom.  That this signifies that it was thence, may also be seen above (n. 6962).

AC 6968. And behold it was turned again as his flesh. That this signifies that then it was the good of truth, is evident from the signification of ”flesh,“ as being what is man‘s own of his will, made alive by what is the Lord’s own of His Divine Human, that is, what is one‘s own that is heavenly (n. 3813); and because this is signified by ”flesh,“ it is the good of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor which is signified.  But with those who are of the spiritual church, it is the good of truth, because their good is from truth, and is according to the truth of the doctrine of their church.  When this truth becomes of the life it is called good.

AC 6969. Verses 8, 9. And it shall be, if they do not believe thee, and hear not the voice of the former sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.  And it shall be, if they do not believe also these two signs, and do not hear thy voice, that thou shalt take of the waters of the river, and pour out on the dry (land), and the waters which thou hast taken out of the river, they shall become blood in the dry (land).  ”And it shall be, if they do not believe thee,“ signifies if they have not faith; ”and hear not the voice of the former sign,“ signifies if they do not obey what is announced from the Word, that instead of spiritual and rational men they would become not spiritual and not rational; ”that they will believe the voice of the latter sign,“ signifies that they would have faith in what had been foretold from the Word, namely, that they would become profaners of truth; ”and it shall be, if they do not believe also these two signs,“ signifies if they should have no faith whatever that such things would come to pass; ”and do not hear thy voice,“ signifies if they do not yield any obedience; ”that thou shalt take of the waters of the river,“ signifies false memory-knowledges; ”and pour out on the dry (land),“ signifies insertion into the natural; ”and the waters which thou hast taken out of the river,“ signifies inversion of the state; ”they shall become blood in the dry (land),“ signifies the falsification of all truth, and the consequent privation of it in the natural.

AC 6970. And it shall be, if they do not believe thee. That this signifies if they have not faith, is evident from the signification of ”believing,“ as being to have faith (n. 6956). To have faith here does not signify faith from the signs, that they were to be liberated from Egypt, for this faith relates to worldly things; but it signifies faith that if they did not remain in truths they would become merely sensuous and corporeal, and at last profaners of truth; for these are what the two signs signify. The internal sense does not treat of worldly things, as does the external historic sense; but of spiritual things. Faith in worldly things is quite different from faith in spiritual things, as for example: to believe that men will do as they speak; that a man is true or not true; that to insure success, a man should do so and so, and not otherwise; that what is said or written is worthy of credit, or not, besides numberless like things; such are matters of faith in worldly things, as also here that the sons of Israel were to be liberated from bondage in Egypt. But to believe that there is a heaven and a hell; that men will live after death, the good in happiness to eternity, the evil in unhappiness; that the life remains with everyone; that faith and charity make spiritual life, and that this is the life which the angels have in heaven; that the Lord has all power in the heavens and on earth, as He Himself says (Matt. 28:18); that from Him we live; that the Word is the doctrine of heavenly and Divine truths; and the like - such are matters of faith in spiritual things, and are here signified by ”believing.“

AC 6971. And hear not the voice of the former sign.  That this signifies if they do not obey what is announced from the Word, that instead of spiritual and rational men they would become not spiritual and not rational, is evident from the signification of ”hearing,“ as being to obey (n. 2542, 3869, 5017); from the signification of a ”voice,“ as being what is announced from the Word, of which below; and from the signification of ”the former sign,“ as being that instead of spiritual and rational men they would become not spiritual and not rational.  That this is so, is plain from the signification of the serpent which was made from the rod of Moses cast on the earth (which is here ”the former sign“), as being the sensuous and corporeal man (n. 6949); thus the non-spiritual and non-rational man. For the man who is sensuous and corporeal is not rational, thus neither is he spiritual, for he thinks falsities and wills evils. He who does this is not rational, still less is he spiritual, for the acknowledgment and faith of truth, and the life of good, are the veriest spiritual in the rational, because these things are from the Divine; whereas the acknowledgment and faith of falsity and the life of evil are the contrary. Merely sensuous and corporeal men are such, (n. 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949).

