La Résurrection

1. Le premier [jour] de la semaine, de grand matin, elles se rendirent au sépulcre, apportant les aromates qu'elles avaient préparés, et quelques [autres] avec elles.

2. Mais elles trouvèrent la pierre roulée loin du sépulcre.

3. En entrant, elles ne trouvèrent pas le corps du Seigneur Jésus.

4. Comme elles étaient fort perplexes à ce sujet, voici que deux hommes se tenaient près d'elles, vêtus de manteaux brillants.

5. Comme ils étaient saisis de crainte, et qu'ils inclinaient leur visage vers la terre, ils leur dirent : Pourquoi cherchez-vous parmi les morts Celui qui vit ?

6. Il n'est pas ici, mais il est ressuscité ; souvenez-vous de ce qu'il vous a dit quand il était encore en Galilée,

7. Il faut, disait-il, que le Fils de l'homme soit livré aux mains des hommes pécheurs, qu'il soit crucifié, et qu'il ressuscite le troisième jour.

8. Et ils se souvinrent de ses paroles.

9. Et, revenant du sépulcre, ils rapportèrent toutes ces choses aux onze et à tous les autres.

10. Mais ce furent Marie de Magdala, Jeanne, Marie [la mère] de Jacques, et les autres [femmes] avec elles, qui racontèrent ces choses aux apôtres.

11. Leurs paroles leur apparurent comme de vains récits, et ils ne les crurent pas.

12. Mais Pierre, debout, courut au sépulcre, et, se baissant, il regarda les draps étendus seuls ; puis il s'en alla, s'étonnant en lui-même de ce qui s'était passé.

La signification de Joseph et des femmes.

La crucifixion de Jésus semble être la fin de tout - la fin de l'espoir du peuple en un Messie, la fin du rêve des disciples de " s'asseoir sur des trônes ", et la fin de la vie de Jésus sur terre. Mais l'histoire est loin d'être terminée.

Avant la fin du jour, Joseph d'Arimathie demande à Pilate le corps de Jésus. Conformément à la loi selon laquelle les cadavres doivent être enterrés avant la tombée de la nuit, Pilate accède à la demande de Joseph et lui donne la permission de descendre le corps de Jésus de la croix. Joseph a ensuite enveloppé le corps de Jésus dans des linges et l'a déposé dans un tombeau.

Bien que Joseph soit membre du Sanhédrin, le conseil qui a condamné Jésus pour blasphème, Joseph n'avait pas consenti au verdict. Comme nous l'avons mentionné dans l'épisode précédent, Joseph est décrit comme "un homme bon et juste" qui représente notre compréhension supérieure (Luc 23:50). C'est la partie de nous qui est non seulement capable de comprendre les choses de ce monde (science, mathématiques, littérature, etc.), mais qui s'élève plus haut pour recevoir la lumière spirituelle. Dans cette lumière supérieure, l'intelligence peut prendre des décisions qui sont à la fois bonnes et justes. C'est une qualité donnée par Dieu. ¹

En plus de la capacité d'élever notre compréhension vers la lumière spirituelle, nous avons la possibilité de recevoir une autre qualité donnée par Dieu. Appelée "don de perception", elle afflue discrètement chaque fois que nous sommes connectés au Seigneur par l'amour. Cette connexion nous donne la capacité de percevoir la bonté et la vérité. Dans le symbolisme biblique, ce type de perception est représenté par des parfums agréables et des épices qui sentent bon. C'est pourquoi, au début de l'épisode suivant, il est écrit que "le premier jour de la semaine, de grand matin, les femmes prirent les aromates qu'elles avaient préparés et vinrent au tombeau" (Luc 24:1). ²

Comme Joseph, qui a descendu le corps de Jésus de la croix et l'a enveloppé dans des linges, ces femmes continuent également à prendre soin du corps de Jésus. Pris ensemble, Joseph et les femmes représentent deux aspects différents, mais unis, de l'esprit humain. Dans le cas de Joseph, il représente la compréhension supérieure, la conviction rationnelle que ce que Jésus enseigne est vrai. C'est la vue de la vérité à partir de l'entendement. Dans le cas des femmes, c'est la perception que ce que Jésus enseigne est vrai parce que c'est bon. C'est la perception de la vérité à partir de l'amour. Les épices odorantes que les femmes apportent représentent ce don perceptif. ³

Le tombeau vide

À cette époque, les tombes étaient des endroits creusés dans la roche solide. L'entrée du tombeau était scellée en roulant une grande pierre sur l'ouverture. Mais lorsque les femmes arrivent, elles voient que la pierre a été roulée. Et lorsqu'elles entrent dans le tombeau, cherchant à oindre Jésus d'épices, elles ne trouvent pas son corps. Au lieu de cela, les femmes rencontrent deux anges en vêtements brillants qui leur disent : " Pourquoi cherchez-vous le vivant parmi les morts ? Il n'est pas ici, il est ressuscité" (Luc 24:5-6). Les anges en habits brillants représentent le rayonnement de la vérité divine, en particulier les vérités qui resplendissent de la signification intérieure de la Parole. ⁴

D'un point de vue symbolique, lorsque la Parole du Seigneur est dépourvue de son sens profond, elle peut être comparée à un "tombeau" vide. C'est particulièrement le cas lorsque la lettre de la Parole est utilisée pour soutenir une fausse croyance. Par exemple, lorsque la lettre de la Parole est séparée de sa signification intérieure, il peut sembler que Dieu est rempli de colère, qu'il éprouve de la haine et qu'il est rempli de vengeance. En outre, il peut sembler que ceux qui obéissent strictement à ses enseignements seront récompensés par une prospérité matérielle, et que ceux qui désobéissent seront détruits. C'est une idée matérielle de Dieu qui revient à "obéis et prospère, désobéis et péris". ⁵

Lorsque ces apparences sont confirmées à partir du sens littéral de la Parole, sans comprendre le sens spirituel qu'elles renferment, elles ne peuvent révéler l'essence du Seigneur. C'est comme si l'on voyait une personne sans connaître son véritable caractère et que l'on portait des jugements basés sur l'extérieur sans tenir compte de l'intérieur. Lorsque c'est le cas, le Seigneur ne sera pas vu dans sa Parole, et sa voix ne sera pas entendue. Le sens littéral de l'Écriture sainte, séparé de l'esprit intérieur qui lui donne vie, est une lettre morte - une tombe vide. C'est pourquoi les anges disent aux femmes : "Pourquoi cherchez-vous le vivant parmi les morts ? Il n'est pas ici ; il est ressuscité." ⁶

Porter la nouvelle aux disciples

Après avoir dit aux femmes de ne pas chercher les vivants parmi les morts, les anges continuent à les instruire. "Souvenez-vous de ce qu'il vous a dit quand il était en Galilée", disent les anges aux femmes. Puis les anges leur rappellent les paroles de Jésus : " Il faut que le Fils de l'homme soit livré aux mains des hommes pécheurs, qu'il soit crucifié, et qu'il ressuscite le troisième jour " (Luc 24:7).

Bien que Jésus ait prédit sa mort et sa résurrection à plusieurs reprises, les gens se sont tellement concentrés sur sa mort qu'ils ont oublié la partie concernant sa résurrection. Cette fois, cependant, c'est différent. Les paroles de Jésus sont maintenant devenues une réalité vivante, surtout pour ces femmes qui ont vu les anges et entendu leur message. Lorsque les anges leur rappellent que Jésus a dit qu'il serait crucifié et qu'il ressusciterait, il est écrit que les femmes "se souvinrent de ses paroles" (Luc 24:8).

Profondément touchées par le souvenir des paroles de Jésus, les femmes s'empressent de porter la nouvelle aux disciples (Luc 24:9). Ces femmes ne sont plus des personnes anonymes dans la foule. Elles deviennent maintenant des individus uniques et significatifs : elles sont " Marie-Madeleine ", " Jeanne " et " Marie mère de Jacques " (Luc 24:10). Leur réponse aux anges et leur décision immédiate de transmettre le message aux disciples illustrent la manière dont les vraies perceptions et les bonnes affections en nous répondent aux vérités intérieures de la Parole du Seigneur. ⁷

Lorsque les femmes apportent la joyeuse nouvelle aux disciples, leur annonçant que Jésus est ressuscité, ces derniers hésitent à les croire. Pour ces hommes éplorés, le récit des femmes semble n'être qu'une " histoire sans intérêt " (Luc 24:11). Pierre, cependant, a une réponse différente. Lorsqu'il entend la nouvelle, il se lève immédiatement et court au tombeau (Luc 24:12). C'est ce même Pierre qui avait pleuré si amèrement lorsqu'il avait réalisé qu'il avait renié Jésus pour la troisième fois (Luc 22:62). Mais maintenant, sentant l'espoir monter en lui, Pierre se précipite pour voir le tombeau par lui-même.

Lorsque Pierre arrive au tombeau, il se baisse et voit que les linges dans lesquels Jésus avait été enveloppé gisent en tas (Luc 24:12). Mais il n'y a aucun signe de Jésus, et Pierre ne voit pas non plus les anges. Contrairement aux femmes qui l'ont précédé, les yeux spirituels de Pierre n'ont pas encore été ouverts. Pierre, cependant, ne se laisse pas abattre. À la fin de cet épisode, Pierre s'en va " s'émerveillant en lui-même de ce qui s'était passé " (Luc 24:12). Bien que Pierre ne comprenne pas tout à fait, lentement mais sûrement, une résurrection de la foi s'opère en lui. ⁸

Une application pratique

Lorsque les femmes se sont souvenues des paroles de Jésus, elles se sont immédiatement précipitées pour en informer les disciples. Lorsque Pierre a appris d'elles que le Seigneur était ressuscité, il s'est immédiatement levé et a couru au tombeau. Dans les deux cas, ils ont compris que l'histoire n'était pas terminée. Chacun de nous peut faire quelque chose de semblable. Lorsque quelque chose se produit qui a le potentiel de vous faire tomber ou de vous faire douter de la présence du Seigneur, rappelez-vous que l'histoire n'est pas terminée et que le Seigneur a le pouvoir de vous relever. C'est la résurrection de la foi. C'est la foi que vous n'êtes pas seul. C'est la foi que le Seigneur vous apportera réconfort, protection et conseils alors que vous traversez votre situation. Et c'est la foi que, quelle que soit la difficulté de la situation, le Seigneur peut en tirer du bien et vous conduire à une bonne fin. ⁹

Sur la route d'Emmaüs

13. Et voici que deux d'entre eux se rendaient le même jour dans un village qui [est] nommé Emmaüs, éloigné de Jérusalem de soixante stades.

14. Et ils s'entretenaient entre eux de toutes ces choses qui étaient arrivées.

15. Comme ils conversaient et discutaient, Jésus lui-même, s'approchant, alla avec eux.

16. Mais leurs yeux étaient fermés, de sorte qu'ils ne le connaissaient pas.

17. Et il leur dit : Quelles sont ces paroles que vous échangez entre vous, tandis que vous marchez et que vous êtes tristes ?

18. L'un d'eux, nommé Cléopas, prenant la parole, lui dit : N'es-tu qu'un étranger à Jérusalem, et n'as-tu pas connu ce qui s'est passé en elle en ces jours-ci ?

19. Et il leur dit : Quelles choses ? Ils lui répondirent : Ce qui concerne Jésus de Nazareth, qui était un homme, un prophète, puissant en œuvres et en paroles devant Dieu et devant tout le peuple ;

20. Et comment les grands prêtres et nos chefs l'ont livré au jugement de la mort, et l'ont crucifié.

21. Et nous espérions que c'était Lui qui allait racheter Israël. Mais malgré tout cela, aujourd'hui arrive le troisième jour depuis que ces choses ont été faites.

22. Mais aussi, certaines femmes de [parmi] nous nous ont étonnés, qui étaient de bon matin au sépulcre.

23. N'ayant pas trouvé son corps, elles sont venues, disant qu'elles avaient aussi vu une vision d'anges, qui disent qu'il est vivant.

24. Quelques-uns de ceux qui étaient avec nous allèrent au sépulcre et le trouvèrent comme les femmes l'avaient dit ; mais ils ne virent pas le corps.

25. Il leur dit : "Incrédules et lents à croire tout ce qu'ont dit les prophètes !

26. Ne fallait-il pas que le Christ souffrît ces choses, et qu'il entrât dans sa gloire ?

27. Et, commençant par Moïse et par tous les prophètes, il leur interpréta dans toutes les Écritures les choses qui le concernent.

