AC GENESIS Chapter40

AC 5063. In the preface to the preceding chapter an explication was given of what the Lord said concerning the Judgment upon the good and the evil, in (Matthew 25:34-36).  Then follow these words:--

Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry and fed Thee? or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger and gathered Thee? or naked and clothed Thee? When saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?  But the King shall say to them, Verily I say to you, In so far as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it to Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and ye gave Me not to eat, I was thirsty and ye gave Me not to drink, I was a stranger and ye gathered Me not, naked and ye clothed Me not, sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?  Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, In so far as ye did it not to one of these least, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal (Matthew 25:37-46).

AC 5064. In the prefatory remarks to the preceding chapter (n. 4954-4959), it was explained what is signified in the internal sense by “giving meat to the hungry and drink to the thirsty,” by “gathering the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and him that is in prison”--that it is the essence of charity which is involved and is thus described. By the “hungry,” the “thirsty,” and the “stranger,” is signified the affection of good and truth; and by the “naked,” the “sick,” and “those who are in prison,” self-acknowledgment (n. 4956, 4958).

AC 5065. As the same things are thrice repeated in what has already been quoted and explained, it is unnecessary to show in detail, or word by word, what these expressions signify in the internal sense.  In this place I will merely state what is signified by the answer made both by those on the right hand, and by those on the left--that they had not seen Him hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison; and afterward what is signified by the “King,” and also by the “righteous and eternal life,” and by the “cursed and eternal fire.”

AC 5066. The answer made by those on the right hand:--Lord, when saw we Thee hungry and fed Thee? or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger and gathered Thee?  or naked and clothed Thee? When saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?  signifies that if they had seen the Lord Himself, everyone of them would have performed these offices; yet not from love toward Him, but from fear because He was to be the judge of the universe; thus not for His sake, but for the sake of themselves; thus not from within or from the heart, but from without and in act only.  This is as when one sees a king whose favor he desires to gain in order that he may become great or rich, and therefore bears himself submissively toward him. It is similar with those who are in holy external worship, in which they as it were see the Lord, and submit themselves to Him, believing that in this way they will receive eternal life; and yet they have no charity, and do no good to anyone except for their own sake, thus only to themselves. They are like persons who in outward form pay court to their king with much respect, and yet deride his commands because at heart they disregard him.  These and similar things are what are signified by those on the right hand so answering; and as the evil also do the like things in outward form, therefore they who were on the left made nearly the same answer.

AC 5067. As therefore the Lord cares not for external but for internal things, and as man testifies to his internal things, not by worship only, but by charity and its acts, the Lord answered:--Verily I say to you, In so far as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it to Me; those are called “brethren” who are in the good of charity and of life; for the Lord is with them, because they are in good itself; and it is they who are properly meant by the neighbor. In these also the Lord does not manifest Himself, for in respect to Him they are vile; but the man manifests himself before the Lord, in that he worships Him from within.

AC 5068. That the Lord calls Himself “King”--in these words:--When the Son of man shall come in His glory, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, then shall the King say unto them; is because the Lord’s royalty is the Divine truth, from which and according to which judgment is effected.  But from and according to it the good are judged in one way, and the evil in another.  The good, because they have received Divine truth, are judged from good, and thus from mercy; the evil, because they have not received Divine truth, are judged from truth, and thus not from mercy; for this they have rejected, and hence they continue to reject it in the other life.  To receive Divine truth is not only to have faith, but also to practise it, that is, to cause that which is of doctrine to become of the life.  It is from this that the Lord calls Himself “King.” The Lord‘s royalty is the Divine truth, (n. 1728, 2015, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966),

AC 5069. That they on the right hand are called “the righteous:--Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, etc.,  and,  The righteous shall go into eternal life; signifies that they are in the Lord’s righteousness.  All who are in the good of charity are called the ”righteous“--not that they are righteous from themselves, but from the Lord, whose righteousness is appropriated to them. They who believe themselves righteous from themselves, or made so righteous that there is no longer anything of evil in them, are not among the righteous, but among the unrighteous; for they attribute good to themselves, and also feel self-merit on account of it, and such can never adore the Lord from true humiliation; so that those who in the Word are called the ”righteous,“ and the ”saints,“ are those who know and acknowledge that all good is from the Lord, and that all evil is from themselves that is, is theirs from hell.