[2] Those become merely sensuous and corporeal who have first known the things of the spiritual world and have afterward rejected them, and have imbued themselves with principles of falsity contrary to truths, and as to life have looked solely to worldly, bodily, and earthly things, and from this have believed that life ought to be enjoyed with every pleasure, saying, ”What has man more while he lives? when we die we die; and who has ever come from another life to tell us about it? we know not what it is to live when life goes out of a man.“  If anyone by rational arguments sets them thinking at all about eternal life, they think that they shall not fare worse than others, and immediately relapse to the state of their former life.  With such there is a closing of the passage for the light of heaven and its influx, and the light of heaven in their natural becomes like thick darkness, but the light of the world therein becomes brightness (n. 6907), and the brightness is so much the more brilliant, as the light of heaven is more darkened; hence it is that such see no otherwise than that the evils of their life are goods, and that consequently the falsities are truths.  It is from this then that a man becomes sensuous and corporeal.  In a word, when a passage for the influx of the light of heaven has once been opened, and afterward is closed, the man is then driven to look downward, and not upward; and this from Divine order, lest the truths which he has once acknowledged, and which remain in his interior man, should be contaminated with falsities, and thus profaned.

[3] The case is the same with the Gentiles who recede from their religiosity; but their lot is better than the lot of those who are within the church, because they have no truths from the Word, consequently no genuine truths; but truths joined with many fallacies, which cannot be so much profaned. With regard to the signification of a ”voice,“ as being what is announced from the Word, be it known that a ”voice“ is often spoken of, and is also joined to such things as have no relation to a voice, as here it is also joined to a sign: ”if they do not hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the voice of the latter sign;“ and also in other passages:

The voice of the whip, and the voice of the sound of a wheel (Nahum 3:2).

The floods have lifted up their voice above the voices of many magnificent waters (Ps. 93:3, 4).

[4] That a ”voice“ signifies annunciation, and in a good sense annunciation from the Word, which voice is called the ”voice of Jehovah,“ is evident in David:--

The voice of Jehovah is in power; the voice of Jehovah is in glory; the voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars; the voice of Jehovah cutteth off the flames of fire; the voice of Jehovah maketh the wilderness to tremble; the voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to calve; and strippeth the forests (Ps. 29:4, 5, 9)

To Him that rideth upon the heaven of the heaven of old; lo He shall utter with His voice, a voice of strength (Ps. 68:33).

In these passages a ”voice“ denotes Divine truth, thus the Word, and annunciation from it. What a ”voice“ further signifies, (n. 219); and that ”voice“ is predicated of truth, (n. 3563).

AC 6972. That they will believe the voice of the latter sign. That this signifies that they would have faith in what had been foretold from the Word, namely, that they would become profaners of truth, is evident from the signification of ”believing,“ as being to have faith (n. 6970); from the signification of a ”voice,“ as being what is announced (n. 6971), thus also what is foretold; and from the signification of ”leprosy,“ which is here the ”latter sign,“ as being the profanation of truth (n. 6963).  What profanation is, see also above (n. 6959), and in the passages there cited.

AC 6973. And it shall be, If they do not believe also these two signs.  That this signifies if they should have no faith whatever that such things would come to pass, is evident from the signification of ”believing,“ as being to have faith (that is, in the spiritual sense, of which above, (n. 6970); and from the signification of ”the two signs,“ as being that they would become sensuous and corporeal, and afterward profaners of truth, which is signified by the serpent that was made by the casting of the rod of Moses upon the earth (n. 6971), and by the hand which being put into the bosom became leprous (n. 6963). Thus by ”not believing these two signs“ is signified to have no faith whatever that such things would come to pass.

AC 6974. And do not hear thy voice. That this signifies if they do not yield any obedience, is evident from the signification of ”hearing,“ as being obedience (n. 2542, 3869, 5017); from the signification of ”voice,“ as being what is announced and foretold (n. 6971, 6972); and from the representation of Moses, whose voice they were to hear, as being the Lord as to the Divine law, that is, as to the Divine truth, thus as to the Word, for therein is Divine truth.  Hence it is again that by the expression, ”if they do not hear thy voice,“ is signified, if they do not yield any obedience. In this passage and before (verses 1 and 8), it is said ”if they do not believe,“ and ”if they do not hear,“ and yet the two expressions appear alike, for he who does not believe, does not hear. Yet they are distinct, for ”believing,“ by which is signified faith, is said of the truth of faith, and thus relates to the intellectual; but ”hearing,“ by which is signified obeying, is said of the good of charity, and thus relates to the will.  For in the Word, especially the prophetic, where truth is expressed in its own words; good is also expressed in its own words, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and of truth, in every detail of the Word (n. 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138, 6343)

AC 6975. Thou shall take of the waters of the river. That this signifies false memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of ”the waters of the river,“ namely, of Egypt, or the Nile, as being false memory-knowledges. ”Waters“ denote truths (n. 2702, 3424, 4976); and in the opposite sense falsities, (n. 790); also the ”river of Egypt“ denotes false memory-knowledges, (n. 6693).

