10360. And ye shall keep the Sabbath. That this signifies that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be worshiped, is evident from the signification of “keeping,” when said of the Divine, as being to worship; and from the signification of “the Sabbath,” as being in the supreme sense the union of the Divine which is called the “Father” and of the Divine Human which is called the “Son,” thus the Divine Human in which is this union. This union is signified by “the Sabbath,” because by the six days of labor which precede the seventh is signified every state of combat; for in the spiritual sense “labor” does not mean such labor as there is in the world, but such as those who are in the church endure before they enter the church and become the church, which labor is combat against evils and falsities of evil. A like “labor” (in the spiritual sense) was endured by the Lord when He was in the world; for He then fought against the hells, and reduced them and likewise the heavens into order, and at the same time He glorified His Human, that is, He united it to the Divine Itself which He had from conception (see n. 9715, 9809).

[2] The time and state when the Lord was in combats is signified by the six days of labor, but the state when the union had been effected is signified by the seventh day, which is called “the Sabbath,” from “rest,” because the Lord then had rest. Consequently by “the Sabbath” is signified also the conjunction of the Lord with heaven, with the church, with an angel of heaven, and with a man of the church. The reason is that all who are to come into heaven must first be in combats against evils and the falsities of evil, and when these have been separated they enter heaven and are conjoined with the Lord, and then they have rest. It is similar with men in the world. It is known that these must be in combats, that is, that they must undergo temptations, before the good and truth which make the church have been implanted in them; thus before they have been conjoined with the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From this it is evident whence it is that a state of combat is signified by the six days of labor, while rest and also conjunction are signified by the seventh day or the Sabbath.

[3] That the conjunction of good and truth also, is signified by “the Sabbath,” is because when a man is in combats he is in truths; but when truths have been conjoined with good, thus when the man is in good, he then has rest; in like manner as the Lord, when He was in the world, and fought with the hells, was in respect to His Human Divine truth; and when He had united His Human to the Divine Itself, He then, even in respect to His Human, became the Divine good, or Jehovah.

[4] (That the six days which precede the Sabbath denote the combats which precede and prepare for the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of good and truth, may be seen in n. 8510, 8888, 9431. As regards the former state, when man is in truths and at the same time in combats against evils and falsities of evils, which state is signified by “the six days of labor,” and as regards the latter state, when he is in good and is led by the Lord, which is signified by “the Sabbath,” see n. 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832. That when the Lord was in the world He made His Human first Divine truth, and afterward Divine good, see the places cited in n. 9199, 9315; and that He did this by the combats of temptations, see the places cited in n. 9528.)

[5] Therefore he who knows that by “the Sabbath” in the supreme sense is meant the union of the Divine Itself in the Divine Human of the Lord, may know what those things signify which are so often said in the Word about the Sabbath, as in Isaiah:

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, so that thou doest not thine inclinations on the day of My holiness; but shalt call the Sabbath honorable delights to the Holy One of Jehovah; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own desire, nor speaking a word; then shalt thou delight thyself upon Jehovah; and I will exalt thee on the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father (Isaiah 58:13-14);

He who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can plainly see that in this passage by “the Sabbath” is signified the state of conjunction of man with the Lord, thus the state when man is led by the Lord and not by himself, which state is when he is in good. For to be led by the Lord, and not by self, is to “turn away the foot from the Sabbath, not to do one’s own inclinations, not to do one’s own ways, not to find one’s own desire, and not to speak a word.” That in this case the church is in him, and also heaven, is signified by that “he shall be exalted on the high places of the earth, and shall be fed with the heritage of Jacob.” Moreover, that “the Sabbath” denotes the Divine Human in which is union, is signified by the Sabbath being called “a day of holiness and of delight to the Holy One of Jehovah.”

[6] And in Jeremiah:

If ye will hallow the Sabbath day, then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in the chariot and on horses (Jeremiah 17:24-25);

He who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these things are to be understood according to the sense of the letter, namely, that if they would hallow the Sabbath, kings and princes would enter in by the gates of the city Jerusalem, and would ride in the chariot and on horses. This however is not the meaning; but that those who reverently worship the Divine Human of the Lord shall be in the Divine truths of heaven and of the church; for by “Jerusalem” is meant the church; by “kings and princes,” its Divine truths; by “the throne of David,” heaven where the Lord is; by “chariot,” the doctrine of good and truth; and by “horses,” an enlightened understanding. (That “Jerusalem” denotes the church, see n. 2117, 3654; that “kings” denote Divine truths, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; that “princes” denote primary truths, n. 1482, 2089, 9954; that a “throne” denotes heaven, n. 5313; that “a chariot” denotes the doctrine of good and truth, n. 5321, 8215; and that “horses” denote an understanding which is enlightened, n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534)

[7] As by “the Sabbath” was signified the Lord as to the Divine Human in which there is union, it was therefore commanded that the breads of faces should be set in order upon the table every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8). That the Lord as to the Divine Human is meant by “bread” is known in the church. For this reason also when the Lord was in the world He called Himself “the Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:1-5).