AC 5070. The ”eternal life“ which is given to the righteous, is life from good. Good has life in itself, because it is from the Lord, who is life itself.  In the life which is from the Lord there are wisdom and intelligence; for to receive good from the Lord and thence to will good, is wisdom; and to receive truth from the Lord and thence to believe truth, is intelligence; and they who have this wisdom and intelligence have life; and as happiness is joined to such life, eternal happiness also is signified by ”life.“ The contrary is the case with those who are in evil.  These do indeed appear--especially to themselves--as if they had life, but it is such life as in the Word is called ”death,“ and also is spiritual death; for they are not wise in any good, nor intelligent in any truth.  This may be seen by everyone who takes the matter into consideration, for as there is life in good and in its truth, there cannot be life in evil and in its falsity, because these are opposite and extinguish life.  Therefore the persons in question have no other life than such as belongs to the insane.

AC 5071. That they on the left hand are called ”cursed,“ and their punishment ”eternal fire,“ as where it is said:--Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; and,  These shall go away into eternal punishment; is because they have averted themselves from good and truth, and have turned to evil and falsity. A ”curse,“ in the internal sense of the Word, signifies a turning away (n. 245, 379, 1423, 3530, 3584). The ”eternal fire“ into which they must depart is not natural fire, nor is it torment of conscience, but is concupiscence of evil; for the concupiscences in man are spiritual fires which consume him in the life of the body, and torment him in the other life.  By these fires the infernals torture one another in direful ways.

[2] That ”eternal fire“ is not natural fire, is evident.  That it is not torment of conscience, is because all who are in evil have no conscience, and they who have had none in the life of the body cannot have any in the other life. But that it is concupiscence is because all vital fire is from the loves in man--heavenly fire from the love of good and truth, and infernal fire from the love of evil and falsity,--or what is the same, heavenly fire is from love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, and infernal fire is from the love of self and the love of the world.  That all the fire or heat within man is from this source, anyone may know if he pays attention to the matter.  It is for this reason also that love is called spiritual heat, and that by ”fire“ and ”heat“ in the Word nothing else is signified (n. 934, 1297, 1527, 1528, 1861, 2446, 4906). The vital fire in the evil is such that when they are in the vehemence of their concupiscences, they are also in a kind of fire, from which they are in the ardor and fury of tormenting others; but the vital fire in the good is such that when in a high degree of affection, they also are in a kind of fire, but from it they are in the love and zeal of benefiting others.

1. And it came to pass after these words that they sinned, the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker, to their lord the king of Egypt.

2. And Pharaoh was wroth over his two courtministers, over the prince of the butlers, and over the prince of the bakers.

3. And he put them into the custody of the house of the prince of the guards, unto the prison house, the place where Joseph was bound.

4. And the prince of the guards set Joseph over them, and he ministered to them; and they were for days in custody.

5. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison house.

6. And Joseph came unto them in the morning, and saw them, and behold they were troubled.

7. And he asked Pharaoh‘s courtministers that were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore are your faces evil today?

8. And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream and there is no interpreter of it.  And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray.

9. And the prince of the butlers told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream behold a vine was before me.

10. And in the vine were three shoots, and it was as though it budded, its blossom went up, and the clusters thereof ripened grapes.

11. And Pharaoh‘s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh.

12. And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it; the three shoots three days are these.

13. In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and shall bring thee back upon thy station, and thou shalt give Pharaoh‘s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

14. But remember me with thee when it is well with thee, and do mercy I pray with me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.

15. For being carried off by theft I was carried away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the pit.

16. And the prince of the bakers saw that he had interpreted good, and he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and behold three baskets with holes in them upon my head.

17. And in the uppermost basket there was of all food for Pharaoh, the work of the baker; and the bird did eat them out of the basket from upon my head.

18. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof.  The three baskets three days are these.

19. In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift off thy head from upon thee, and shall hang thee upon wood; and the bird shall eat thy flesh from upon thee.

20. And it came to pass on the third day, on Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the prince of the butlers and the head of the prince of the bakers in the midst of his servants.