AC 6976. And pour out on the dry (land).  That this signifies insertion into the natural, is evident from the signification of ”pouring out,“ as being insertion; and from the signification of ”the dry (land),“ as being the natural.  A dry place is called ”dry,“ and the land is also so called, and by the ”land of Egypt“ is signified the natural mind, which is in falsity, thus the natural (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301), and still more by the ”dry (land).“

AC 6977. And the waters which thou hast taken out of the river. That this signifies inversion of state, is evident from what presently follows, for it is said that ”they shall become blood in the dry (land),“ whereby is signified the falsification of all truth, and the privation of it in the natural.  When this takes place the state is completely inverted; and hence these words, as they involve an inversion of state, are also said to signify it. There is also a total inversion of state in the natural when it is entirely occupied by falsities.  This rarely happens with man while he lives in the world, but in the other life it takes place with all who are cast into hell.  That it rarely happens with man while he lives in the world is because he is then continually kept in a state capable of being reformed, provided that he desists from evils in freedom.  But after death his life follows him, and he remains in the state which he had acquired by the whole course of his life in the world.

[2] Then he who is in evil is no longer capable of being reformed; and lest he should have communication with any society of heaven, all truth and good are taken away from him; so that he remains in evil and falsity, which grow there in accordance with the capacity to receive them that he has acquired in the world.  Nevertheless he is not allowed to pass beyond the acquired bounds.  This inversion of state is what is here meant, which is such that he can no longer be amended as to the interiors, but only as to the exteriors, namely, by fear of punishments. After enduring these many times, he at last abstains from evil, not in freedom, but by compulsion, the cupidity of doing evil still remaining.  This cupidity, as before said, is kept in check by fears, which are external and compulsory means of amendment. This is the state of the evil in the other life.

AC 6978. They shall become blood in the dry (land). That this signifies the falsification of all truth, and the consequent privation of it in the natural, is evident from the signification of ”blood,“ as being holy truth proceeding from the Lord, and in the opposite sense truth falsified and profaned (n. 4735); and from the signification of ”the dry (land),“ as being the natural (n. 696). That ”blood“ signifies the falsification of truth and its profanation, is especially evident in Nahum:

Woe to the city of bloods! it is all full of lying and rapine; the prey departeth not. The voice of a whip, and the voice of the sound of a wheel; and a neighing horse, and a jumping chariot; the horseman mounting, and the shining of a sword, and the flash of a spear; and a multitude of pierced, and a heap of carcass and no end of body; they stumble on their body.  Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts (Nahum 3:1-4);

that by the ”city of bloods“ is signified the doctrine of falsity, thus by ”blood,“ falsified and profaned truth, is plain from all the words of its description in the internal sense, and not only in these verses which have been cited, but also in those which follow, the description of it being continued in the whole chapter; for the ”city“ is doctrine; its being ”all full of lying and rapine“ denotes being full of falsity, and of evil from falsity; ”the voice of a whip and the voice of the sound of a wheel“ denotes the defense of falsity by fallacies; ”a neighing horse and a jumping chariot,“ denotes from a perverted intellectual and the like doctrine; ”the horseman mounting, the shining of a sword, the flashing of a spear,“ denotes combat against truth; ”the multitude of pierced“ denotes innumerable falsities thence, and those who are in falsities; ”a heap of carcass, and no end of body“ denotes innumerable evils thence, and those who are in evils; ”the whoredoms of a harlot“ denote the falsifications themselves, and in like manner ”witchcrafts.“