[8] And therefore when the Lord was in the world, and united His Human to the Divine Itself, He abrogated the Sabbath in respect to representative worship, or in respect to its worship such as was with the Israelitish people; and made the Sabbath day a day of instruction in the doctrine of faith and of love. This is involved in what is written in John:

Jesus healing a certain man on the Sabbath day said to him, Take up thy bed and walk; and he took up his bed and walked. But the Jews said that it was not allowable to carry a bed on the Sabbath day, and sought to kill the Lord, because He loosed the Sabbath (John 5:8-10, 18).

By the “healing of the sick” is signified the purifying of man from evils and the falsities of evil; by a “bed” is signified doctrine; and by “walking” is signified life.

[9] (That all the healings of diseases which were performed by the Lord involve purification from evils and falsities, or restorations to spiritual life, see n. 8364, 9031, 9086; and that “to walk” denotes life, n. 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.) That a “bed” denotes doctrine is evident from the passages in the Word where a “bed” is mentioned, and also from the representatives in the other life, where when a bed appears and one lying on it, there is signified the doctrine in which he is; consequently beds appear there most highly adorned for those who are in truths from good. But no one can know that such things are signified by the above words of the Lord except by the internal sense, for the Lord spoke by correspondences, thus by significatives, because from the Divine.

4966. Prince of the guards. That this signifies those which are primary for interpretation, is evident from the signification of “prince of the guards,” as being things primary for interpretation (n. 4790): things primary for interpretation are those which primarily conduce to the interpretation of the Word, and thus to the understanding of the doctrinal things of love to God and of charity toward the neighbor, which are from the Word. Be it known that the memory-knowledges of the ancients were altogether different from those of the present day. As before said the memory-knowledges of the ancients treated of the correspondence of things in the natural world with things in the spiritual world. The memory-knowledges which are now called philosophy, such as that of Aristotle and others like him, were unknown to them. This is evident also from the books of the ancient writers, most of which were written in language that signified, represented, and corresponded to interior things, as is evident from the following instances, not to mention others.

[2] They located Helicon on a mountain, and by it they meant heaven; they gave to Parnassus a place below on a hill, by which they meant memory-knowledges, where they said that a flying horse, called Pegasus, broke open a fountain with his hoof; the sciences they called virgins, with other such traditions. For they knew from correspondences and representatives that a mountain denotes heaven; a hill, that heaven which is beneath, or which is with man; a horse, the understanding; the wings with which he flew, spiritual things; a hoof, the natural mind; a fountain, intelligence; the three virgins who were called the Graces, affections of good; and the virgins who were called the Muses, affections of truth. So also they assigned to the sun horses, the food of which they called ambrosia, and their drink, nectar; for they knew that the sun signified celestial love, horses the intellectual things therefrom; and that food signifies celestial things, and drink spiritual things.

[3] From the ancients also there still survives the custom for kings at their coronation to sit upon a silver throne, to be clothed with a crimson robe, to be anointed with oil, to wear a crown on the head, and to carry a scepter, sword, and keys in their hands, to ride in royal pomp upon a white horse whose hoofs are shod with silver, and to be waited on at table by the chiefs of the kingdom, with other ceremonies; for they knew that a king represented Divine truth which is from Divine good, and hence they knew what is signified by a silver throne, a crimson robe, anointing oil, a crown, a scepter, a sword, keys, a white horse, hoofs shod with silver, and being waited on by chief men. Who at this day knows these significations, and where are the knowledges that teach them? Men call such things emblems, not knowing anything whatever about correspondence and representation. From all this it is evident of what nature were the knowledges of the ancients, and that they brought them into a knowledge of spiritual and heavenly things which at this day are scarcely known to exist.

[4] The knowledges which succeeded those of the ancients, and are properly called philosophy, rather draw away the mind from the knowledge of such things, because they can also be applied to the confirmation of falsities; and moreover when truths are confirmed by means of them, they plunge the mind into darkness, because they are for the most part bare expressions, whereby confirmations are effected which are comprehended by few, and regarding which even these few are not agreed. From this it is evident how far mankind has receded from the erudition of the ancients, which led to wisdom. The Gentiles received those knowledges from the Ancient Church, the external worship of which consisted in representatives and significatives, and the internal in those things which were represented and signified. These were the knowledges which, in the genuine sense, are signified by “Egypt.”

7102. Lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. That this signifies to avoid the damnation of evil and falsity, is evident from the signification of “lest He fall upon us,” as being lest they should incur damnation; from the signification of “pestilence,” as being the damnation of evil (of which below); and from the signification of “the sword,” as being the vastation of truth, and also the punishment of falsity (see n. 2799), thus also damnation, for the punishment of falsity when truth is devastated, is damnation.

[2] Mention is made in the Word of four kinds of vastations and punishments; namely, the Sword, Famine, the Evil Beast, and Pestilence; and by the “sword” is signified the vastation of truth and the punishment of falsity; by “famine,” the vastation of good and the punishment of evil; by the “evil beast,” the punishment of the evil from falsity; by “pestilence,” the punishment of the evil not from falsity but from evil. And as punishment is signified, damnation is also signified, for this is the punishment of those who persevere in evil. Of these four kinds of punishments it is thus written in Ezekiel:

When I send upon Jerusalem My four evil judgments, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast (Ezekiel 14:21).