21. And he brought back the prince of the butlers upon his butlership; and he gave the cup upon Pharaoh‘s palm.

22. And he hanged the prince of the bakers; as Joseph interpreted to them.

23. And the prince of the butlers did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him.

AC 5072. In the internal sense of this chapter the subject is continued of a state of temptations, by which even bodily things might be brought into correspondence.  Bodily things properly so called are sensuous things,  which are of two kinds, some being subordinate to the intellectual part, and some to the will part.  Those which are subordinate to the intellectual part are represented by the butler of the king of Egypt, and those which are subordinate to the will part are represented by his baker; that the former are for a time retained, but the latter cast out, is represented by the butler returning to his place, and the baker being hanged.  The rest will be plain from the series in the internal sense.

AC 5073. Verses 1-4. And it came to pass after these words that they sinned, the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker, to their lord the king of Egypt.  And Pharaoh was wroth over his two courtministers, over the prince of the butlers, and over the prince of the baker’s. And he put them into the custody of the house of the prince of the guards, unto the prison house, the place where Joseph was bound.  And the prince of the guards set Joseph over them, and he ministered unto them; and they were for days in custody.  ”And it came to pass,“ signifies a new state, and the things which follow; ”after these words,“ signifies after the things which precede; ”that they sinned,“ signifies inverted order; ”the butler of the king of Egypt,“ signifies in those things in the body which are subject to the intellectual part; ”and the baker,“ signifies in those things in the body which are subject to the will part; ”to their lord the king of Egypt,“ signifies that they were contrary to the new state of the natural man; ”and Pharaoh was wroth,“ signifies that the new natural man averted itself; ”over his two courtministers,“ signifies from the sensuous things of the body of both kinds; ”over the prince of the butlers, and over the prince of the bakers,“ signifies in general from the sensuous things subordinate to the intellectual part and to the will part; ”and he put them into the custody,“ signifies rejection; ”of the house of the prince of the guards,“ signifies by those things which are primary for interpretation; ”unto the prison house,“ signifies among falsities; ”the place where Joseph was bound,“ signifies the state of the celestial of the natural now as to these things; ”and the prince of the guards set Joseph over them,“ signifies that the celestial of the natural taught them from things primary for interpretation; ”and he ministered to them,“ signifies that he instructed them; ”and they were for days in custody,“ signifies that they were long in a state of rejection.

AC 5074. And it came to pass.  That this signifies a new state and the things which follow, is evident from the fact that the expression ”it came to pass,“ or ”it was,“ in the Word, involves a new state (n. 4979, 4999); and that in the original language it serves as a mark of distinction between the series of things which precede and those which follow (n. 4987); hence it also signifies the things which follow.

AC 5075. After these words.  That this signifies after the things which precede, is evident from the signification of ”words,“ in the original language, as being things; here therefore ”after these words“ means after these things, thus after the things which precede.  That ”words,“ in the original language signify things also, is because ”words,“ in the internal sense signify truths of doctrine; and therefore all Divine truth in general is called the ”Word,“ and the Lord Himself, from whom comes all Divine truth, is in the supreme sense the ”Word“ (n. 1288).  And because nothing that exists in the universe is anything, that is, is a real thing, unless it is from Divine good by Divine truth, therefore ”words“ in the Hebrew language mean things also.  That nothing in the universe is anything, that is, a real thing, unless it is from Divine good by Divine truth, that is, by the ”Word,“ is plain in John:--

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1:1, 3).

[2] The interior significations of expressions for the most part originate in the interior man, which is among spirits and angels; for every man as to his spirit, or as to that very man which lives after the decease of the body, is in company with angels and spirits, although the external man is not aware of this; and because he is in company with them, he is also with them in the universal language, and thus in the origins of words. Hence there are imparted to words many significations which in the external form appear out of agreement, although in the internal form they are entirely in agreement--as here, that ”words“ signify things.  It is the same in a host of cases, as that the understanding is called the inward ”sight,“ light being attributed to it; that attention and obedience are called ”hearing“ and ”hearkening;“ that the perception of a thing is called ”smelling;“ and so forth.

AC 5076. That they sinned.  That this signifies inverted order, is evident from the signification of ”sinning,“ as being to act contrary to Divine order: whatever is contrary to this is ”sin.“  Divine order itself is Divine truth from Divine good.  All are in this order who are in truth from good, that is, who are in faith from charity, for truth is of faith, and good is of charity; and they are contrary to this order who are not in truth from good, consequently who are in truth from evil, or in falsity from evil; nothing else is signified by ”sin.“ Here by their ”sinning“ the butler and the baker--is signified that external sensuous things were in inverted order relatively to interior things, so that they did not accord or did not correspond.