AC 6979. Verses 10-12.  And Moses said unto Jehovah, In me, my Lord, I am not a man of words, even from yesterday, even from the day before yesterday, even from now in thy speaking unto Thy servant; because heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I. And Jehovah said unto him, Who maketh man’s mouth? or who hath made him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I Jehovah? And now go, and I will be with thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak. ”And Moses said unto Jehovah,“ signifies perception from the Divine; ”In me, my Lord,“ signifies what is certain; ”I am not a man of words,“ signifies that he has no speech; ”even from yesterday, even from the day before yesterday,“ signifies not from eternity; ”even from now in Thy speaking unto Thy servant,“ signifies thus neither to eternity with the Divine flowing into the Human; ”because heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I,“ signifies that the voice and speech from the Divine are not heard or perceived; ”and Jehovah said unto him,“ signifies Divine influx; ”who maketh man‘s mouth?“  signifies utterance; ”or who hath made him dumb?“ signifies no utterance; ”or deaf?“ signifies no perception, and consequently no obedience; ”or seeing, or blind?“ signifies faith by means of knowledges, and no faith through lack of them; ”is it not I Jehovah?“ signifies that these things are by virtue of the influx of life from the Divine; ”and now go,“ signifies life from the Divine; ”and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt speak,“ signifies the Divine in each and all things which proceed from the Divine Human.

AC 6980. And Moses said into Jehovah. That this signifies perception from the Divine, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ in the historicals of the Word, as being to perceive; and from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord in respect to the Divine law in the Human when He was in the world (n. 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827). The Divine which is the source, is signified by ”Jehovah.“ Hence, it is plain that by ”Moses said unto Jehovah“ is signified that the Lord from His Divine had perception in His Human.

AC 6981. In me, my Lord. That this signifies what is certain, is evident from the fact that ”in me“ is a form of assertion that a thing is so, consequently that it is certain.

AC 6982. I am not a man of words.  That this signifies that he has no speech, is evident from the signification of ”not a man of words,“ as being not to have the faculty of speaking, thus to have no speech. How this is shall be told. Here in the supreme sense the subject treated of is the Lord, for Moses represents the Lord as to the law Divine, thus as to truth Divine. The truth which proceeds immediately from the Divine cannot be heard by anyone, not even by any angel; for in order to be heard the Divine must first become human; and it becomes human when it passes through the heavens; and when it has passed through the heavens it is presented in human form, and becomes speech, which speech is uttered by spirits, who when they are in this state, are called the ”Holy Spirit,“ and this is said to proceed from the Divine, because the holy of the spirit, or the holy truth which the spirit then speaks, proceeds from the Lord.  From this it can be seen that the truth which proceeds immediately from the Divine cannot be presented to anyone as discourse or speech, except through the Holy Spirit. This is meant in the supreme sense by the statement that Moses, who represents the Lord as to truth Divine, says that ”he is not a man of words;“ and by the fact that Aaron his brother was adjoined to him, who was to him ”for a mouth,“ and he to Aaron ”for God.“

AC 6983. Even from yesterday, even from the day before yesterday.  That this signifies not from eternity, namely, having speech, is evident from the signification of ”yesterday and the day before yesterday,“ as being from eternity.  That ”yesterday and the day before yesterday“ denotes from eternity, is because it signifies time, and indeed time past; and when spoken of the Lord, or of the Divine, time does not signify time, but eternity.  There are two things which are proper to nature, and which do not exist in heaven, still less in the Divine, namely space and time.  That these are not in heaven, but that instead of them there are states, instead of space state as to being, and instead of time state as to coming-forth, may be seen above (n. 2625, 3938); and also that spaces and times in heaven are states (n. 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3387, 3404, 3827, 4321, 4814, 4882, 4901, 4916, 5605, 6110).  But in the Divine which is above the heavens, still less are there space and time, and not even state, but instead of space there is infinity, and instead of time eternity; to these two correspond the times and spaces in the world; and also states as to being and as to coming-forth in the heavens.

[2] That by ”yesterday and the day before yesterday,“ in the Word, is not signified yesterday and the day before yesterday, but in general time past, is evident from the passages where they are mentioned:--

The waters of the Jordan returned into their place, and went over all its banks, as yesterday and the day before yesterday (Josh. 4:18).

It came to pass, everyone who had known Saul yesterday and the day before yesterday, when they saw that behold he prophesied with the prophets (1 Sam. 10:11).

The tribes of Israel said unto David, Both yesterday and the day before yesterday, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel (2 Sam. 5:2).