Au début de l'épisode suivant, deux des disciples de Jésus se rendent dans un village appelé Emmaüs, à environ sept miles de Jérusalem (Luc 24:13). Bien qu'ils soient appelés "disciples", ils ne font pas partie des douze d'origine. L'un des disciples s'appelle Cléopas et le nom de l'autre n'est pas mentionné.

Trois jours se sont écoulés depuis la crucifixion, et ces deux disciples ont entendu parler du tombeau vide, de la visite des femmes et de l'apparition des anges. Il est facile d'imaginer qu'ils sont perplexes face aux événements récents - en particulier la nouvelle de la mort et de la résurrection de Jésus. Pendant qu'ils discutent, il est écrit que " Jésus lui-même s'approcha et fit route avec eux " (Luc 24:15). Comme Pierre, qui n'a pas pu voir les anges dans leurs vêtements brillants, ces deux disciples ont également une vision spirituelle limitée. Bien qu'ils puissent clairement reconnaître qu'un étranger s'est joint à eux, ils ne voient pas qu'il s'agit de Jésus. Comme il est écrit, "Leurs yeux étaient retenus, de sorte qu'ils ne le connaissaient pas" (Luc 24:16). Une fois encore, Lucé fournit des mots qui se rapportent à la compréhension : ils ne l'ont pas connu.

Jésus, qui est " ressuscité des morts ", est avec eux en esprit, mais ils n'ont pas encore conscience que la personne qui marche avec eux est Jésus. Néanmoins, Jésus va progressivement les aider à ouvrir leurs yeux spirituels. De la même manière, après avoir été dans l'obscurité, nos yeux doivent s'adapter progressivement à la lumière. Il y a une différence entre un éclair de lucidité et le processus beaucoup plus long de développement de notre compréhension de la réalité spirituelle. Alors qu'un éclair de lucidité peut se produire en un instant, notre compréhension de la vérité spirituelle se fait progressivement et se poursuit pendant toute l'éternité. ¹⁰

Jésus, qui ouvre progressivement leur compréhension, commence par une question. Il leur demande : " Quel genre de conversation avez-vous les uns avec les autres en marchant et en étant tristes ? " (Luc 24:17). Il s'agit de ces moments où nous sommes attristés par un événement récent, où nous en discutons peut-être avec un ami, sans savoir que Dieu est à nos côtés, qu'il nous parle même. Plus souvent, comme ces deux disciples, nous continuons dans notre tristesse. Nous sommes, pour ainsi dire, "dans l'obscurité" de la réalité spirituelle. Le dénommé Cléopas prend la parole le premier. Il demande à Jésus : "Es-tu le seul étranger à Jérusalem, et n'as-tu pas connu ce qui s'y est passé en ces jours-ci ?" (Luc 24:18).

Jésus, qui dissimule encore son identité, demande : "Quelles choses ?" (Luc 24:19). Et ils lui parlent d'un homme nommé Jésus. Ils disent que "c'était un prophète puissant en actes et en paroles devant Dieu et devant tout le peuple". Et ils ajoutent que "les grands prêtres et nos chefs l'ont livré pour être condamné à mort et l'ont crucifié" (Luc 24:19-20). Puis ils partagent avec Jésus la principale raison de leur tristesse. Comme ils le disent, "nous espérions que c'était Lui qui allait racheter Israël" (Luc 24:21). Bien que ces deux disciples aient entendu la nouvelle d'une possible résurrection, ils ne sont pas convaincus. Ils semblent certains que Jésus est mort et que tout est fini. À ce stade, leurs espoirs sont également morts. C'est pourquoi ils ajoutent : " C'est aujourd'hui le troisième jour que ces choses se sont passées " (Luc 24:20-21).

Alors qu'ils continuent à parler à Jésus, ne le reconnaissant toujours pas, ils décrivent comment des femmes s'étaient rendues au tombeau tôt le matin et n'avaient pas trouvé le corps de Jésus. Au lieu de cela, elles ont vu "une vision d'anges" disant que Jésus est vivant (Luc 24:23). Ils disent aussi à Jésus que certains des disciples, après avoir entendu le rapport des femmes, sont allés au tombeau et ont trouvé que le rapport des femmes était vrai. Comme il est écrit : "Quelques-uns de nos compagnons allèrent au sépulcre et le trouvèrent tel que les femmes l'avaient dit ; mais ils ne virent pas Jésus.Luc 24:24). Le détail significatif, " Lui, ils ne le virent pas ", n'est rapporté que dans Luc, l'évangile qui se rapporte à l'ouverture de l'entendement. En d'autres termes, ils n'ont pas vu Jésus. Ces deux disciples ne voient pas non plus Jésus. Même si Jésus marche avec eux et leur parle, ils ne le voient pas, ne le reconnaissent pas et ne le connaissent pas.

C'est à ce moment-là que Jésus choisit d'ouvrir leurs yeux pour qu'ils puissent le reconnaître. Ramenant leur esprit aux Ecritures, il leur dit : "O insouciants et lents de cœur à croire à tout ce que les prophètes ont dit ! Ne fallait-il pas que le Christ souffrît ces choses et qu'il entrât dans sa gloire ?" (Luc 24:25-26).

Les mots "irréfléchi" et "lent de cœur à croire" renvoient, une fois de plus, à un thème central de Luc - la réception graduelle de Dieu dans l'entendement. Comme nous l'avons déjà mentionné, l'intelligence se développe lentement. À maintes reprises, Jésus avait enseigné la nature de la réalité spirituelle et le royaume des cieux. Mais les disciples, dont l'esprit était fixé sur les choses de ce monde, avaient du mal à élever leur esprit vers la lumière spirituelle. De ce fait, ils ne pouvaient pas comprendre la nature de la venue de Jésus, ni son désir d'établir un nouveau royaume fondé sur une nouvelle compréhension de Dieu. C'est pourquoi Jésus dit d'eux qu'ils sont "irréfléchis", un mot grec qui signifie "à l'esprit sensuel", et "lents de cœur à croire".

Comme les deux disciples que Jésus a rencontrés sur la route d'Emmaüs, notre compréhension s'ouvre aussi lentement, mais Jésus est toujours patient avec nous. Par le biais de sa Parole, il montre comment l'histoire de la rédemption est contenue dans les Écritures, "en commençant par Moïse et tous les prophètes" (Luc 24:27). Il s'agit d'une histoire simple et directe, qui ne concerne pas seulement le voyage intérieur de Jésus, mais aussi le nôtre. L'ouverture de notre compréhension, en particulier de notre compréhension de Jésus et de la nature de sa mission, est d'une importance capitale dans ce voyage. C'est pourquoi il est écrit qu'"il leur expliqua, dans toutes les Écritures, ce qui le concernait" (Luc 24:27).

Petit pain

28. Ils approchèrent du village où ils allaient, et Il fit comme s'il voulait aller plus loin.

29. Et ils le pressèrent, disant : restez avec nous, car le soir est proche, et le jour a décliné. Et Il entra pour rester avec eux.

30. Et comme il était couché avec eux, prenant du pain, il le bénit, et, le rompant, il le leur donna.

31. Leurs yeux s'ouvrirent, et ils Le connurent ; et Il leur devint invisible.

32. Et ils se dirent l'un à l'autre : "Notre coeur ne brûlait-il pas au-dedans de nous, tandis qu'Il nous parlait en chemin, et qu'Il nous ouvrait les Ecritures ?

33. Se levant à cette même heure, ils retournèrent à Jérusalem, et trouvèrent les onze assemblés, et ceux qui étaient avec eux,

34. Ils disaient : Le Seigneur est vraiment ressuscité, et Simon l'a vu.

35. Et ils expliquèrent les choses [faites] en chemin, et comment il leur avait été connu à la fraction du pain.

En poursuivant leur voyage, les deux disciples et Jésus s'approchent du village appelé Emmaüs. Apparemment, c'est là qu'ils vivent. C'est là que Jésus indique qu'il va continuer à marcher. Mais ils le supplient de rester avec eux, en disant : "Reste avec nous, car le soir tombe et le jour est bien avancé" (Luc 24:29). A cause de leur insistance, Jésus accepte leur invitation. Comme il est écrit, "il entra pour rester avec eux" (Luc 24:29).

Passer de la route à la maison symbolise une entrée plus profonde de Dieu dans notre vie. En entrant pour rester avec eux, Jésus initie l'acte le plus intime de la communion - le partage du repas de communion. Comme il est écrit : " Comme il était à table avec eux, il prit du pain, le bénit, le rompit et le leur donna " (Luc 24:30).

En accomplissant ce rituel bien connu, Jésus donne une leçon silencieuse sur son identité, suggérant qu'il n'est pas seulement un étranger sur la route, mais plutôt un père dans la maison. La leçon est profonde et ouvre leurs yeux spirituels à la réalité de la présence de Jésus. Comme il est écrit : " Alors leurs yeux s'ouvrirent, et ils le reconnurent " (Luc 24:31). C'est un autre incident qui n'est relaté que dans Luc. Dans le langage du symbolisme sacré, l'ouverture de leurs yeux fait référence à l'ouverture de leur compréhension afin qu'ils puissent connaître Jésus.

Il est important de noter que la conversation sur le chemin, lorsque Jésus leur a ouvert les Écritures, a préparé les disciples à l'ouverture de leurs yeux spirituels. Mais leurs yeux se sont ouverts plus complètement lorsque Jésus a béni le pain au milieu d'eux et l'a partagé avec eux. Le pain, parce qu'il est si essentiel à la vie, a toujours été un symbole universel de l'amour de Dieu pour l'humanité. C'est à ce moment-là, lorsque les disciples ressentent quelque chose de l'amour de Dieu dans la fraction du pain, que leurs yeux s'ouvrent et qu'ils savent que Jésus est au milieu d'eux. ¹¹

Cette expérience ne dure pas longtemps. Aussi rapidement que le moment de reconnaissance a traversé leur conscience, Jésus disparaît de leur vue (Luc 24:31). Néanmoins, la rencontre divine a fait une impression durable sur les deux disciples. Stupéfaits par ce qui vient de se passer, ils se tournent l'un vers l'autre et disent : "Notre cœur ne brûlait-il pas au-dedans de nous pendant qu'il nous parlait en chemin et qu'il nous ouvrait les Écritures ?". (Luc 24:32). Les disciples ont ressenti la chaleur ardente de l'amour du Seigneur lorsqu'il a ouvert leur compréhension à la signification intérieure de sa Parole. C'est parce que les vérités divines de la Parole contiennent la chaleur brûlante de l'amour du Seigneur. ¹²

Jésus apparaît à Simon

Emerveillés par leur expérience de la rencontre avec Jésus sur la route, les deux disciples se lèvent immédiatement et retournent à Jérusalem pour raconter aux autres disciples ce qui s'est passé. Lorsqu'ils arrivent, et qu'ils leur racontent leur expérience, les disciples de Jérusalem ont eux aussi des nouvelles passionnantes à annoncer. "Le Seigneur est vraiment ressuscité", disent les disciples réunis à Jérusalem. Et ils ajoutent : " Il est apparu à Simon " (Luc 24:34).

De manière significative, Pierre est ici appelé "Simon". Nous nous souvenons que Pierre a été le premier des disciples à courir vers le tombeau, mais une fois sur place, il n'a trouvé que les vêtements de lin de Jésus. Apparemment, "Pierre" n'a pas vu Jésus, mais "Simon" l'a vu. "Il est apparu à Simon", dit-on. La signification de ce détail important se trouve dans la compréhension de la différence entre le nom "Pierre" et le nom "Simon". Comme nous l'avons déjà souligné, le nom "Simon" signifie "entendre".

Chaque fois que les noms bibliques "Pierre" et "Simon" sont utilisés en contraste l'un avec l'autre, "Pierre" représente une foi plus superficielle - une foi basée sur les choses de la mémoire, et "Simon" représente une foi plus profonde - une foi basée sur la capacité d'entendre et de faire ce que Dieu commande. C'est pourquoi il est écrit que "le Seigneur est ressuscité, et il est apparu à Simon". ¹³

Jésus apparaît à ses disciples

36. Mais comme ils parlaient ainsi, Jésus lui-même se présenta au milieu d'eux et leur dit : La paix [soit] avec vous.

37. Mais, terrifiés et effrayés, ils croyaient voir un esprit.

38. Et il leur dit : Pourquoi êtes-vous troublés, et pourquoi des pensées s'élèvent-elles dans vos cœurs ?

39. Voyez Mes mains et Mes pieds, que c'est Moi-même ; touchez-Moi et voyez, car un esprit n'a ni chair ni os, comme vous Me voyez avoir.

40. Et ayant dit cela, Il leur montra [Ses] mains et [Ses] pieds.

41. Comme ils ne croyaient pas encore à la joie, et qu'ils étaient dans l'étonnement, il leur dit : Avez-vous ici quelque nourriture ?