AC 5077. The butler of the king of Egypt.  That this signifies in those things in the body which are subject to the intellectual part, is evident from the signification of a ”butler,“ as being that external sensuous, or sensuous of the body, which is subordinate or subject to the intellectual part of the internal man; and from the signification of the ”king of Egypt,“ as being the natural man (n. 5079). As the butler and the baker are treated of in the following verses, and as they signify the external sensuous things which are of the body, something must first be said about these sensuous things.  It is known that the external or bodily senses are five, namely, sight, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch, and that these constitute all the life of the body; for without these senses the body does not live at all, and therefore when deprived of them it dies and becomes a corpse; so that the very bodily part of man is nothing else than a receptacle of sensations, and consequently of the life from them.  The sensitive is the principal, and the bodily is the instrumental.  The instrumental without its principal to which it is adapted cannot even be called that bodily with which man is invested during his life in the world; but only the instrumental together with the principal, when they act as one.  This therefore is the bodily part.

[2] All the external sensuous things of man bear relation to his internal sensuous things, for they are given to man and placed in his body in order that they may serve the internal man while it is in the world, and be subject to its sensuous things; and therefore when a man‘s external sensuous things begin to rule over his internal sensuous things, the man is lost; for then the internal sensuous things are considered to be mere servants, to serve for confirming those things which the external sensuous things command with authority. When the external sensuous things are in this state, they are in the inverted order spoken of just above (n. 5076).

[3] As before said, the external sensuous things of man bear relation to his internal sensuous things; in general, to his intellectual part and to his will part; there are therefore external sensuous things which are subject or subordinate to his intellectual part, and there are those which are subject to his will part.  That sensuous which is especially subject to the intellectual part is the sight; that which is subject to the intellectual part and secondarily to the will part is the hearing; that which is subject to both together is the sense of smell, and still more the taste; but that which is subject to the will part is the touch. That the external sensuous things are subject to these parts, and in what manner, might be abundantly shown; but to enter upon the investigation of this now would lead us too far afield; yet the facts may in some measure be known from what has been shown concerning the correspondence of these senses, at the end of the preceding chapters.

[4] And he it known further that all the truths which are said to be of faith pertain to the intellectual part; and that all the goods which are of love and charity are of the will part.  Consequently it belongs to the intellectual part to believe, to acknowledge, to know, and to see truth and also good, but to the will part to be affected with and to love these; and that which man is affected with and loves, is good.  But how the intellect flows into the will, when truth passes into good; and how the will flows into the intellect, when it acts upon it, are matters of still deeper investigation, concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more will be said below as occasion offers.

[5] The reason why a ”butler“ signifies that sensuous which is subject or subordinate to the intellectual part of the internal man, is that everything which serves for drinking, or which is drunk--as wine, milk, water--bears relation to truth, which is of the intellectual part, thus bears relation to the intellectual part; and because it is an external sensuous, or sensuous of the body, that subserves, therefore by a ”butler“ is signified this sensuous, or this part of the sensuous things. ”To give to drink“ and ”to drink“ are in general predicated of the truths which are of the intellectual part, (n. 3069, 3071, 3168, 3772, 4017, 4018); and specifically they are predicated of the truth which is from good, or of the faith which is from charity, (n. 1071, 1798); and ”water“ is truth, (n. 680, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976). From all this it may now be seen what is signified by a ”butler.“

AC 5078. And the baker.  That this signifies in those things the body which are subject to the will part, is evident from the signification of a ”baker,“ as being that external sensuous, or sensuous of the body, which is subordinate or subject to the will part of the internal man.  A ”baker“ has this signification because everything that serves for food, or that is eaten, such as bread, food in general, and all the work of the baker, is predicated of good, and therefore bears relation to the will part; for all good is of this part, just as all truth is of the intellectual part (n. 5077). ”Bread“ is the celestial, or good, (n. 1798, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976),

[2] The reason why here and in the following verses of this chapter the external sensuous things of both kinds are treated of in the internal sense is that in the previous chapter the subject treated of was the Lord, and how He glorified or made Divine the interiors of His natural; here therefore the subject treated of is the Lord, and how He glorified or made Divine the exteriors of His natural.  The exteriors of the natural are what are properly called the bodily things, or the sensuous things of both kinds together with their recipient organs, for these together constitute what is called the body (n. 5077). The Lord made the very bodily in Himself Divine, both its sensuous things and their recipient organs; and He therefore rose again from the sepulchre with His body, and likewise after His resurrection said to the disciples:--

Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; feel Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have (Luke 24:39).