In these passages and elsewhere ”yesterday and the day before yesterday“ denotes formerly, or time past.  Now as by ”yesterday and the day before yesterday“ is signified time past, and the subject here treated of in the supreme sense is the Lord, who as to the Divine law or Divine truth is represented by Moses, it is evident that by ”yesterday and the day before yesterday“ is signified from eternity.  The eternity which is signified by ”yesterday“ is thus expressed in David:--

A thousand years in Thine eyes are as yesterday when it is past (Ps. 90:4).

AC 6984. Even from now in Thy speaking unto Thy servant. That this signifies thus neither to eternity with the Divine flowing into the human, is evident from the signification of ”from now,“ or ”from today,“ as being eternity (n. 2838, 3998, 4304, 6165), thus to eternity, because it involves time following; from the signification of ”speaking,“ as being influx (n. 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797), that it denotes influx from the Divine, is signified by ”in Thy (that is Jehovah) speaking;“ and from the signification of ”servant,“ as being the Lord’s Human when as yet it was not made Divine (n. 2159); but when it was made Divine, because one with Jehovah, it was the Lord.

AC 6985. Because heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I. That this signifies that the voice and speech from the Divine are not heard or perceived, is evident from the signification of ”mouth,“ as being voice; and from the signification of ”tongue,“ as being speech.  By ”month“ is signified voice, because it is the organ of the voice; and by ”tongue“ is signified speech, because it is the organ of speech.  The difference between voice and speech is plain to everyone, also that ”to be heard“ is said of the voice, and ”to be perceived“ of speech. This cannot be expressed in the historic sense of the letter,‘, where Moses is spoken of as a man, and who could speak, but with difficulty, otherwise than by being ”heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.“ But when this passes into the internal sense, it is perceived by the angels as being said in respect to the subject treated of; and when it is said of the Divine, it is perceived that the voice proceeding thence cannot be heard nor the speech be perceived immediately, but mediately through spirits, according to what was said above (n. 6982).

AC 6986. And Jehovah said unto him. That this signifies Divine influx, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being influx (n. 5743, 5797, 6152, 6291); that it denotes from the Divine, is because ”Jehovah said.“

AC 6987. Who maketh man’s mouth?  That this signifies utterance, is evident from the signification of ”mouth,“ as being the voice (n. 6985); and as it denotes the voice, it denotes utterance. What the ”mouth“ specifically signifies cannot be seen except from correspondence.  The mouth together with the lips corresponds to the interior speech which is of the thought.  The thought of man is active and passive; man has active thought when he speaks, and this may be called speaking thought; but his thought is passive when he does not speak; and the difference between the two can be seen by him who reflects.  By the ”mouth“ of man is thus signified active or speaking thought, thus utterance.

[2] As regards active thought, which is signified by the ”mouth,“ be it known that this thought also is speaking thought in its own way, and that by the activity of this speech it excites the organs of the body corresponding thereto.  It appears as if the words of the speech were in the thought, but this is a fallacy; it is only the sense of the speech which is there, the nature of which man can scarcely know, for it is the speech of his spirit, which speech is universal speech, such as is the speech of spirits in the other life. When this speech flows into the correspondent organs of the body, it presents the speech of words, which is vastly different from the thought that produces it, as is very evident from the fact that a man can think in one minute what takes him a long space of time to speak or write; and this would not be the case if this thought were composed of words, as is the speech of the mouth.  It is from the correspondence of the speech of the thought and the speech of the mouth, that when a man comes after death among spirits, he knows how to speak in the universal language, thus with spirits, no matter what had been their language in the world; and that he then scarcely knows otherwise than that he speaks there as in the world, when yet the words of their speech are not words such as man uses in the body, but are the ideas which had been of his thought, one idea containing very many things. For this reason spirits can utter in a moment what a man can scarcely utter in half an hour, and even then there are many things within the same idea which cannot possibly be expressed by bodily speech.

[3] Yet the angels in heaven speak in a different way from spirits; for the angels who are in heaven have their speech from intellectual ideas, which by the philosophers are called immaterial ideas; whereas spirits have their speech from ideas of the imagination, which are called material ideas; hence in one idea of the thought of the angels there are contained very many things which spirits cannot utter by many series of their ideas, besides many things which they cannot express at all.  But when a spirit becomes an angel, he is in angelic speech, just as a man when after death he becomes a spirit, is in the speech of spirits, and for a similar reason.  From all this it can be seen what active thought is, namely, that it is the speech of man‘s spirit.