42. Et ils lui donnèrent une partie d'un poisson grillé et un rayon de miel.

43. Et prenant [cela], Il mangea devant eux.

Manipuler les "os" et la "chair" de Jésus.

Les deux disciples qui ont rencontré Jésus sur la route d'Emmaüs sont maintenant retournés à Jérusalem pour rejoindre les onze disciples, Alors qu'ils partagent la nouvelle de leur rencontre avec Jésus et de la fraction du pain avec lui, soudain Jésus apparaît au milieu d'eux et dit : "Paix à vous.'"(Luc 24:36).

C'est comme si la simple mention de la fraction du pain suffisait à invoquer la présence de Jésus. Comme Jésus l'a dit lui-même, la nuit précédant sa crucifixion, lorsqu'il a rompu le pain et l'a donné à ses disciples : "Ceci est mon corps qui est donné pour vous. Faites ceci en mémoire de moi" (Luc 22:19). Ce sacrement très important contient un enseignement puissant sur la manière dont Dieu est avec nous, même dans les actes les plus physiques de la vie quotidienne, lorsqu'ils sont accomplis de manière respectueuse. En d'autres termes, l'amour et la sagesse de Dieu nous sont pleinement présents lorsque nous en faisons l'expérience simultanément à un niveau naturel et spirituel.

Nous pouvons le faire chaque fois que nous mangeons le pain de la sainte cène, en pensant à la réception de l'amour du Seigneur. De même, lorsque nous buvons le vin, nous pouvons penser à la réception de la sagesse du Seigneur. Il suffit d'une petite réflexion révérencieuse de notre part pour transformer cette simple activité physique en un acte de culte très saint. De cette façon, nous pouvons avoir le sentiment que le monde spirituel se déverse dans le monde naturel. C'est pourquoi la Sainte Cène est appelée "communion". C'est une communion du spirituel avec le naturel, de l'éternel avec le temporel, et du Seigneur avec une personne, dans un acte saint. Même si nous n'avons pas d'expérience perceptible de l'amour et de la sagesse du Seigneur, nous pouvons savoir que l'amour divin et la sagesse divine constituent l'essence même de Dieu et qu'il est réellement présent dans la Sainte Cène. ¹⁴

La Sainte Cène nous rappelle donc de manière palpable que Dieu seul nourrit à la fois nos corps et nos âmes. Le pain et le vin physiques sont pour notre corps ; le pain spirituel, qui est l'amour, et le vin spirituel, qui est la sagesse, sont pour notre âme. Se souvenir de cela en prenant la Sainte-Cène nous ouvre à l'expérience de la présence de Dieu. Après tout, dans le monde spirituel, la pensée apporte la présence. Nous pouvons donc comprendre que même une pensée révérencieuse à propos de la fraction du pain puisse invoquer la présence même de Jésus. ¹⁵

Jésus sait cependant que sa présence sera terrifiante pour les disciples, car ils ont peur des fantômes et des esprits. Il tente donc de calmer leurs craintes en leur disant : "Paix à vous". Il est écrit, cependant, qu'ils sont restés "épouvantés et effrayés et ils croyaient avoir vu un esprit" (Luc 24:37). Continuant à calmer leurs craintes, Jésus leur dit : " Pourquoi êtes-vous troublés ? Et pourquoi des doutes s'élèvent-ils dans vos cœurs ?" (Luc 24:38). Pour ôter tout doute sur le fait qu'il s'agit bien de Jésus, et non d'un esprit, il dit : "Voyez mes mains et mes pieds, c'est bien moi. Manipulez-moi et voyez, car un esprit n'a pas de chair et d'os comme vous voyez que j'en ai" (Luc 24:38-39).

Lorsque Jésus dit à ses disciples qu'il n'est pas un esprit, et qu'un esprit n'a pas de chair et d'os comme lui, il veut dire quelque chose de très précis. Il veut dire qu'Il est devenu un "corps" d'amour et de sagesse - non pas un corps matériel, mais un corps divinement spirituel. Sa "chair" est l'amour divin qu'Il s'efforce de donner à toute l'humanité, et ses "os" sont les vérités divines à travers lesquelles l'amour divin peut être exprimé. Ainsi, Jésus est devenu l'amour divin et la sagesse divine sous une forme humaine, visible à nos yeux spirituels. ¹⁶

Il ne s'agit pas d'une simple abstraction. En prenant un corps d'amour et de sagesse parfaits, Jésus-Christ est devenu l'incarnation parfaite de ce que signifie être un être divinement humain. Ce faisant, l'âme invisible de Dieu, appelée le Père, et le corps visible de Dieu, appelé Jésus, sont devenus un, tout comme l'âme dans le corps d'un être humain ne sont pas deux, mais un. ¹⁷

Ce processus d'unification avec le Père, ou la réunion de l'âme et du corps, a été graduel, continu, étape par étape, tout au long de la vie de Jésus, jusqu'à sa mort sur la croix. Lorsque Jésus a prononcé ses dernières paroles, "Père, entre tes mains je remets mon esprit", il annonçait la victoire finale. Il avait non seulement subjugué les enfers, mais il était aussi devenu un avec la divinité qui était en lui depuis sa naissance - la divinité intérieure qu'on appelait le "Père". ¹⁸

La croix, cependant, n'était pas la fin. C'était le début de la résurrection. Lorsqu'ils sont venus pour oindre le corps de Jésus, celui-ci était introuvable. Il avait simplement quitté le tombeau, ne laissant derrière lui que ses vêtements de lin. Il existe de nombreuses explications sur ce qui s'est passé dans le tombeau, mais la plus simple est que Jésus a glorifié son corps et l'a rendu entièrement divin. Il a fait cela en expulsant tout ce qui était de la nature purement humaine qu'il avait hérité de Marie, sa mère humaine, tout en prenant simultanément tout ce qui était de la nature divine du Père qui était en lui. Cela a permis à Dieu d'être plus proche de nous que jamais auparavant. Nous pouvons maintenant avoir une idée de Dieu fondée sur l'amour et la sagesse rendus visibles dans la vie, la mort et la résurrection de Jésus-Christ. ¹⁹

Manger du poisson et du rayon de miel

Tout cela, cependant, dépasse de loin la compréhension des disciples. Ils ont besoin d'une explication plus simple, qui fasse appel à leur mode de pensée matériel. C'est pourquoi Jésus leur dit d'aller de l'avant et de toucher ses mains et ses pieds, de le manipuler réellement et de voir qu'il n'est pas un esprit. Tout cela se produit parce que Jésus a ouvert leurs yeux spirituels et leur a permis de faire son expérience au niveau de la conscience spirituelle. Les disciples ont l'impression qu'il se manifeste à eux sur le plan matériel. C'est ce dont ils ont besoin pour le moment - une preuve apparemment matérielle.

Mais même dans ce cas, ils ne sont toujours pas convaincus. Comme il est écrit : " Mais ils ne croyaient pas encore à la joie " (Luc 24:41). Peut-être est-ce trop beau pour être vrai. Aussi, pour mettre les choses au clair, Jésus leur demande s'ils ont de quoi manger. Lorsqu'ils lui donnent un morceau de poisson grillé et du rayon de miel, il le prend et le mange en leur présence (Luc 24:43). Dans le langage des écritures sacrées, le poisson grillé représente la vérité nourrissante - la vérité qui nourrit l'âme. Et le doux rayon de miel représente le plaisir que l'on éprouve à vivre selon ces vérités. ²⁰

Pour les disciples, toucher les mains, les pieds et le corps de Jésus est très convaincant ; mais ce qui l'est encore plus, c'est de le voir manger du poisson et du rayon de miel. En agissant ainsi, Jésus démontre que Dieu ne doit plus être considéré comme une essence lointaine, invisible et inconnaissable qui imprègne l'univers de manière abstraite. Au contraire, Dieu peut maintenant être vu dans sa gloire ressuscitée comme une personne humaine et divine accessible, prête à s'engager dans une relation réciproque avec tous ceux qui sont prêts à le recevoir. En bref, un Dieu vague, distant, lointain était devenu visible, substantiel et aussi réel que l'amour et la sagesse qu'il est venu partager. ²¹

Une application pratique

La nature du corps ressuscité de Jésus a longtemps fait l'objet de débats. S'agissait-il d'une vision ou était-il vraiment là en chair et en os ? Même si nous ne connaissons pas la réponse, nous pouvons savoir que Jésus était visible pour ses disciples. Ils l'ont vu. On ne saurait surestimer l'importance d'avoir une idée visible de Dieu. Il est difficile de prier ou d'aimer une abstraction invisible. Mais une idée visible, divinement humaine, de Dieu est différente. Alors que nous ne pouvons pas attendre d'une vague idée qu'elle nous ouvre les yeux pour comprendre la vérité spirituelle, ou qu'elle nous remplisse du pouvoir de pardonner à nos ennemis, ou qu'elle nous permette de vaincre dans la tentation, un Dieu divinement humain peut le faire. Par conséquent, en guise d'application pratique, gardez à l'esprit l'idée de Dieu telle qu'elle s'est manifestée dans la vie de Jésus. Il s'agit d'une idée visible de Dieu qui dit : " Prenez garde et gardez-vous de la convoitise, car la vie d'une personne ne consiste pas dans l'abondance des biens (Luc 12:15). C'est une idée visible de Dieu qui dit : "Pardonnez et vous serez pardonnés" (Luc 6:37). C'est une idée visible de Dieu qui marche parmi nous, guérissant, bénissant et sauvant. C'est une idée visible de Dieu qui dit à chacun de nous : "Je suis au milieu de vous comme celui qui sert" (Luc 22:27). ²²

Jésus leur ouvre la voie

44. Et il leur dit : Ce sont [les] paroles que je vous ai dites pendant que j'étais encore avec vous, afin que s'accomplissent toutes les choses qui ont été écrites de moi dans la loi de Moïse et [dans] les prophètes et [dans] les psaumes.

45. Alors il leur ouvrit l'esprit pour qu'ils comprennent les Écritures,

46. Et il leur dit : C'est ainsi qu'il est écrit, et c'est ainsi que le Christ devait souffrir, et ressusciter des morts le troisième jour ;

47. Et que la repentance et le pardon des péchés soient prêchés en son nom à toutes les nations, à commencer par Jérusalem.

48. Et vous êtes témoins de ces choses.

Tout au long de son ministère, Jésus avait souvent dit à ses disciples qu'il devait aller à Jérusalem, être crucifié, et que le troisième jour il ressusciterait. Il savait qu'ils comprenaient mal ce qu'il voulait dire. Cela était clairement évident dans la façon dont ils continuaient à espérer qu'il devienne leur roi mondain - un roi qui leur donnerait des sièges d'honneur et d'autorité dans son royaume.

Tout cela a changé maintenant. Jésus a été crucifié, comme il l'avait dit. Et il est ressuscité, comme il l'avait dit. Il a suivi la voie qui lui était tracée, accomplissant tout ce qui avait été dit de lui dans les Écritures. C'est pourquoi il dit à ses disciples : "Voici les paroles que je vous ai dites quand j'étais encore avec vous : il faut que s'accomplisse tout ce qui est écrit de moi dans la loi de Moïse, dans les prophètes et dans les psaumes" (Luc 24:44).

Les disciples sont maintenant ouverts et prêts à recevoir ce que Jésus leur dit. Comme il est écrit, "il leur ouvrit l'intelligence pour qu'ils comprennent les Écritures" (Luc 24:45). Bien que nous ne disposions pas d'informations spécifiques sur ce que Jésus leur a dit, il est possible que cela comprenne certaines des prophéties concernant son avènement, sa vie, sa crucifixion et sa résurrection. En pénétrant plus profondément dans les parties historiques et prophétiques des Écritures hébraïques, en enlevant couche après couche, nous découvrons que, d'une certaine manière, tout ce que nous lisons se rapporte non seulement à la vie de Jésus-Christ mais aussi à notre propre réforme et régénération. ²³

Les mots "Il ouvrit leur intelligence" sont le point culminant de tout ce qui a précédé. Jusqu'à présent, les disciples avaient été pris dans leurs propres idées : par exemple, ils avaient leur propre conception de ce que signifierait la présence du Messie au milieu d'eux ; ils avaient leur propre conception de ce que serait la rédemption d'Israël ; et ils avaient leur propre conception de la " grandeur ", y compris les positions qu'ils occuperaient dans le royaume à venir. Jésus a dû leur enseigner le contraire. En fait, il a dû inverser complètement leur processus de pensée, en leur enseignant que les premiers seront les derniers, les derniers seront les premiers, et que les plus grands ne sont pas ceux qui sont servis, mais plutôt ceux qui servent (cf. Luc 13:30 et Luc 22:26).