[3] Most of those who are of the church at this day believe that everyone is to rise again at the last day, and with his body; which opinion is so universal that from doctrine scarcely anyone believes otherwise.  But this opinion has prevailed because the natural man supposes that it is only the body that lives; and therefore unless he believed that the body would receive life again, he would deny the resurrection altogether.  But the truth of the matter is this.  Man rises again immediately after death, and he then appears to himself in a body just as in this world, with a similar face, members, arms, hands, feet, breast, belly, and loins; so that when be sees and touches himself, he says that he is a man as in the world.  Nevertheless what he sees and touches is not his external which he carried about in the world, but it is the internal which constitutes that very human which is alive, and which had an external about it, or outside of every part of it, by which it could be in the world and be adapted for acting and performing its functions there.

[4] The earthly bodily part is no longer of any use to him, he being in another world where are other functions, and other powers and abilities, to which the nature of his body there is adapted.  This body he sees with his eyes, not those which he had in the world, but those which he has there, which are the eyes of his internal man and by which through the eyes of the body he had before seen worldly and earthly things.  This body he also feels with the touch, not with the hands or the sense of touch which he enjoyed in the world, but with the hands and the sense of touch which he enjoys there, which is that from which his sense of touch in the world came forth. Moreover every sense is more exquisite and more perfect there, because it is the sense of the internal of man freed from the external; for the internal is in a more perfect state, because it gives to the external the power of sensation; but when it acts into the external, as is the case in the world, sensation is dulled and obscured.  Moreover it is the internal which is sensible of the internal, and the external which is sensible of the external. Thus it is that men after death see one another, and are in company together according to their interiors.  In order that I might be certain in regard to this matter, it has been given me to touch the spirits themselves, and often to converse with them about it (n. 322, 1630, 4622).

[5] Men after death who are then called spirits, and if they have lived in good, angels, marvel exceedingly that the man of the church believes that he is not to see eternal life until the last day when the world shall perish, and that he is then to be clothed again with the cast off dust; when yet the man of the church knows that he rises again after death; for when a man dies, who does not then say that his soul or spirit is in heaven or else in hell? and who does not say of his children who have died that they are in heaven? and who does not comfort a sick person, or one appointed to die, by the assurance that he will shortly come into the other life? and he who is in the agony of death and is prepared, believes no otherwise; nay, from this belief many also claim for themselves the power of delivering others from places of damnation, and of admitting them into heaven, while saying masses on their behalf.  Who does not know what the Lord said to the thief ”Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise“ (Luke 23:43)? and what He said of the rich man and Lazarus, that the former was carried into hell, but the latter borne by the angels into heaven (Luke 16:22, 23)? And who does not know what the Lord taught concerning the resurrection, that ”He is not the God of the dead, but of the living“ (Luke 20:38)?

[6] A man knows these things, and so thinks and speaks when he thinks and speaks from his spirit; but when he thinks and speaks from his doctrine, he says very differently--that he is not to rise again till the last day; when yet the last day to everyone is when he dies, and then also is his judgment, as indeed many say. What is meant by ”being encompassed with skin, and from the flesh seeing God“ (Job 19:25, 26), may be seen above (n. 3540).  These things are said in order that it may be known that no man rises again in the body with which he was clothed in the world; but that the Lord alone so rose, and this because He glorified His body, or made it Divine, while He was in the world.

