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.”

9410. He sent not His hand. That this signifies that truth is not there in its power, is evident from the signification of the “hand,” as being the power that there is through truth. (That “the hand” denotes power, see n. 878, 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133; and that it is through truth, n. 3091, 3502, 6344, 6423, 8304; also that all the power of truth is from good, thus through good from the Lord, n. 6948, 8200, 9327.) From this it is evident that by “He sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” is signified that truth is not in its power with those who are in the external sense of the Word separate from the internal. The reason why truth is not in its power with these is that they have been separated from heaven, and therefore from the Lord; for the Word conjoins man with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, because all things of the sense of the letter of the Word correspond to the spiritual and celestial things in which are the angels, and with which there is no communication if the Word is apprehended merely according to the letter, and not at the same time according to any doctrine of the church, which is the internal of the Word.

[2] Let us take for example the words of the Lord to Peter:

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens (Matthew 16:18-19).

In like manner His words to the disciples:

Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

They who are in the external sense of the Word separate from the internal, thus who are separate from the true doctrine of the church, persuade themselves that such a power was given by the Lord to Peter, and also to the rest of the Lord’s disciples. Hence came that infernal heresy that it is in human power to let into heaven and to shut out from heaven whomsoever it will; when yet according to the true doctrine of the church, which is also the internal of the Word, the Lord alone has this power; and therefore those who are in the external sense of the Word and at the same time in its internal sense, apprehend that these things were said of faith and its truths which are from the Lord, and that faith from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself, has this power, and therefore by no means any man.

[3] That it is so can be seen from the representation of Peter and of the twelve disciples, and from the signification of a “rock,” and likewise from the signification of “keys.” (That Peter represented faith, see the preface to Genesis 18 and 22, also n. 30, 4738, 6000, 6073; and that the twelve disciples of the Lord, like the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all things of faith and love, n. 3488, 3858, 6397.) That a “rock” signifies the Lord in respect to faith, and thus faith which is from the Lord, may be seen above (n. 8581); and that “keys” signify power, is evident from the passages in the Word where “keys” are mentioned; as in John:

I am the first and the last; he that liveth, and was dead; but behold I am alive unto ages of ages; and I have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18).

These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth, and He that shutteth, and no man openeth (Revelation 3:7).

The key of the house of David will I lay upon His shoulder; that He may open and none shut, and that He may shut and none open (Isaiah 22:22).

That in these passages a “key” denotes power, is manifest; also that the power belongs to the Lord alone.

[4] From all this it can be seen of what quality are those who are in the external sense of the Word separate from the internal; namely, that they have no conjunction with heaven, thus none with the Lord, as is the case with those who explain these words of the Lord to Peter and to the disciples according to the letter, and thus arrogate to themselves the power of saving mankind, and make themselves gods of heaven and earth; and this from an insane love of self and of the world. Everyone who thinks from sound reason can see and apprehend that man cannot loose one sin, because sin is loosed solely through the formation of a new life; that is, through regeneration from the Lord. (That regeneration goes on up to the end of man’s life in the world, and afterward to eternity, see n. 8548-8553, 8635-8640, 8742-8747, 8853-8858, 8958-8968)

[5] What truth “in its power” is, shall also be briefly told. That in the Word the angels are called “powers,” and also that they are powers, is known in the church. Yet they are not powers from themselves, but from the Lord, because they are recipients of the truth Divine which is from the Lord. They have such power from the Lord that one of them can drive away, shut up in the hells, and restrain, a thousand of the diabolical crew. For the truth Divine which is from the Lord fills the heavens, and makes the heavens; and if you will believe it, all things have been made and created through it. The Word, which was in the beginning with God, and which was God, through which all things were created, and through which the world was made (John 1:1-14) is Divine truth. That this is the one only substantial thing, from which are all things, few are able to apprehend, because no other idea is at this day held about Divine truth than as of the speech of the mouth of one in authority, in accordance with which his commands are executed; but what idea ought to be held about it may be seen above (n. 9407). The omnipotence of the Divine truth which is from the Lord is described in many passages in the Word; and also in John:

There was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought, and his angels; but they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. They overcame him through the blood of the Lamb, and through the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:7-8, 11).

That “the blood of the Lamb” denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord, see n. 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 9395; and that “the word of their testimony” denotes the truth Divine which is received, is plain.

[6] They who are in the external sense of the Word separate from the internal, thus who are separated from the true doctrine of the church, apprehend this prophetic saying no otherwise than according to the letter; namely, that by “blood” is meant blood, thus the Lord’s passion; when yet it is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord that is there meant by “blood.” They who are in the true doctrine of the church are able to know that they are not saved by blood, but by hearing truth Divine, and doing it; thus that those are saved who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord through the Divine truth. This all are able to know, to apprehend, to see, and to perceive, who are in enlightenment from the Lord; thus all who are in the good of charity and of faith, for these are they who are enlightened. This I can avouch—that when I am reading “the blood of the Lamb,” and am thinking of the blood of the Lord, the angels who are with me know no otherwise than that I am reading “the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord,” and that I am thinking about this. But let the simple remain in their doctrine, that they are saved through the Lord’s blood, provided they live in accordance with His Divine truth; for they who so live are enlightened in the other life.