Comme les disciples, nous commençons tous notre voyage spirituel avec notre propre compréhension de ce que signifie la réussite ou le bonheur. Tout comme les disciples avaient besoin que leur compréhension soit ouverte, nous avons besoin, nous aussi, que nos yeux spirituels soient ouverts afin que nous puissions vraiment comprendre les Écritures. Bien qu'il y ait d'innombrables choses à comprendre, Jésus n'en choisit que quelques-unes sur lesquelles il se concentre dans les derniers mots de cet évangile. Il commence par rappeler à ses disciples que le chemin du salut passe par la porte de la crucifixion. Comme il le dit, "il est écrit que le Christ devait souffrir et ressusciter des morts le troisième jour" (Luc 24:46).

Il s'agit d'une leçon sur la nécessité de la tentation. Sans tentation, sans combat spirituel, sans la volonté de prendre notre croix et de suivre Jésus, il ne peut y avoir de croissance spirituelle. C'est ce que Jésus a fait tout au long de sa vie et finalement sur la croix. Dans notre propre vie, nous passons par un processus similaire. À chaque tentation, nous sommes confrontés à un choix : nous pouvons nous appuyer sur notre propre compréhension et suivre notre propre volonté, ou nous pouvons faire confiance à Dieu et faire sa volonté. Si nous vainquons la tentation, c'est uniquement parce que nous avons reconnu nos penchants égoïstes et que nous nous sommes tournés vers Dieu pour qu'il nous aide à les surmonter.

La leçon suivante porte sur le repentir et le pardon des péchés. Comme le dit Jésus, "il fallait que le Christ souffre et ressuscite des morts le troisième jour, et que la repentance et le pardon des péchés soient prêchés en son nom à partir de Jérusalem" (Luc 24:46-47). Il convient de noter que le terme "repentance" est immédiatement suivi de l'expression "pardon des péchés". L'idée clé est qu'une fois que nous reconnaissons nos péchés, que nous prions pour l'aide du Seigneur et que nous renonçons à nos péchés, comme si c'était de nous-mêmes, nous en sommes retenus et maintenus dans un état de bien. Cela fait partie du merveilleux processus de réforme par lequel le Seigneur nous éloigne du mal et nous maintient dans le bien, nous éloignant constamment des péchés et nous inspirant constamment le bien. C'est ainsi que les péchés sont pardonnés (Luc 24:47). ²⁴

Commencer à Jérusalem

L'idée que ce processus de repentance et de pardon des péchés doit " commencer à Jérusalem " est familière. Jésus avait déjà enseigné à ses disciples à enlever d'abord la poutre de leur propre œil, et ensuite ils verraient clairement pour enlever la paille qui est dans l'œil de leur frère (cf. 6:42). C'est là que tout commence : avec soi-même. Rien n'ouvre davantage la compréhension que l'observation honnête de soi et la volonté de fuir les maux comme des péchés contre Dieu. Dès que nous nous efforçons de renoncer à un désir inférieur ou de l'éviter, la lumière supérieure afflue. Mais si nous refusons de faire le travail de repentance, les mauvais désirs et les fausses pensées resteront en nous. Ils ne peuvent pas être remis, pardonnés ou renvoyés, simplement parce que nous choisissons de rester en eux. ²⁵

Par conséquent, l'exhortation à "prêcher la repentance et la rémission des péchés en commençant par Jérusalem" signifie qu'ils doivent commencer par se concentrer sur l'étude de la Parole avec l'idée qu'ils doivent d'abord enlever la tache de leur propre œil avant de pouvoir sortir et prêcher aux autres. La vérité que Jésus a enseignée leur fournira la lumière qui leur permettra de voir leurs propres maux et de s'efforcer de les fuir. Finalement, ils deviendront "témoins de ces choses" (Luc 24:48). Ils seraient en mesure de témoigner avec audace des merveilleux changements qui se sont produits dans leur propre vie lorsqu'ils ont entrepris l'œuvre de repentance et de rémission des péchés à la lumière de la vérité du Seigneur. Comme il est écrit dans les Écritures hébraïques, "Jérusalem sera appelée la Cité de la Vérité". ²⁶

Séjourner dans la ville de Jérusalem

49. Et voici, j'envoie sur vous la promesse de mon Père ; mais restez assis dans la ville de Jérusalem, jusqu'à ce que vous ayez revêtu la puissance d'en haut.

50. Il les conduisit jusque dans Béthanie, et, levant les mains, il les bénit.

51. Comme il les bénissait, il se retira d'eux et fut élevé au ciel.

52. Et eux, après l'avoir adoré, retournèrent à Jérusalem avec une grande joie.

53. Et ils étaient continuellement dans le temple, louant et bénissant Dieu. Amen.

Les disciples avaient parcouru un long chemin. Ils étaient avec Jésus depuis trois ans ; ils avaient été témoins de ses nombreux miracles et guérisons ; ils avaient entendu ses discours et écouté ses paraboles ; ils avaient mangé avec lui et prié avec lui ; ils avaient assisté à son procès et à sa crucifixion ; et ils l'avaient vu sous sa forme ressuscitée. Bien que leur foi ait souvent vacillé, elle était devenue plus forte et plus certaine. Bientôt, ils iraient proclamer l'Évangile et guider les autres, mais pour l'instant, ils devaient rester à Jérusalem. Jésus s'exprime ainsi : "Voici que j'envoie sur vous la promesse de mon Père ; mais restez dans la ville de Jérusalem jusqu'à ce que vous soyez revêtus de la puissance d'en haut" (...).Luc 24:49).

Nous avons déjà souligné que le commandement de "commencer par Jérusalem" suggère que les disciples avaient encore du travail à faire avant de porter l'Évangile aux autres, en particulier le travail de repentance et de rémission des péchés. Mais il y a plus. Jérusalem était le centre où l'on adorait Dieu et où l'on étudiait les Écritures. Le temple s'y trouvait ; le sacerdoce y était ; les grandes fêtes y étaient célébrées. Ainsi, la mention de la ville "Jérusalem" signifie l'étude de la Parole avec une attention particulière sur la façon dont elle peut s'appliquer à soi-même.

En disant aux disciples de "s'arrêter à Jérusalem", Jésus reporte leur travail missionnaire plus large jusqu'à ce qu'ils puissent développer une compréhension plus profonde de l'Écriture, et utiliser cette compréhension pour faire le travail de repentance. Ce n'est qu'alors qu'ils seront "revêtus de la puissance d'en haut". Car sans une compréhension correcte du Seigneur et de sa Parole, ils ne seraient pas en mesure de recevoir une telle puissance. Avant de pouvoir enseigner aux autres, ils doivent apprendre à se connaître eux-mêmes ; avant de pouvoir vraiment aimer les autres, ils doivent apprendre à aimer. Avant de prêcher l'Évangile, ils devraient bien le comprendre. Tout cela aurait pour but le développement d'une compréhension supérieure. Ce n'est qu'alors qu'ils seraient prêts à recevoir "la promesse du Père et à être revêtus de la puissance d'en haut". Ils doivent d'abord connaître la vérité avant d'être capables de la vouloir et de la faire. ²⁷

Il est intéressant de noter que tant Matthieu que Marc se terminent par une commission directe consistant à " aller dans le monde entier pour faire des disciples de toutes les nations " (Matthieu 28:19) et "prêcher l'Évangile à toute créature" (Marc 16:15). Mais lorsque nous arrivons à la fin de Luc, il y a une différence. Ils doivent d'abord " demeurer à Jérusalem " jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient " revêtus de la puissance d'en haut " (Luc 24:49). C'est une focalisation différente ; c'est un appel à un niveau différent de l'esprit. Comme nous l'avons souligné depuis le début de cet évangile, l'accent dans Luc est mis sur la manière dont Dieu est reçu dans l'entendement. Nous avons noté que le premier verset de Luc commence par une référence à " ces choses qui sont très sûrement croyantes " ; dans le deuxième verset, nous lisons des " témoins oculaires " ; au troisième verset, Lucé parle d'avoir eu "une compréhension parfaite" ; et au quatrième verset, Lucé dit qu'il écrit ces choses afin que son lecteur "puisse connaître la certitude des choses dans lesquelles tu as été instruit" (Luc 1:1-4).

Tous ces termes et expressions suggèrent l'intellect - l'aspect connaissant, pensant, comprenant de la nature humaine. Même la scène d'ouverture de cet évangile, décrivant un prêtre offrant de l'encens dans le temple, évoque le côté intellectuel de la religion - la vie de prière et d'adoration, la dévotion résolue à lire, comprendre et être instruit dans les Écritures. Il est donc approprié que Luc se termine là où il commence, par une exhortation aux disciples à " rester à Jérusalem " - pour développer leur compréhension de la doctrine et apprendre à l'appliquer à leur propre vie.

Dans la dernière scène de l'évangile de Luc, Jésus conduit ses disciples à Béthanie où "il leva les mains et les bénit" (Luc 24:50). Et au moment même où il les bénit, il est séparé d'eux et "emporté au ciel" (Luc 24:51). Cette scène, connue sous le nom d'"Ascension", est un moment très important pour les disciples. Pendant trois ans, ils ont été dans l'incertitude au sujet de Jésus, ne connaissant pas l'étendue de son pouvoir ou la profondeur de son amour. Mais cela se passe avant la résurrection. Maintenant, ils le savent vraiment. Pour eux, Jésus n'est plus un maître religieux ou un Messie mondain, il est leur Seigneur. L'idée de Jésus a surgi dans leur esprit. Nous lisons donc qu'"ils l'adoraient" (Luc 24:52).

Puis ils font exactement ce que Jésus leur a demandé. Comme il est écrit, "ils retournèrent à Jérusalem avec une grande joie et étaient continuellement dans le temple, louant et bénissant Dieu" (Luc 24:52-53).

* * *

L'Évangile selon Luc commence et se termine dans le temple. Plus que tout autre évangile, Luc traite de l'ouverture de l'entendement. En lisant la conclusion joyeuse, nous ressentons l'excitation des disciples qui retournent au temple, louant et bénissant Dieu. Bien que ce soit la fin de Luc, le processus de régénération humaine ne se termine pas dans le temple. La vraie religion implique plus qu'une compréhension très évoluée. Elle implique également la volonté de vivre selon cette compréhension, c'est-à-dire de faire la volonté de Dieu, et pas seulement de savoir. C'est ce que signifient "la promesse de mon Père" et le fait d'être "revêtu de la puissance d'en haut".

Il est, bien sûr, nécessaire que notre compréhension soit d'abord ouverte afin que nous puissions comprendre les Écritures, nous repentir de nos péchés et commencer le processus de réforme. En un sens, c'est notre "première naissance" - tout comme la Genèse commence par les mots "Que la lumière soit" (Genèse 1:3). Mais quelque chose d'autre doit suivre. Dans notre première naissance, nous prions pour que notre esprit soit ouvert afin que nous puissions comprendre les Écritures ; dans notre seconde naissance, nous prions pour que notre cœur soit ouvert afin que nous puissions vivre selon elles. Et ainsi, l'Évangile selon Luc est un récit de la manière dont une nouvelle compréhension naît en nous. Il s'agit d'une première naissance. "Il leur ouvrit l'intelligence". Il s'ensuit donc que le prochain évangile de la série divine enregistrera cette autre naissance essentielle qui doit avoir lieu en nous : la naissance d'une nouvelle volonté.

Pour une description détaillée de la façon dont ce processus se déroule dans chaque cœur humain, et comment nous recevons " la puissance d'en haut ", nous nous tournons maintenant vers le dernier évangile - l'Évangile selon Jean.