Again:

I will send upon you famine, and the evil beast, and will make thee bereaved; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; especially will I bring the sword upon thee (Ezekiel 5:17).

[3] That by “pestilence” is signified the punishment of evil, and its damnation, is evident from the following passages.

In Ezekiel:

They who are in the waste places shall die by the sword, and he who is upon the faces of the field I will give to the wild beast to devour him, and they who are in the strongholds and caverns shall die with the pestilence (Ezekiel 33:27);

“to die by the sword in waste places” denotes to be in the vastation of truth, and thence in the damnation of falsity; “he who is upon the faces of the field being given to the wild beast to devour” denotes the damnation of those who are in evil from falsity; “they who are in strongholds and caverns dying with the pestilence” denotes the damnation of evil which fortifies itself by falsity.

[4] Again:

The sword is without, and the pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him (Ezekiel 7:15).

The “sword” here denotes the vastation of truth and the damnation of falsity; “famine and pestilence,” the vastation of good and the damnation of evil. The sword is said to be “without,” and famine and pestilence “within,” because the vastation of truth is without, but the vastation of good within; but when a man lives in accordance with falsity, damnation is signified by “him who is in the field dying by the sword;” and when he lives in evil which is defended by falsity, damnation is signified by “famine and pestilence devouring him who is in the city.”

[5] In Leviticus:

I will bring upon you a sword avenging the vengeance of the covenant; where, if ye shall be gathered together into your cities, I will send the pestilence into the midst of you, and I will deliver you into the hand of the enemy, when I shall break the staff of your bread (Leviticus 26:25-26); where in like manner the “sword” denotes the vastation of truth and the damnation of falsity; the “pestilence” the damnation of evil; the vastation of good, which is signified by “famine,” is described by “breaking the staff of their bread;” by “the cities into which they were to be gathered together,” in like manner as above, are signified the falsities by which they defend evils (that “cities” are truths, thus in the opposite sense falsities, see n. 402, 2268, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493).

[6] In Ezekiel:

In that thou hast defiled My sanctuary with all thine abominations, a third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter to every wind, and will draw out a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:11-12); where “famine” denotes the damnation of evil; “sword,” the damnation of falsity; “to scatter to every wind, and to draw out the sword after them” denotes to dissipate truths and seize on falsities.

[7] In Jeremiah:

If they shall offer burnt-offering or meat-offering, I will not approve them; but I will consume them with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence (Jeremiah 14:12).

Again:

I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence; afterward I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who are left in this city from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth away to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his soul shall be unto him for a spoil (Jeremiah 21:6-7, 9).

Again:

I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, till they be consumed from upon the earth (Jeremiah 24:10); where also by the “sword” is signified the vastation of truth, by the “famine” the vastation of good, by the “pestilence” damnation. The like is signified by “the sword, the famine, and the pestilence” in the following passages, Jeremiah 27:8; 29:17-18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Ezekiel 12:16.

[8] As these three follow in their order, therefore these three were proposed to David by the prophet Gad, namely, whether there should come seven years of famine; or he should flee three months before his enemies; or whether there should be three days’ pestilence in the land (2 Samuel 24:13); “to flee before his enemies” stands for “the sword.”

In Amos:

I have sent among you the pestilence in the way of Egypt; I have slain your young men with the sword, with the captivity of your horses (Amos 4:10);

“the pestilence in the way of Egypt” denotes the vastation of good by means of falsities, which are “the way of Egypt;” “I have slain your young men with the sword, with the captivity of the horses,” denotes the vastation of truth. (By “young men” are signified truths, and by “horses” things of the intellect, see n. 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6534)

[9] In Ezekiel:

Pestilence and blood shall pass through thee (Ezekiel 5:17).

Again:

I will send unto her pestilence and blood in her streets (Ezekiel 28:23); where “pestilence” denotes adulterated good; and “blood,” falsified truth. (That “blood” denotes falsified truth, see n. 4735, 6978).

[10] In David:

Thou shalt not be afraid for the dread of night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; for the pestilence that creepeth in thick darkness, nor for the death that wasteth at noonday (Psalms 91:5-6).

Here the “dread of night” denotes the falsity which is in secret; the “arrow that flieth by day,” the falsity which is in the open; the “pestilence that creepeth in thick darkness,” the evil which is in secret; the “death that wasteth at noonday,” the evil which is in the open. That “pestilence” denotes evil and the damnation of evil, is plain from death’s being spoken of also, which is here distinguished from the pestilence merely by its being said of death that “it wasteth at noonday,” and of the pestilence that “it creepeth in thick darkness.” Again:

He directed the way of His anger; He forbade not their soul from death, and closed their life with the pestilence (Psalms 78:50);

speaking of the Egyptians; the “pestilence” denotes every kind of evil and its damnation.