AC 6988. Or who hath made him dumb.  That this signifies no utterance, is evident from the significance of ”dumb,“ as being no utterance; for it is opposed to ”mouth,“ by which is signified utterance (n. 6987).  By ”utterance“ is not here meant that of the voice, or speech, for this utterance is natural; but by ”utterance“ is meant confession of the Lord, and the profession of faith in Him; for this utterance is spiritual. Hence it is evident what is signified in the internal sense by the ”dumb,“ namely, they who cannot confess the Lord, thus cannot profess faith in Him, by reason of ignorance, in which state are the nations outside the church, and also the simple within the church.  That such are signified by the ”dumb,“ is plain in Isaiah:

Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; because in the wilderness waters shall break out, and streams in the plain of the desert (Isa. 35:5, 6)

”the tongue of the dumb shall sing“ denotes that they shall confess the Lord and what is of faith in Him; ”in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the plain of the desert,“ denotes that they have the knowledges of truth and good; the ”wilderness“ is a state of no knowledges of faith from ignorance.

[2] By the dumb who were restored by the Lord are also signified the nations that by His coming into the world were delivered from falsities and the evils thence derived; as by the dumb person in Matthew:--

Behold they brought to Him a dumb man, obsessed by a demon; but when the demon was cast out, the dumb spake (Matthew 9:32, 33).

And by the dumb person in the same:--

There was brought unto Jesus one obsessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw (Matt. 12:22).

In like manner by the dumb person also obsessed by a demon, in (Mark 9:17-30).

[3] Be it known that the miracles wrought by the Lord all signify the state of the church, and of the human race saved by His coming into the world, namely, that those were liberated from hell who had received the faith of charity.  Such things are involved in the Lord’s miracles.  In general all the miracles recorded in the Old Testament signify the state of the Lord‘s church and kingdom.  In this way Divine miracles are distinguished from diabolical or magical miracles, however much they may appear alike in the external form, as was the case with the miracles of the magicians in Egypt.

AC 6989. Or deaf.  That this signifies no perception of truth, and consequently no obedience, is evident from the signification of the ”deaf,“ as being those who do not perceive what truth is, and consequently do not obey; thus abstractedly, no perception of truth, and consequently no obedience. That the ”deaf“ have this signification is because hearing corresponds both to perception and to obedience - to perception because what is heard is inwardly perceived, and to obedience because it is thence known what ought to be done. This is the correspondence of hearing, and also of the ear, (n. 3869, 4652-4660, 5017). Hence it is evident what is signified by the ”deaf.“ In the word by the ”deaf“ are also signified the nations which do not know the truths of faith, because they have not the Word, and therefore they cannot live according to these truths; nevertheless when they have been instructed, they receive them and live according to them.  These are meant in Isaiah:--

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened (Isa. 35:5).

Hear ye deaf, and look ye blind, seeing (Isa. 42:18).

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book; and out of thick darkness, and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see (Isa. 29:18).

Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears (Isa. 43:8);

by the ”deaf“ are here meant those who by the coming of the Lord came into a state of receiving the truths of faith, that is, of perceiving them and obeying them.  The same are signified by the ”deaf“ whom the Lord healed (Mark 7:31; 9:25). Because the ”deaf“ signified such, it was forbidden those with whom the representative church was instituted ”to curse the deaf and to put a stumbling block before the blind“ (Lev. 19:14).

AC 6990. Or seeing, or blind. That this signifies faith by means of knowledges, and no faith through the lack of them, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being to understand and have faith (n. 897, 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421), thus faith from knowledges, for in the original tongue this is a word which means one who is open, namely, with his eyes, thus one who sees from knowledges, for knowledges open; and from the signification of the ”blind,“ as being no faith from no knowledges, because one who is blind is one who does not see.  That by the ”blind“ in the Word are also signified the nations that live in ignorance of the truth of faith, because outside the church, but who when instructed receive faith, may be seen above (n. 2383): the same are also signified by the blind whom the Lord healed (Matt. 9:27-31; 12:22; 20:29; 21:14; Mark 8:22-26; 10:46; Luke 18:35; John 9:1-11).