AC 5079. Against their lord the king of Egypt.  That this signifies that they--namely, the external sensuous things, or those of the body, signified by ”the butler and the baker“--were contrary to the new state of the natural man, is evident from the signification of the ”king of Egypt,“ as being memory-knowledge in general (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966). For the same is signified by the ”king of Egypt“ as by ”Egypt,“ the king being the head of the nation; and it is the same in other passages also where mention is made of the ”king“ of any nation (n. 4789).  As memory-knowledge in general is signified by the ”king of Egypt,“ the natural man is also signified thereby, because all memory-knowledge is the truth of the natural man (n. 4967): the good itself of the natural man is signified by ”lord“ (n. 4973). That a new state of the natural man is here signified, is because in the preceding chapter there was described the making new of the interiors of the natural, and in the supreme sense, which relates to the Lord, that they were glorified; but the subject here treated of is the exteriors of the natural, which were to be reduced to harmony or correspondence with the interiors. Those interiors of the natural which were new, or what is the same thing the new state of the natural man, is what is signified by ”their lord the king of Egypt;“ and the exteriors which were not reduced into order, and hence were contrary to order, are what are signified by ”the butler and the baker.“

[2] There are interiors and there are exteriors of the natural, the interiors of the natural being memory-knowledges and the affections of them, while its exteriors are the sensuous things of both kinds, spoken of above (n. 5077).  When a man dies he leaves behind him these exteriors of the natural, but carries with him into the other life the interiors of the natural, where they serve as a plane for things spiritual and celestial. For when a man dies he loses nothing except his bones and flesh; he has with him the memory of all that he had done, spoken, or thought, and he has with him all his natural affections and desires, thus all the interiors of the natural. Of its exteriors he has no need; for he does not see, nor hear, nor smell, nor taste, nor touch, what is in this world, but only such things as are in the other life, which indeed look for the most part like those which are in this world; but still are not like them, for they have in them what is living, which those things which properly belong to the natural world have not.  For all and each of the things in the other life come forth and subsist from the sun there, which is the Lord, whence they have in them what is living; whereas all and each of the things in the natural world come forth and subsist from its sun, which is elementary fire, and hence have not in them what is living. What appears living in them is from no other source than the spiritual world, that is, through the spiritual world from the Lord.

AC 5080. And Pharaoh was wroth.  That this signifies that the new natural man averted itself, is evident from the representation of Pharaoh, or the king of Egypt, as being the new natural man, or the new state of the natural man (n. 5079); and from the signification of ”being wroth or angry,“ as being to avert itself (n. 5034); here therefore it signifies that the interior natural, which was made new, averted itself from the exterior natural or bodily sensuous part, because this did not correspond with it.

AC 5081. Against his two courtministers.  That this signifies that it averted itself from the sensuous things of the body, of both kinds, is evident from the signification of ”courtministers,“ who here are the butler and the baker, as being the sensuous things of both kinds (n. 5077, 5078). The sensuous things of the body, namely, the sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, are as it were ministers of the court relatively to the interior man, who is their lord the king; for they minister to him, so that from the things in the visible world and in human society he may come into the teachings of experience, and may in this way acquire intelligence and wisdom.  For man is not born into any knowledge, still less into any intelligence or wisdom, but only into the capability of receiving and becoming imbued with them. This is effected in two ways, namely, by an internal way, and by an external way. By the internal way flows in what is Divine, by the external way flows in what is of the world.  These meet within man, and then in so far as he suffers himself to be enlightened by what is Divine, he comes into wisdom. The things which flow in by the external way, flow in through the sensuous things of the body; although they never flow in of themselves, but are called forth by the internal man to serve as a plane for the celestial and spiritual things which flow in by the internal way from the Divine.  From this it is evident that the sensuous things of the body are like the ministers of a court.  In general, all exterior things are ministers relatively to interior things. Relatively to the spiritual man the whole natural man is nothing else.

[2] In the original language the term here used means a minister, courtier, chamberlain, or eunuch; in the internal sense it signifies, as here, the natural man as to good and truth, but specifically the natural man as to good; as in Isaiah:--

Let not the son of the stranger, that cleaveth to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from His people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold I am dry wood. For thus hath said Jehovah to the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths, and choose that wherewith I am delighted, and are holding My covenant; I will give them in My house and within My walls a place and a name, a good better than sons and daughters; I will give them a name of eternity that shall not be cut off (Isa. 56:3-5);

here a ”eunuch“ denotes the natural man as to good, and the ”son of the stranger“ the natural man as to truth; for the church of the Lord is external and internal, and they who are of the external church are natural, while they who are of the internal church are spiritual.  They who are natural, and yet are in good, are ”eunuchs,“ and they who are in truth are the ”sons of the stranger;“ and as the truly spiritual or internal are to be found only within the church, therefore also by the ”sons of the stranger“ are signified those who are outside the church, or the Gentiles, and yet are in truth according to their religiosity (n. 2049, 2593, 2599, 2600, 2602, 2603, 2861, 2863, 3263); and by ”eunuchs,“ those who are in good.