Notes de bas de page:

619. But in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey, signifies outwardly delightful. This is evident from the signification of "mouth," as being what is exterior; for this treats of the little book and eating it up, and "the little book" signifies the Word, and "eating it up" signifies perception and exploration; thence "the mouth," which first receives, means the external of the Word. It is evident also from the signification of "sweet as honey," as being the delight of natural good. The external of the Word was "sweet as honey," that is, thus delightful, because the external of the Word is such that it can be applied to any love whatever, or to any principle derived therefrom; and these can be confirmed by it. The external of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is such because many things in it are written in accordance with the appearances presented to the natural man, and many appearances, when not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those, therefore, who love to live for the body and for the world, by means of these appearances draw over the external of the Word to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was done especially by the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter they held the belief, and also maintain it to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and therefore were a holy nation; that their Jerusalem, the temple there, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were holy of themselves; they did not know, and did not wish to know, that the holiness of all those things proceeded solely from this, that they represented things Divine proceeding from the Lord that are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think that these are holy of themselves, and not because of the Divine things they represent, would be to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. It was similar with their belief respecting the Messiah, that he would be king of the world, and would raise them above all other nations and peoples throughout the globe; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which to them were sweet as honey in the mouth. This is why the things in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are the truths themselves which are not according to appearances; as that the Jewish nation itself was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not chosen; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the Lord's church and doctrine respecting Him and the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices represented the Lord and the holy things that proceed from Him, and that for this and no other reason were they holy. These are truths that are stored up inwardly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense; and these truths they deny, because, as was said, they have falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter; and these things therefore are undelightful to them, like foods that are bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book was "in the mouth sweet as honey," because "honey" signifies the delight of natural good; that "honey" signifies that delight can be seen from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, Open wide thy mouth and eat that I give thee. And I saw and behold, a hand was put forth unto me, and lo, the roll of a book was therein; and when he had spread it before me it was written in front and behind, and written thereon were dirges, moaning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. Then he said unto me, Feed thy belly and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee; and when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said, Go to the house of Israel and speak my words unto them (Ezekiel 2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These things involve things altogether similar to those in Revelation. The command to the prophet Ezekiel "to eat the roll of the book" involves something similar as the command to John "to eat the little book," namely, to explore how the Divine truth which is in the Word is yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church; for the prophet Ezekiel and John represent the doctrine of truth and the Word, therefore the exploration was made with them. It was made by eating a book, because "to eat" signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate, as has been shown above; and when this has been ascertained, namely, how the Word was still perceived, it is said to the prophet Ezekiel that "he should go to the house of Israel and speak to them the words of God;" also to the prophet John that "he must prophesy," that is, still teach the Word in the church; and this because the book was perceived to be "in his mouth sweet as honey," that is, because the Word in the sense of the letter is still delightful, but for the reason that this sense can be applied to any principles of falsity and to any loves of evil, and can thus serve them in confirming the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life; and when these are separated they become mere delights of the loves of the body and of the world whence are principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] In Isaiah:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name God-with-us. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good (Isaiah 7:14, 15).

That this was said of the Lord is proved in Matthew (Matthew 1:23). Anyone can see that "butter and honey" do not mean here butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding to them, for it is added, "that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good," and that is not known by eating butter and honey; but "butter" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey" the delight of natural good, consequently the two signify the Lord's Divine spiritual and Divine natural, and thus His Human, interior and exterior. That the Lord's Human is meant can be seen from its being said that "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son;" and that it is Divine from its being said, "and shall call His name God-with-us," "to call a name" signifying the quality of a thing, here what the Divine is, for He was to be called "God-with-us."

[5] "Butter and honey" also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

Butter and honey shall everyone eat that remains in the land (verse 22).

"That remains" mean those that are inwardly and also outwardly good from the Lord, consequently who receive the good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefrom of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural man, is signified by "butter and honey."

[6] In Job:

He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the streams, the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter (Job 20:16, 17).

This is said of hypocrites who talk well and smoothly about God, about the neighbor, and about heaven and the church, and yet think altogether otherwise; and because they cunningly contrive by these means to captivate minds, although in heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That such have no delight in natural good or spiritual good is meant by "He shall not see the streams, the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter," "streams" meaning the things of intelligence, and "the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter," the things therefrom that are of affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. Every delight of life that abides to eternity is a delight of spiritual good and truth, and from that a delight of natural good and truth; but hypocritical delight is a natural delight separate from spiritual delight, and this delight is turned in the other life into what is direfully infernal. Evidently "butter and honey" do not mean here butter and honey, for where, in the world, can there be found "flowings of brooks of honey and butter"?

[7] "Milk and honey" have a similar signification as "butter and honey;" and as "milk" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey" the delight of natural good, and these delights are with those who are of the Lord's church, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called:

A land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6).

That in the Word "the land of Canaan" means the church has been shown above (n. 29, 304, 431); and the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; in such the church is formed by the Lord; for the church is in man and not outside of him, consequently is not with those with whom these goods are not. These goods with their delights are signified by "milk and honey."

[8] There was also much honey in the land of Canaan at that time, because at that time the church of the Lord was there, as can be seen from the first book of Samuel, where it is said:

That they came into the forest, where there was honey upon the face of the ground, and there was a stream of honey, and Jonathan's eyes were opened by tasting the honey (1 Samuel 14:25-27, 29).

"Jonathan's eyes were opened by tasting the honey" because "honey" corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good gives intelligence and enlightens, from which Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as we read in Isaiah, "He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to reject the evil and to choose the good." For at that time correspondences exhibited their effects outwardly, since all things of the Israelitish Church consisted of correspondences, which represented and signified things celestial and spiritual.

[9] Again, "oil and honey" have a similar signification as "butter and honey" in the following passages. In Moses:

He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the produce of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock (Deuteronomy 32:13).

This is in the song of Moses, which treats of the church in its beginning, and afterward in its progress, and finally in its end. Those that constituted the Ancient Church are described by these words, not those however who constituted the Israelitish Church, for these were evil from the beginning even to the end, as can be seen from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness; but the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by "their fathers," was that which the Lord "made to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed with the produce of the fields." That to these the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love with their delights were given by means of truths, from which they had their intelligence and according to which they lived, is signified by "he made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock," "honey" signifying the delight of natural love, "oil," the delight of spiritual love, and "the cliff" and "the flint of the rock," truth from the Lord. (That "oil" signifies the good of love and charity, may be seen above, n. 375; and that "cliffs" and "rocks" signify truth from the Lord, n. 411, 443)

[10] In David:

I fed ¹ them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them (Psalms 81:16).

"The fat of wheat" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey out of the rock," the delight of natural good through truths from the Lord (as above). It is to be known that natural good is not good unless there is also spiritual good; for all good flows in through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind so far man receives good; that there may be good there must be both, or the two sides, consequently natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, although by man it is still perceived as good. Since there must be both, it is said in the passages cited and yet to be cited, "butter and honey," "milk and honey;" "fat and honey," as also "oil and honey;" and "butter," "milk," "fat," and "oil" signify the good of spiritual love, and "honey" the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] In Ezekiel:

Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy garments were fine linen and silk and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil, whence thou didst become exceeding beautiful, and didst prosper even to a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, and the fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed thee, thou didst set before idols as an odor of rest (Ezekiel 16:13, 19).

This is said about Jerusalem, which signifies the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. Of the Ancient Church it is said "she was decked with gold and silver," which signifies the love of good and truth that the men of that Church had; "the garments of fine linen, silk, and broidered work," signify the knowledges of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth, "fine linen" signifying truth from a celestial origin, "silk" truth from a spiritual origin, and "broidered work" truth from a natural origin, which is called knowledge [scientificum]. "She ate fine flour, honey and oil," signifies the perception of natural and spiritual truth and good, and their appropriation, "to eat" signifying to be appropriated, "fine flour" truth, "honey" natural good, and "oil" spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. "She became exceeding beautiful and prospered even to a kingdom" signifies to become intelligent and wise so as to constitute a church, "beauty" signifying intelligence and wisdom, and a "kingdom" the church. But of the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said that "they set the fine flour, honey, and oil before the images of a male, or idols, as an odor of rest," that is, they perverted the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] In the same:

Judah and the land of Israel were thy merchants in the wheats of Minnith and Pannag, and honey and oil and balsam they gave for thy merchandise (Ezekiel 27:17).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good; so, too, "Tyre" signifies the knowledges of truth and good themselves belonging to the church; "oil and honey" have a similar signification as above. What is meant here in the spiritual sense by "Judah and the land of Israel," by "the wheats of Minnith and Pannag," and by "balsam," also by "the merchandise of Tyre," may be seen explained above n. 433.

[13] In Moses:

A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths going forth from the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of vine and fig-tree and pomegranate; and of olive oil and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

This is said of the land of Canaan, which means the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and in truths therefrom; but the contents of this verse are explained above (n. 374, 403), showing that "oil and honey" here signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] In David:

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether; more desirable than gold and than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs (Psalms 19:9, 10).

In the same:

I have not departed from Thy judgment; for Thou hast instructed me. How sweet are Thy words to my palate, more than honey to my mouth (Psalms 119:102, 103).

"Judgments" signify the truths and goods of worship, therefore it is said "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether;" "righteous" signifies the good of life and worship therefrom; and as good is also signified by "gold" and "fine gold," it is said that "they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold," "gold" meaning celestial good, "fine gold" spiritual good, and "desirable" means what belongs to affection and love. Since the goods by which a man is affected are delightful it is said that they are "sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs," and that "the words of Jehovah are sweet to the palate, more than honey to the mouth," "sweet" signifying what is delightful, "honey" natural good, and "the dropping of honeycombs" natural truth. And because "honey" means natural good, and the "mouth" signifies what is external, it is said "more than honey to my mouth," as in Revelation, that "the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth."

[15] In Luke:

Jesus said to the disciples, who believed that they saw a spirit, See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; feel of Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me having. Then He said to them, Have ye here anything to eat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And He took it and did eat it before them (Luke 24:39, 41-43).

From the series of these words regarded in the spiritual sense it is very evident that "honeycomb" and "honey" signify natural good, for the Lord disclosed to His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even to its natural and sensual; this is signified by "hands and feet" and by "flesh and bones," which they saw and felt, "hands and feet" signifying the ultimate of man which is called the natural, "flesh" its good, and "bones" its truth; for all things that are in the human body correspond to spiritual things, the "flesh" corresponding to the good of the natural man, and the "bones" to its truths. (On this correspondence, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 87-102.) And this the Lord confirmed by eating before the disciples of the broiled fish and honeycomb; "the broiled fish" signifying the truth of good of the natural and sensual man, and "the honeycomb," the good of the truth of the same. The Lord, therefore, by letting them feel of Him, showed and confirmed that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, made Divine; and this He showed, too, by the eating, in that "He ate before them a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb."

[16] As "honey" signifies the good of the natural man, so also:

John the Baptist had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

For John the Baptist represented something similar as Elijah; wherefore it is also said that "Elijah should come," by whom John is meant. Elijah represented the Lord in relation to the Word, or the Word from the Lord; John had a similar representation; and as the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, John was sent before to preach respecting the Lord's coming, according to the predictions in the Word. And as John represented the Word, therefore he represented the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, by his raiment and also by his food, namely, by his raiment of camel's hair and the leathern girdle about his loins; "camel's hair" signifying the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exterior things of the Word, and "the leathern girdle about the loins," the external bond and connection of these with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. "Locust and wild honey" have a like signification, "locust" signifying the truth of the natural man, and "wild honey" its good. It is the same whether you say the truth and good of the natural man or natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter or the natural sense, for this was what John represented by his raiment and food.

[17] That:

No leaven and no honey were to be offered in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11);

because "leaven" signifies the falsity of the natural man, and "honey" the delight of good of the natural man, and in the contrary sense the delight of its evil; this is also like leaven when it is mixed with such things as signify things interiorly holy, for natural delight draws its own from the delights of the love of self and of the world; and as the Israelitish nation was in such delights more than other nations, therefore they were forbidden to use honey in their sacrifices. (On the signification of "honey," as meaning the delight of the good of the natural man, see Arcana Coelestia 5650, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530)

[18] That:

When Samson had rent the young lion he found in its carcass a swarm of bees and honey, when he was about to take a wife from the Philistine nation (Judges 14:8);

signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented; for this reason the Philistines were called "uncircumcised," and this term signified that they were without spiritual love and charity and only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Because such a faith destroys the good of charity it was represented by a young lion that attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces, but as Samson was a Nazirite, and by his Naziriteship represented the Lord in respect to His ultimate natural, he rent the lion, and afterwards found in its carcass "a swarm of bees and honey," and this signifies that when such faith has been dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. The other things related of Samson in the book of Judges have a like signification; for there is nothing written in the Word that does not represent and signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, and these can be known only by a knowledge of correspondences, and thus from the spiritual sense of the Word.

Notes de bas de page:

433. Verse 5. Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed, signifies love to the Lord, and that all who are in that love are in heaven, and come into heaven. This is evident from the representation and consequent signification of "Judah" and his tribe, as being love to the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "twelve thousand," as being all persons and all things (of which see above, n. 430, here all who are in that love; also from the signification of the "sealed," as being those who are distinguished and separated from such as are in evil; in other words, those who are in good (of which also see above, n. 427. It follows that those who are in heaven and who come into heaven are meant, for these "were sealed in their foreheads," that is, separated from the evil; for these are the ones of whom it is said:

A Lamb was standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having the Father's name written on their foreheads. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins, bought from among men, the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb (Revelation 14:1, 3, 4).