AC 6991. Is it not I Jehovah?  That this signifies that these things are from the influx of life from the Divine, is evident from the fact that such things as are signified by the ”dumb,“ by the ”deaf,“ and by the ”blind,“ as also by the ”mouth“ and by ”seeing,“ arise with man from the influx of life from Jehovah or the Lord.  For thence arise both evils and goods with everyone; but evils from man, and goods from the Lord. That evils arise from man, is because the life which flows in from the Lord, that is, good and truth, is turned by man into evil and falsity, thus into what is contrary to life, which is called spiritual death.  The case herein is like that of light from the sun, which becomes of a color in accordance with its reception by objects, some being lively and bright, and some being as it were dead and dusky.  But as it appears as if the Lord brings in evil also, because He gives life, therefore from the appearance evil is attributed in the Word to Jehovah, or the Lord, as can be seen from many passages.  So also in this passage it is said that ”Jehovah makes what is dumb, deaf, and blind,“ of which, because they arise from the influx of life from the Divine, it is said that ”Jehovah makes“ them; but the internal sense sets forth and teaches the thing as it is in itself, and not as it appears.

AC 6992. And now go.  That this signifies life from the Divine, is evident from the signification of ”going,“ as being life (n. 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605); that it is from the Divine is because by Moses is represented the Lord.

AC 6993. And I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt speak. That this signifies the Divine in each and all things which proceed from the Divine Human, is evident from the signification of ”being with the mouth,“ when said by Jehovah, as being to be with what He utters. By the ”mouth“ is signified utterance, (n. 6987, 6988), and as these things are said to Moses, by whom is represented the Lord as to the law Divine in the Divine Human, therefore by ”I will be with thy mouth“ is signified the Divine in the things which proceed from the Divine Human; and from the signification of ”teaching thee what thou shalt say,“ as being to proceed; for by ”teaching“ and by ”speaking“ is signified to flow in, and when said of the Divine of the Lord, it signifies to proceed. For from the Lord’s Divine Human itself proceeds Divine truth, which is called the ”Holy Spirit;“ and because when the Lord was in the world He was Himself the Divine truth, He Himself taught the things that were of love and faith, and at that time not by the Holy Spirit, as He Himself teaches in John:--

The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39).

But after the Lord even as to the Human was made Jehovah, that is, Divine good, which was after the resurrection, then He was no longer Divine truth, but this proceeded from His Divine good.  That the ”Holy Spirit“ is the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord‘s Divine Human, and not any spirit or spirits from eternity, is very evident from the Lord’s words in the passage above cited, namely, that ”the Holy Spirit was not yet;“ also that a spirit cannot himself proceed, but the holy of the spirit, that is, the holy which proceeds from the Lord, and which a spirit utters (n. 6788).

[2] From all this then it follows that the whole trinity, namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is perfect in the Lord, and thus that there is one God, and not three, who being distinct as to persons, are said to constitute one Divine. That in the Word mention has been made of ” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,“ was that men might acknowledge the Lord and also the Divine in Him.  For man was in such thick darkness, as he also is at this day, that otherwise he would not have acknowledged any Divine in the Lord‘s Human; for this, being wholly incomprehensible, would have been to him above all belief.  And moreover it is a truth that there is a Trine, but in one, namely, in the Lord; and it is also acknowledged in Christian churches that the Trine dwells perfectly in Him. Moreover the Lord openly taught that He was one with the Father (John 14:9-12); and that the holy, which the Holy Spirit speaks, is not of the Spirit, but of the Lord, in John:--

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, shall not speak from Himself, but what things soever He shall hear, He shall speak.  He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine, and shall announce to you (John 16:13, 14).

That the ”Paraclete“ is the Holy Spirit, is said in (John 14:26).

AC 6994. Verses 13-17.  And he said, In me, my Lord, send I pray by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that speaking he will speak.  And also behold he goeth forth to meet thee; and he will see thee, and he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and shalt put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.  And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall be that he shall be to thee for a mouth, and thou shalt be to him for God.  And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.  ”And he said, In me, my Lord,“ signifies asseveration; ”send I pray by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send,“ signifies that the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human will be mediately uttered; ”and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses,“ signifies clemency; ”and He said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite?“ signifies the doctrine of good and truth; ”I know that he will speak,“ signifies preaching; ”and also behold he goeth forth to meet thee,“ signifies reception; ”and he will see thee,“ signifies perception; ”and he will be glad in his heart,“ signifies the affection of love; ”and thou shalt speak unto him,“ signifies influx; ”and shalt put the words in his mouth,“ sign