AC 5082. Over the prince of the butlers, and over the prince of the bakers.  That this signifies in general from the sensuous things subordinate to the intellectual part and to the will part, is evident from the signification of a ”butler,“ as being the sensuous subordinate and subject to the intellectual part (n. 5077); and from the signification of a ”baker,“ as being the sensuous subordinate and subject to the will part (n. 5078); and from the signification of a ”prince,“ as being what is primary (n. 1482, 2089, 5044), here in general or in common; for what is primary is also common, because it rules in the rest; for particulars hear relation to primaries as to generals, in order that they may make a one and that no contradiction should appear.

AC 5083. And he put them into the custody.  That this signifies rejection, is evident from the signification of ”putting into custody,“ as being rejection; for he who is put into custody is rejected.

AC 5084. Of the house of the prince of the guards.  That this signifies by those things which are primary for interpretation, is evident from the signification of the ”prince of the guards,“ as being what is primary for interpretation (n. 4790, 4966). Here therefore the signification is that the sensuous things of both kinds were rejected by the things primary for interpretation, namely those which are of the Word as to the internal sense; and these sensuous things are said to be rejected when they have no faith in such things; for sensuous things and those which by their means enter immediately into the thought, are fallacious, and all the fallacies which prevail in man are from this source.  It is from these that few believe the truths of faith, and that the natural man is opposed to the spiritual, that is, the external man to the internal; and therefore if the natural or external man begins to rule over the spiritual or internal man, the things of faith are no longer believed; for fallacies overshadow and cupidities suffocate them.

[2] As few know what the fallacies of the senses are, and few believe that they induce so great a shade on rational things, and most of all on the spiritual things of faith, even so as to extinguish them, especially when the man is at the same time in the delight of the cupidities from the love of self and the love of the world, the subject may be illustrated by examples, showing first what are the fallacies of the senses which are merely natural, or in those things which are in nature, and then what are the fallacies of the senses in spiritual things. 1. It is a fallacy of merely natural sense, or that which is in nature, to believe that the sun revolves once each day around this earth, and also the sky with all the stars; and although it is said that it is incredible--because impossible--that so great an ocean of fire as is the sun, and not only the sun but also innumerable stars, should revolve around the earth once every day without any change of place relatively to one another, and although it is added that it may be seen from the planets that the earth performs a daily and annual motion by rotation and revolution, the planets also being earths, some of them with moons revolving around them, and making--as is known by observation--daily and annual motions like our earth nevertheless with very many persons the fallacy of sense prevails, that it is as it appears to the eye.

[3] 2. It is a fallacy of merely natural sense, or that which is in nature, that there is only a single atmosphere, and that this is merely successively purer from one portion to another, and that where it ceases there is a vacuum.  When only the external sensuous of man is consulted, it apprehends no otherwise.  3. It is a fallacy of merely natural sense, that from the first creation there has been impressed on seeds a property of growing up into trees and flowers, and of reproducing themselves, and that from this is the coming into existence and subsistence of all things.  And if it is urged that it is not possible for anything to subsist unless it perpetually comes into existence, according to the law that subsistence is a perpetual coming into existence, and also that everything not connected with something prior to itself falls into nothing, still the sensuous of the body and the thought from this sensuous does not apprehend it, nor that each and all things subsist in the same way that they came into existence, by influx from the spiritual world, that is to say through the spiritual world from the Divine.

[4] 4. Hence it is a fallacy of merely natural sense that there are simple substances, which are monads and atoms; for whatever is within the range of the external sensuous, the natural man believes to be a simple substance, or else nothing. 5. It is a fallacy of merely natural sense that all things are of nature and from nature, and that there indeed is something in purer or interior nature which is not apprehended; but if it is said that within or above nature there is what is spiritual and celestial, this is rejected; and it is believed that if it is not natural, it is nothing.  6. It is a fallacy of sense that only the body lives, and that its life perishes when it dies.  The sensuous does not at all apprehend that the internal man is in every particular of the external man, and that the internal man is within nature, and in the spiritual world; hence it does not believe, because it does not apprehend, that the internal man will live after death unless it is again clothed with the body (n. 5078, 5079).