"The Mount Zion" signifies the heaven in which there is love to the Lord; for all those signified by "the twelve thousand out of each tribe," or by "the hundred and forty-four thousand sealed on their foreheads," are such as acknowledge the Lord and love Him; and for this reason the first tribe named is the tribe of Judah, which tribe signifies love to the Lord; for (as was said above, n. 431 the representation of heaven is determined by the order in which the tribes are named, and the first name, or the tribe first named, is that from which are derived the determinations and significations of those that follow, with variations.

[2] Furthermore, no one is admitted into heaven except by the Lord, for the universal heaven is His, consequently no one is in heaven, or comes to it, unless he acknowledges the Lord and loves Him. To love the Lord is not to love Him in respect to person but to live according to His commandments, as the Lord also teaches in plain words in John:

In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me. If anyone loveth Me he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (John 14:20, 21, 23, 24).

Those love the Lord who do and keep His commandments and His words, because His commandments and words signify Divine truths, and all Divine truth proceeds from Him, and that which proceeds from Him is Himself; when, therefore, a man is in that truth in respect to his life the Lord is in him and he in the Lord; this is why it is said "ye in Me and I in you," and "We will come and make Our abode with him;" this, therefore, is loving Him. To love means also to be conjoined, for love is spiritual conjunction, and conjunction is effected by the reception of Divine truth in doctrine and in life.

[3] Before showing from the Word that "Judah," or the tribe named from Judah, signifies love to the Lord, it shall be told what "Judah" signifies in each sense in the Word. In the highest sense "Judah" signifies the Lord in respect to celestial love; in the internal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the Word; and in the external sense doctrine from the Word belonging to the celestial kingdom. Because in the highest sense the Lord in respect to celestial love is signified, and in the internal sense the celestial kingdom, love to the Lord also is signified, for that is the reciprocal love in man, and reigns in the Lord's celestial kingdom. There are two kingdoms into which the universal heaven is divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom; the celestial kingdom consists of those who are in love to the Lord, and the spiritual kingdom of those who are in love towards the neighbor; from this can be seen what is meant by celestial love and by spiritual love (on these kingdoms, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28). These two kingdoms the Jews and Israelites represented, the Jews the celestial kingdom and the Israelites the spiritual kingdom. Again, "Judah" signifies the Word because the Lord is the Word, and He took on the Human in that tribe that He might be the Word in respect even to the Human, as it is said in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14).

"The Word" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine truth proceeding from His Divine love; consequently those who love the Divine truth that is in the Word by doing it are in the Lord's love.

[4] That "Judah" signifies the Lord in respect to celestial love, and thus love to the Lord, and also the Word, can be seen from the following passages. In Moses:

Thou art Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down to thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, art thou gone up; he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not be removed from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and the obedience of the peoples shall be to him. He shall bind his young ass to the vine, and the son of his she-ass to the noble vine; he washeth his vesture in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes; his eyes shall be red from wine, and his teeth white from milk (Genesis 49:8-12).

Here by "Judah" in the spiritual sense the Lord's celestial kingdom and the Lord Himself in respect to celestial love are described. Celestial love is the Lord's love received in the celestial kingdom, and spiritual love is the Lord's love received in the spiritual kingdom. The signification of these words is as follows: "Thy brethren shall praise thee" signifies that the celestial church is eminent above all others; for "the brethren," or the tribes named from Jacob's sons, who were Judah's brethren, signify the church; "thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies" signifies that the infernal and devilish crew shall be thrust out and held back, "enemies" meaning those who are from hell; "thy father's sons shall bow down to thee" signifies the submission of all truths of the church, "to bow down" meaning to submit themselves, and "his father's sons" all truths of the church; for in those who are in love to the Lord, and thence in the celestial kingdom, all truths of the church are implanted; "Judah is a lion's whelp" signifies innocence with innate powers; for love to the Lord, viewed in itself, is innocence, and this is signified by "whelp," and its innate powers are signified by a "lion;" "from the prey, my son, thou art gone up," signifies the deliverance of many from hell; "he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an old lion," signifies the good of love and truth therefrom in its power; for "to stoop down," in reference to a lion, means to put himself into power; "who shall rouse him up?" signifies that this good is safe wherever it is, and that it cannot be moved by the hells.

"The scepter shall not be removed from Judah" signifies that power shall not depart from the good of celestial love; "nor a lawgiver from between his feet" signifies, nor shall the truths of the Word disappear from its ultimate sense; "until Shiloh come" signifies the Lord's coming and the tranquillity of peace at that time; "the obedience of the peoples shall be to him" signifies truths from Him, and conjunction thereby; "he shall bind his young ass to the vine" signifies the external church and its truths from the Lord; "and the son of his she-ass to the noble vine" signifies the internal church and its truths from the Lord; "he washeth his vesture in wine" signifies the Lord's external or natural Human, which is Divine truth from His Divine love; "and his covering in the blood of grapes," signifies the Lord's internal or rational Human, which is Divine good from His Divine love; "his eyes shall be red from wine" signifies that the internal or rational Human is nothing but good; "and his teeth white from milk" signifies that the external or natural Human is nothing but the good of truth. Thus from each particular in this description it can be seen that "Judah" does not mean Judah, but that it is some preeminently heavenly thing that is thus described. (But the particulars may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 6363-6381.)

[5] In Ezekiel:

Thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah and for the sons of Israel his fellows; then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and of all the house of Israel; and then join them for thee one with another into one stick, that they both may be one in thy ¹ hand. I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and of the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will bring upon it with the stick of Judah, and I will make them one stick. I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations whither they are gone, and will bring them together from round about, and will bring them upon their own land; and will make them into one nation upon the land in the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be to them all for a king, and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anymore at all. My servant David shall be king over them, that they all may have one shepherd; and they shall walk in My judgments and keep My statutes, and do them. Then shall they ² dwell upon the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell upon it, they and their sons and their sons' sons to eternity; and David My servant shall be their prince to eternity. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be a covenant of eternity with them; and I will give them, and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forever. So shall My tabernacle be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Ezekiel 37:16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24-27).

What this signifies no one can know unless he knows what "Judah" and "Israel," and "Joseph" and "Ephraim" signify. Evidently Judah and Israel are not meant, nor Joseph and Ephraim; for it is said that the tribes of Israel scattered among the nations should be gathered together and brought into the land of Canaan, and that David should be their king and prince, and that they were to dwell with him forever. Who does not know that the tribes of Israel could not be gathered, and that David could no more be king over them? Let it be known, then, what is signified in the spiritual sense by "Judah," by "the sons of Israel," by "Joseph" and "Ephraim," and further what by "David," and by "the land of Canaan." "Judah," in the spiritual sense, signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom; "the sons of Israel" the Lord's spiritual kingdom; "Joseph" and "Ephraim," and "the scattered tribes of Israel that are to be gathered together," mean those who are below these kingdoms, being neither celestial nor spiritual but natural, and yet are in the good of life according to their religious principle.

[6] These are meant also by the Lord in John:

Other sheep also I have, which are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10:16);

for these were not in heaven before the Lord's coming, but were introduced by Him after He had glorified His Human, and for the reason that until then the Divine proceeding could not extend to them. When this is known, and when it is known that "David" means the Lord in respect to Divine truth proceeding from His Divine Human, it can be known what the particulars here mean in series. These things were written upon two sticks, and the two sticks were joined into one stick, because a "stick" (or wood) signifies the good of life, and all conjunction in heaven is effected by means of good and according to it. (That "wood" signifies the good of life see Arcana Coelestia 643, 2784, 3720, 8354)

[7] In Isaiah:

Then the Lord shall lift up an ensign for the nations, and shall gather together the outcasts of Israel, and shall bring together the scattered of Judah from the four wings of the earth. Then the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not distress Ephraim; but they shall fly on the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea (Isaiah 11:12-14).

This is said of the salvation of the Gentiles, which are also signified by "the outcasts of Israel" and "the scattered of Judah," for it is said that "the Lord shall lift up an ensign for the nations;" "the outcasts of Israel" mean those who are not in truths, but still are in the desire to learn them; and "the scattered of Judah" mean those who are in the good of life, and thereby in love to the Lord; for those who love to do good love the Lord; for the Lord is in such good, since it is from Him. "Ephraim" means the intellectual, here in agreement with the good of love; and that these shall not be at variance with each other is meant by "the envy of Ephraim shall depart;" "Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not distress Ephraim." That they shall be separated from those who are in faith separate from charity is signified by "they shall fly on the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea;" "the philistines towards the sea" meaning those who separate faith from charity, that is from the good of life; "the sea" meaning the ultimate of heaven where it comes to an end; and "to fly on the shoulder" meaning to reject, and thus to separate themselves.

[8] In Zechariah:

Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and faithful. ³ I will bend Judah for Me, I will fill the bow with Ephraim, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion (Zechariah 9:9, 13).

This treats of the Lord's coming and the establishment of the church by Him with those who are in the good of love and in the truths of doctrine therefrom. "The daughter of Zion" and "the daughter of Jerusalem" signify the church with such; "thy King who cometh, just and faithful," is the Lord, from whom are the good of love and the truth of doctrine; "I will bend Judah for Me, I will fill the bow with Ephraim," signifies that the church is to be established with such as are in the good of love to the Lord, and in the truths of doctrine therefrom; "Judah" here meaning those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and "Ephraim" the truths of doctrine, for "Ephraim" signifies the intellectual of the church, and "bow" the doctrine of truth (that "bow" signifies doctrine see above, n. 357, where this is also explained); such as these are "sons of Zion." Evidently the Jewish nation is not here meant by "Judah," nor Ephraim by "Ephraim;" for the Lord's church was not established with the Jewish nation, for it was not received by that nation, and the tribe of Ephraim did not then exist.

[9] In the same:

Jehovah of Hosts shall visit His drove, the house of Judah, and shall set them as the horse of His glory in war. Out of him shall be the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the bow of war. And I will render the house of Judah mighty, and I will save the house of Joseph, and will make them to dwell. Hence they shall be as the mighty Ephraim, and their heart shall be glad as if with wine (Zechariah 10:3, 4, 6, 7).

Here, too, "the house of Judah" means the Lord's celestial kingdom, which consists of those who are in love to Him, and "Ephraim" means those who are in the truths of doctrine from that love; for all who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom are in the truths of doctrine, since such have truths, as it were, implanted in and inscribed upon their hearts (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 25, 26. The rest may be seen explained above, n. 355, 376).

[10] In the same:

Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for lo I come that I may dwell in the midst of thee. Then many nations shall conjoin themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be to Me for a people. Jehovah shall make Judah an heritage for Himself, His part, in the land of holiness, and shall again choose Jerusalem (Zechariah 2:10-12).

Very evidently "Judah" here does not mean the Jewish nation, nor does "Jerusalem" mean Jerusalem; for the Lord's coming is here treated of, at which time that nation had wholly receded, and afterwards Jerusalem was destroyed; and yet it is said that "Jehovah shall make Judah an heritage for Himself, and His part in the land of holiness, and shall again choose Jerusalem;" therefore "Judah" means those who are in love to the Lord, and "Jerusalem" the church with such in respect to doctrine.

[11] In Nahum:

Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that proclaimeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, O Judah, render thy vows; for Belial shall never more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off (Nahum 1:15).

This, too, is said of the Lord; His coming is meant by "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that proclaimeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" "To celebrate feasts" and "to render vows" signify to rejoice in His coming and then to worship Him; "Belial shall never more pass through Judah, he is utterly cut off," signifies that evil shall be no more with them because they are in the Lord. This could not be said of the Jewish nation, but may be said of those who are in love to the Lord; which makes clear that such are meant by "Judah."

[12] In Malachi:

Behold I send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be agreeable unto Jehovah, according to the days of an age, and according to the former years (Joel 3:1, 4).

It is known in the church that this is said of the Lord's coming, and that "the messenger who shall prepare the way before Him" means John the Baptist. "The offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be agreeable unto Jehovah" signifies that then there will be acceptable worship from the good of love to the Lord, "the offering of Judah" signifying such worship; it is evident that the worship of the Jewish nation and of Jerusalem was not acceptable, for they did not acknowledge the Lord, but utterly rejected Him; "according to the days of an age, and according to former years," signifies according to the worship in the ancient churches; the Most Ancient Church, that was before the flood, and was in love to the Lord, is signified by "the days of an age," or of eternity, and the Ancient Church, that was after the flood, and was a spiritual church, is signified by "former years."

[13] In Joel:

It shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down must, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the brook of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom shall be a waste wilderness, because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land. But Judah shall sit to eternity, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:18-20).

Here, too, the Lord's coming and a new heaven and a new earth at that time are treated of. "The mountains shall drop down must" signifies that all truth will be from the good of love (that "mountains" signify the good of love see above n. 405; and that "wine" and "must" signify truth see also above, n. 376). "The hills shall flow with milk" signifies that spiritual life will be from the good of charity towards the neighbor; and "all the watercourses of Judah shall flow with waters" signifies that from the particulars of the Word there will be truths, through which there will be intelligence; "a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the brook of Shittim," signifies that out of heaven from the Lord there will be truth of doctrine that will illustrate those who are in cognitions and knowledges; "Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom shall be a waste wilderness" signifies that false principles, and the evils of the love of self, both from the natural man, will be destroyed; "because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land," signifies because of the truths of the Word falsified and its goods adulterated, which they have corrupted and destroyed; "Judah shall sit to eternity, and Jerusalem to generation and generation," signifies that the Word and the doctrine of genuine truth therefrom will remain to eternity with those who are in love to the Lord. This makes clear that "Judah" does not here mean Judah, nor "Jerusalem" Jerusalem.

[14] In the same:

O Tyre and Zidon, and all the boundaries of the Philistines, I will quickly return a recompense upon your head; because ye have taken My silver and My gold, and the desirable things of My goods ye have brought into your temples; and the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem ye have sold to the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their boundaries (Joel 3:4-6).

By "Tyre and Zidon" and by "the Philistines" are understood those who have falsified the truths and goods of the Word; "my silver and my gold" signify these truths and goods, and "to bring them into their temples" signifies to falsify and profane them; "to sell the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians" signifies to pervert and falsify all the truths and goods of the Word; "the sons of Judah" meaning the goods of the Word, "the sons of Jerusalem" its truths, and "the sons of the Grecians" falsities; "to remove them far from their boundaries" signifies far from the truths themselves. One who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word might believe that those who were in Tyre and Zidon and in Philistia sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Grecians; but this is a prophecy in which the nations which are named signify the things of the church.

[15] In Jeremiah:

In those days the house of Judah shall go unto ⁴ the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north unto the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers (Jeremiah 3:18).

This, too, treats of the Lord's coming and of a new church from Him. His coming is meant by "in those days," and a new church by "the house of Judah and the house of Israel," a church from those who are in love to the Lord by "the house of Judah," and a church from those who are in charity towards the neighbor, which is called a spiritual church, by "the house of Israel." "They shall come together out of the land of the north unto the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers" signifies that they shall come out of ignorance and falsities, in which they then were, into knowledges and the light of truth of the church; "the land of the north" signifying a state of ignorance and of the falsity of religion and "the land given for an inheritance to their fathers" a church that is in knowledges and the light of truth. These things were said of the nations from whom a new church is to be established. It is well known that the house of Judah and the house of Israel did not then come out of the land of the north, namely at the time when the Lord was in the world; for the Jews were then in the land of Canaan, and the Israelites were dispersed.

[16] In the same:

Behold the days come when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King, and shall prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the land. In His days shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name which they shall call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).

This is plainly said of the Lord; He is "the Branch of David," He "shall reign as a King, and He shall be called Jehovah our Righteousness." "In His days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely," signifies that those will be saved who are in love to Him and in charity towards the neighbor (as above). It is evident that Judah was not saved, and that Israel was not recalled, and could not be recalled so as to dwell safely, that is, without infestation from evils and falsities.

[17] In the same:

I will bring Israel again to his habitation, that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days and in that time the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found (Jeremiah 50:19, 20).

This, too, is said of the establishment by the Lord of a church among the Gentiles that are meant by "Israel," who is said to be brought back to his habitation, and "Judah" whose sins are not to be found. That these are to be led by the Lord and instructed in the good of charity is meant by "they shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and upon Mount Ephraim and in Gilead."

[18] In Zechariah:

In that day I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open Mine eye upon the house of Judah. In that day will I make the leaders of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf, that they may devour all the peoples round about, on the right and on the left, that Jerusalem may yet dwell in her own place, even in Jerusalem. Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first (Zechariah 12:4, 6, 7).

This treats of the devastation of the former church and of the establishment of a new church by the Lord; the devastation of the former church is described by "In that day I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness," for "horse" signifies the understanding of truth with man, and "the rider" intelligence (See above, n. 355; "the house of Judah" signifies the church with those who are in the good of love to the Lord; of this it is said that the Lord "will open His eye upon it." That evils from hell and also falsities will be dispersed by such and with such, is signified by "In that day will I make the leaders of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf, that they may devour all the peoples round about, on the right and on the left." That that church will be safe from the infestation of evils and falsities is signified by "Jerusalem shall dwell in her own place, even in Jerusalem;" and that the Lord will wholly save those who are in love to Him is signified by "Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first."

[19] In Isaiah:

The word of Jehovah respecting Judah and Jerusalem: It shall come to pass in the latter end of days that the mountain of Jehovah shall be firm on the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, and many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will instruct us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths (Isaiah 2:1-3).

This, too, is said of a new church to be established by the Lord; "the mountain of Jehovah that will then be firm on the top of the mountains" means Zion, and signifies the celestial church, and love to the Lord, which those have who are of that church. That this is the primary thing of the church, and that it is to increase and gain strength, is signified by "it shall be on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up above the hills;" that those who are in good will acknowledge the Lord and will draw near to the church is signified by "all nations shall flow unto that mountain," "nations" signifying those who are in celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, and "peoples" those who are in spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor; of these latter it is said, "many peoples shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob." (That "nations" signify those who are in celestial good, and "peoples" those who are in spiritual good, see above, n. 331)

[20] In the same:

Jehovah thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb, that establisheth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers, saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof (Isaiah 44:24, 26).

This, too, treats of the Lord's coming, who is "Jehovah thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb;" He is called "Redeemer" because He delivered from hell; and "the Former from the womb" because He regenerates man. A prediction by the prophets respecting Him and respecting the salvation of man is meant by "that establisheth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers;" that those who are of His church will be saved, and will be instructed in the truths of celestial doctrine is meant by "saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built;" "Jerusalem" meaning the church, and "the cities of Judah" the truths of celestial doctrine. That the falsities that destroy the church shall be shaken off is meant by "I will raise up the waste places thereof." It is not said by the Lord that Jerusalem would be inhabited and the cities of Judah built, but that Jerusalem would be destroyed, which was done as is well known.

[21] In the same:

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an Inheri-tor of My mountains; that My chosen may possess it, and My servants dwell there (Isaiah 65:9).

Here "Jacob" and "Judah" do not mean a people from Jacob and a nation from Judah, but a church to be established by the Lord; "Jacob" means the church that is in the good of life, and "Judah" the church that is the good of love to the Lord; thus "Jacob" an external church, and "Judah" an internal church. "Seed" means charity and faith, and "mountains" the goods of love. Those who are in charity are called "chosen," and those who are in truths from the good of love are called "servants," therefore it is said "that My chosen may possess it, and My servants dwell there."

[22] In Ezekiel:

Judah and the land of Israel were thy traders; they traded in thy market with wheats of Minnith and Pannag, and with honey and oil, and balsam (Ezekiel 27:17).

This was said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good, and thus "Tyre" signifies the knowledges of truth and good belonging to the church; its merchandise and tradings are here treated of, which describe how these knowledges are acquired, here such of them as are acquired from Judah and the land of Israel; and as "Judah" signifies the good of love, and "Israel" the truths from that good, its tradings are said to be with "wheats of Minnith and Pannag, and in honey, and oil, and balsam," because "wheats of Minnith and Pannag" signify truths and goods of the church of all kinds, "honey" signifies the good of love in the natural man, "oil" the good of love in the spiritual man, and "balsam" truths that are grateful from good (See above, n. 375), where this is more fully explained). From the merchandise mentioned in this chapter, when understood in the spiritual sense, what is signified by the different nations there mentioned becomes very evident, thus what is meant by "Judah" and by "Israel," for the merchandise indicates the spiritual meaning.

[23] That "Judah" does not mean the Jewish nation can be seen in Ezekiel 48:8-22, which treats of a new land that was to be distributed among the twelve tribes of Israel, and these tribes are there named, and what part of the land each one was to possess; and much is there said about the tribe of Judah, and that "the sanctuary should be in the midst of it" (verses 8-22); which makes clear that the tribes there mentioned do not mean those tribes, for eleven of them had been scattered, and had become Gentiles, from whom they could not be distinguished, for they had been carried away into perpetual exile. It is evident also that the land there mentioned does not mean a land, but a church, and consequently the tribes there mentioned mean such things as pertain to the church, and "Judah" there means the celestial church, or the church that is in love to the Lord, in which therefore, is the sanctuary.

[24] The like is meant by "Judah" and "Israel" in David:

Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His domain (Psalms 114:2).

"Sanctuary" signifies in the highest sense the Lord Himself, and in a relative sense the worship of Him from the good of love; "Israel" signifies the truth of the church from that good; and because truths from good, that is, good by means of truths, have all power, therefore it is said "Israel became His domain." Because "Judah" signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, and "Israel" the Lord's spiritual kingdom (as was said above), and the celestial kingdom is what constitutes the priesthood of the Lord in heaven, and the spiritual kingdom the royalty of the Lord (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 24, 226), so in the Word the Lord is called a "King," and in the Gospels:

King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2; John 18:33, 37; 19:19);

and the Lord as "King of the Jews" means the Lord in respect to Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of His Divine love; therefore "kings" in the Word signify truths that are from good (See above, n. 31).

[25] In Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of the beast; and in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it upon their heart; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me for a people (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 33, 34).

Here, too, "the days to come" mean the Lord's coming; therefore it is not meant that a new covenant would then be made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, but with a new church to be established by the Lord, which is meant by "the house of Israel and the house of Judah," in the midst of whom the law should be given, and should be written on the heart. Everyone knows that this was not done with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, for they utterly rejected the covenant with the Lord and likewise do so to this day. "Covenant" signifies conjunction with the Lord through love to Him, from which conjunction there is given the law or Divine truth in them, both in their doctrine and in their life, and this is the law in the midst and written ⁵ on the heart. "To sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast" signifies to reform those who are of the new church through truths and goods that are of intelligence and affection, "seed" meaning truth, "man" intelligence, and "beast" the good of affection. That this is the signification of "beast" will be shown in what follows.

[26] In Zechariah:

Many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the faces of Jehovah. In those days, ⁶ ten men out of all the tongues of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a man that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:22, 23).

One who does not know that a "Jew" means such as are in love to the Lord and in the truths of doctrine therefrom can easily be led to believe that these things are said of the Jews, and of bringing them into the land of Canaan, and that all others who desire to be saved will then take hold of the skirt of their raiment, praying to be allowed to go with them. But when it is known that this is not said of any introduction into the land of Canaan, to Jerusalem there, and that a "Jew" does not mean those who are of that nation, but that "Jerusalem" means a new church to be established by the Lord, and a "Jew" everyone who is in the good of love to the Lord, and "the skirt of a Jew" means truth from that good, then the signification of all things in this chapter and of these words in particular can be known, for this treats of the calling together of the nations and their drawing near to the church, and a "Jew" means those who acknowledge and love the Lord, and "to take hold of his skirt" signifies a longing to know truth from the Lord, and "ten men out of all the tongues of the nations" mean all, of whatever religion, "ten men" signifying all, and "tongues of the nations" their religious principles.

[27] From this it can be seen how far from the truth those have wandered, who believe that at the end of time the Jews will be converted to the Lord and brought back into the land of Canaan. These believe that "land," "Jerusalem," "Israel," and "Judah" mean in the Word the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, the Israelitish people, and the Jewish nation. Those who have hitherto so believed are excusable, because they have known nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word, and therefore have not known that the "land" signifies the church, "Jerusalem" the church in respect to doctrine, "Israel" those who are of the spiritual church, and "Judah" those who are of the celestial church; also that where bringing them into the land of Canaan is treated of in the prophets, bringing the faithful into heaven and into the church is meant. This also took place when the Lord came into the world, for then all those who had lived in the good of charity and had worshiped God under a human form were brought into heaven; these had been preserved under heaven until the Lord came, and when He had glorified His Human they were brought in. These are the ones meant in many passages in the prophetic Word that treat of the captivity of the sons of Israel and Judah, and their being brought back into their land. In these passages those also are meant who were to be brought into the church, and thence into heaven from the earth after the Lord came, not only where the Christian religion is received but everywhere else. Both of these classes are meant in many passages where Israel, Judah and Jerusalem are mentioned, and their being brought into the land is treated of (as in the following: Isaiah 10:21, 22; 11:11, 12; 43:5, 6; 49:10-26; 56:8; 60:4; 61:1-5, 9; Jeremiah 3:12-20; 16:15, 16; 23:7, 8; 30:2-11; 31:1-14, 23-40; 33:6-18; Ezekiel 16:60-62; 20:40-42; 34:11-16; 37:21-28; 39:21-29; Hosea 3:5; Joel 2:18-27; 2:32; Amos 9:12-15 elsewhere).

[28] The two following may be taken as examples of passages whereby the Jews have persuaded themselves, and also Christians have come to believe, that the Jewish nation is to return into the land of Canaan, and be saved before others. In Isaiah:

Then shall they bring all your brethren out of all nations, an offering unto Jehovah, upon horses, and upon the chariot, and upon covered wagons, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to the mountain of My holiness, Jerusalem. As the new heavens and the new earth which I am about to make shall stand before Me, so shall your seed and your name stand (Isaiah 66:20, 22).

(What this signifies see above, n. 355, 405, where they are explained.) "The new heaven and the new earth" mean the heaven and the church formed of those who were to be saved by the Lord, when He had glorified His Human, as was said above.

[29] In the same:

I will lift up My hand towards the nations, and elevate My ensign to the peoples, that they may bring thy sons in the bosom, and carry thy daughters upon the shoulder. Kings shall be thy nourishers, and princesses thy sucklers; with the face to the earth shall they bow down to thee, and lick the dust of thy feet (Isaiah 49:22, 23).

This whole chapter treats of the coming of the Lord and the salvation of those who receive Him, as is clearly evident from verses 6-9 chapter; consequently it does not treat of the salvation of the Jews, much less of their restoration to the land of Canaan. That the Jewish nation is not meant in the above passages can be seen from the fact that it was the worst nation and at heart idolatrous, and that it was brought back into the land of Canaan not because of any goodness or righteousness of heart, but because of the promise made to their fathers; also that they had no truths and goods of the church, but only falsities and evils, and that for this reason they were rejected and driven out of the land of Canaan; as can be seen from all those passages in the Word in which that nation is described.

[30] Of what quality that nation was, and what it was to become, namely, that it was the very worst, is described by Moses in his song in these words:

I will hide My face from them, I will see what their posterity will be; for they are ⁷ a generation of perversions, sons in whom is no faithfulness. I have said, I will hurl them into the extreme corners, I will make the remembrance of them to cease from man. For they are a nation lost of counsel, neither is there any intelligence in them. Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are of bitternesses. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of asps. Is this not ⁸ laid up in store with Me, sealed up among My treasures? Mine is vengeance and requital (Deuteronomy 32:20-35).

This describes what the nature of the church is with the Jews, namely that it is in dire falsities from evil. What the church is with them is meant by "their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah," "vine" signifying the church. The falsities from evil that they possess are meant by "their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are of bitternesses, their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel gall of asps;" "grapes" signify the goods of the church, but "grapes of gall" and "clusters of bitternesses" signify evils from dire falsities; their falsities themselves are meant by "their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel gall of asps;" "wine" signifies truth from the Word, but "the poison of dragons" and "the gall of asps" signify the monstrous falsity that springs from the falsified truths of the Word. In like manner is that nation described in other parts of the Word (as in Deuteronomy, in the book of Judges, and in the prophets, as in Jeremiah 5:20-31; 7:8-34; 9:2-26; 11:6-17; 13:9-27; 19; 32:30-35; 44:2-24). That this nation was at heart idolatrous is evident from the passages cited, and from many others, as in Jeremiah:

According to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye ⁹ set up altars to burn incense unto Baal (Jeremiah 2:28, 11:13).

[31] That they were not brought into the land of Canaan on account of any goodness or righteousness of heart, but on account of the promise made to their fathers, see in Moses:

Not for thy righteousness nor for the uprightness of thy heart dost thou come to possess the land, but to establish the word that Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know therefore, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people (Deuteronomy 9:5, 6).

[32] That they had no truths and goods of the church, but only falsities and evils is evident from the Word, where their whoredoms and adulteries are treated of (in Jeremiah 3 end; Ezekiel 23 the end). "Whoredoms and adulteries" mean in the Word falsifications of truth and adulterations of good (See above, n. 141, 161); consequently the Lord says that they are:

An adulterous generation (Matthew 12:39; Mark 8:38);

Also that they are full of hypocrisy, iniquity, and uncleanness (Matthew 23:27, 28);

Also that they have falsified the Word by their traditions (Matthew 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-14).

And in plain words in John:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh from his own, for he is a liar and the father thereof (John 8:44).

"A lie" means falsity from evil; "the devil" the extinction of all good; "a murderer" the extinction of all truth; "father" means both those who are from hell and those who lived from that generation back to the earliest times; "to speak from his own" means to speak from what is innate.

[33] That thus everything of the church with them was destroyed, and they were therefore rejected, is evident from Isaiah:

The Lord Jehovih of Hosts doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay ¹⁰ of water, the mighty one and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the old man. For Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah hath fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah to rebel against the eyes of His glory (Isaiah 3:1, 2, 8).

"To take away the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water" signifies to take away all the good of love, and the truth of faith by which there is spiritual life; "bread" meaning the good of love, and "water" the truth of faith, and "stay" and "staff" powers, and from these are all things of spiritual life; "to take away the mighty one and the man of war" signifies to take away all resistance to evils and falsities; "to take away the judge and the prophet" signifies all good and truth of doctrine; "to take away the diviner and the old man" signifies all intelligence and wisdom; "their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to rebel against the eyes of His glory" signifies that everything of their doctrine and of their life is utterly opposed to Divine truth; "tongue" meaning doctrine, "doings" life, and "the eyes of Jehovah's glory" the Divine truth; "to rebel" means to be opposed to it.

[34] In the same:

What could have been done more to My vineyard? Judge between Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Therefore I expected that it would bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. Now I will make known to you what I will do to My vineyard; in taking away its hedge that it may be eaten up, in breaking down its wall that it may be trampled down, I will lay it waste, that there may come up the brier and the bramble; I will even command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isaiah 5:3-6).

The "vineyard" here means the church with that nation; "I expected that it would bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes," signifies that with that nation in place of the goods of truth of the church there were the evils of falsity; "to take away its hedge that it may be eaten up, to break down the wall that it may be trampled down," signifies the destruction of the church in respect to goods and truths, so that evils and falsities rush in, which are "the brier and the bramble" that should come up; "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" signifies that with them there is no more any reception of truth and good through the Word out of heaven.

[35] The destruction of the church with that nation is also treated of in Isaiah (Isaiah 7:17-19, and following verses), in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:15), and in many other passages. For this reason that nation was driven out of the land of Canaan, first the Israelitish nation and afterwards the Jewish nation; and this because the land of Canaan signifies the heavenly Canaan, which is heaven and the church. The quality of each of these nations is fully described in the internal sense in Exodus 32 and 33, where the golden calf that they made for themselves is treated of, on account of which Jehovah wished to consume them, and to raise up from Moses another generation (all of which may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 10393-10512, and n. 10523-10557).

[36] What the quality of the Jewish nation was is described also in the internal sense of Genesis 38, which treats of their origin, which was from a Canaanitish woman, and from whoredom with a daughter-in-law; for there were three stocks of that nation, one from the Canaanitish woman whom Judah took to himself for a wife, and two from Tamar his daughter-in-law, with whom he lay as with a harlot (for Arcana Coelestia 4813-4930 the explanation of which see Arcana Coelestia 4813-4930).

[37] What the quality of that nation was is also described by what is said of Judas Iscariot, for he represented the Jewish nation in respect to the church. For the Lord's twelve disciples represented the church of the Lord in general, and each one of them some universal essential of it, and Judas Iscariot represented it such as it was with the Jews. (Besides the above, see what has been written respecting that nation in Arcana Coelestia, as follows: a representative church was instituted with the Jewish nation, but in that nation itself there was no church, n. 4899, 4912, 6304.) Consequently in respect to the nation itself, there was a representative of a church, but not a church, n. 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 6304, 7048, 9320, 10396, 10526, 10531, 10698. The Israelitish and Jewish nation was not chosen, but was accepted to represent a church, because of the persistency with which their fathers and Moses urged it, n. 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439, 10430, 10535, 10632. Their worship was merely external, without any internal worship, n. 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871. They knew not at all the internals of worship, nor did they wish to know, n. 301-303, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10694, 10701, 10707. How they regard the internal things of worship, of the church, and of the Word, n. 4865. Their interiors, which are of thought and affection, were filthy, full of the loves of self and the world, and of avarice, n. 3480, 9962, 10454-10457, 10462-10466, 10575. Therefore the internals of the church were not disclosed to them, because they would have profaned them, n. 2520, 3398, 3479, 4289. The Word was altogether closed to them, and is yet, n. 3769. They see the Word from without, and not from within, n. 10549-10551. Consequently when they were in worship their internal was closed, n. 8788, 8806, 9320, 9377, 9380, 9962, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10492, 10498, 10500, 10575, 10629, 10694. Still that nation excelled all others in the ability to keep up a holy external, although the internal was closed, n. 4293, 4311, 4903, 9373, 9377, 9380. Their state at that time, n. Arcana Coelestia 4311. They were preserved for the sake of the Word in the original tongue, and because they could be kept in such a state, n. 3479. Their holy external was miraculously raised up into heaven by the Lord, and in this way the interiors of worship, of the church, and of the Word, were there perceived, n. 3480, 4307, 4311, 6304, 8588, 10493, 10499, 10500, 10602. That this might be done they were forced by external means to observe strictly the rituals and statutes in external form, n. 3147, 4281, 10149. Because of their ability to be in a holy external, without the internal, they were able to represent the holy things of heaven and the church, n. 3479, 3881, 4208, 6306, 6589, 9377, 10430, 10500, 10570. Yet they themselves were not affected by the holy things, n. 3479. It does not matter of what quality the person is who represents, since representation has respect to the thing, not to the person, n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.

That nation was worse than other nations, their quality described from the Word of both Testaments, n. 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 5998, 7248, 8819, 9320, 10454-10457, 10462-10466. The tribe of Judah sank into worse evil than the other tribes, n. Arcana Coelestia 4815. How cruelly from delight they treated the nations, n. 5057, 7248, 9320. That nation was idolatrous in heart, and worshiped other gods more than others, n. 3732, 4208, 4444, 4825, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882. Their worship viewed in regard to the nation itself, was also idolatrous, being external, without any internal, n. 4281, 4825, 8871, 8882. They worshipped Jehovah only in name, n. 6877, 10559-10561, 10566; and solely because of miracles, n. Arcana Coelestia 4299. Those are mistaken who believe that the Jews are to be converted at the end of the church, and brought back into the land of Canaan, n. 4847, 7051, 8301. Many passages cited from the Word concerning this, which must however be understood according to the internal sense, thus not according to the letter, n. Arcana Coelestia 7051. The Word in respect to the external sense was changed because of that nation, but not in respect to the internal sense, n. 10453, 10461, 10603, 10604. Jehovah appeared to them from Mount Sinai according to their quality, in a consuming fire, in a dense cloud, and in smoke as of a furnace, n. 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434. The Lord appears to everyone according to his quality, as a vivifying and recreating fire to those who are in good, and as a consuming fire to those who are in evil, n. 934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551. One origin of this nation was from a Canaanite woman, and the other two from whoredom with a daughter-in-law, n. 1167, 4818, 4820, 4825, 4874, 4899, 4913. These origins signified what their conjunction with the church was, namely, that it was like that with a Canaanite woman and by whoredom with a daughter-in-law, n. 4868, 4874, 4899, 4911, 4913, of their state in another life, n. 939, 940, 5057. Because that nation, although it was such, represented the church, and the Word was written with that nation and respecting it, therefore Divine celestial things were signified by their names, as by Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Ephraim, Joseph, and the rest; "Judah" in the internal sense signifying the Lord in respect to celestial love, and His celestial kingdom, n. 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363. The prophesy of Israel respecting Judah (Genesis 49:8-12), in which the Lord is treated of, explained, n. 6362-6381. The tribe of Judah, and Judea, signify the celestial church, n. 3654, 6364. The twelve tribes represented and thus signified all things of love and faith in the complex, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; consequently also heaven and the church, n. 6337, 6637, 7836, 7891. Their signification is according to the order in which they are named, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603, et seq., 6337, 6640. The twelve tribes were divided into two kingdoms, that the Jews might represent the celestial kingdom, and the Israelites the spiritual kingdom, n. 8770, 9320. "The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," signifies the goods and truths of the church, n. 3373, 10445.

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