[5] 7. Hence it is a fallacy of sense that man cannot live after death any more than the beasts, because these also have a life similar in many respects to that of man, man being only a more perfect animal. The sensuous, that is, the man who thinks and draws conclusions therefrom, does not apprehend that man is above the beasts and has a higher life, because he can thing not only about the causes of things, but also about the Divine, and can by faith and love be conjoined with the Divine, and also receive influx therefrom and make it his own, thus that as there is reciprocity in man there is also reception, as is by no means the case with beasts.

[6] 8. It is a fallacy thence derived that the very living part of man, which is called the soul, is merely something ethereal, or flamy, which is dissipated when the man dies; and that it resides in the heart, or in the brain, or in some part of this, and from thence rules the body as if this were a machine.  That the internal man is in every part of the external man, and that the eye does not see from itself, nor the ear hear from itself, but from the internal man, the sensuous man does not apprehend.  9. It is a fallacy of sense that light, and also heat, can come from no other source than the sun or elementary fire. That there is light in which is intelligence, and heat in which is heavenly love, and that all the angels are in this light and heat, the sensuous does not apprehend.  10. It is a fallacy of sense that man believes that he lives of himself, or that life has been imparted to him; for so it appears to the sensuous mind.  That it is the Divine alone which has life of itself, and thus that there is only one life, and that the lives in the world are only recipient forms, the sensuous mind does not at all apprehend (n. 1954, 2706, 2886-2889, 2893, 3001, 3318, 3337, 3338, 3484, 3742, 3743, 4151, 4249, 4318-4320, 4417, 4523, 4524, 4882).

[7] 11. The sensuous man believes from fallacy that adulteries are allowable; for from the sensuous he concludes that marriages are instituted merely in behalf of order for the sake of the education of the offspring; and that so long as this order is not destroyed, it is immaterial from whom the offspring comes; and also that what is of marriage differs from lasciviousness merely in its being allowed; thus also that it would not be contrary to order to marry more than one wife, if it were not forbidden by the Christian world from Holy Scripture.  If they are told that there is a correspondence between the heavenly marriage and marriages on earth, and that no one can have in himself anything of marriage unless he is in spiritual truth and good, also that genuine marriage cannot possibly exist between a husband and several wives, and hence that marriages are in themselves holy, these things are rejected by the sensuous man as of no account. 12. It is a fallacy of sense that the Lord‘s kingdom, or heaven, resembles an earthly kingdom in respect that the joy and happiness there consist in one being greater than another, and hence having more glory than another; for the sensuous does not at all comprehend what is meant by the least being greatest, or the last first.  If they are told that joy in heaven or to the angels consists in serving others by benefiting them, without any thought of merit or recompense, this strikes them as something sad.  13. It is a fallacy of sense that good works merit reward, and that to benefit anyone for the sake of self is a good work. 14. It is also a fallacy of sense that man is saved by faith alone, and that faith can exist in one who has no charity, and also that it is the faith, and not the life, that remains after death.  In like manner in very many other instances.  When therefore what is sensuous rules in man, the rational enlightened from the Divine sees nothing and is in thick darkness, and it is then believed that everything is rational which is concluded from what is sensuous.

AC 5085. Unto the prison house.  That this signifies among falsities, is evident from the signification of a ”prison house,“ as being the vastation of falsity, and hence falsity (n. 4958, 5037, 5038).

AC 5086. The place where Joseph was bound.  That this signifies the state of the celestial of the natural now as to these things, is evident from the signification of ”place,“ as being state (n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882); from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual from the rational (n. 4286, 4585, 4592, 4594, 4963), here the celestial of the natural, because now in the natural from which are temptations (n. 5035, 5039); and from the signification of ”being bound,“ as being a state of temptations (n. 5037).  In the foregoing chapter the subject treated of is the state of temptations of the celestial of the spiritual in the natural as to those things which were of the interior natural, and here as to those things which are of the exterior natural.

AC 5087. And the prince of the guards set Joseph over them. That this signifies that the celestial of the natural taught them from things primary for interpretation, is evident from the signification of the ”prince of the guards,“ as being things primary for interpretation (n. 4790, 4966, 5084); from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the natural (n. 5086); and from the signification of ”to be set over,“ as here being to teach; for he who for the purpose of exploration or amendment is set over those things which are being rejected, performs the office of a teacher.

AC 5088. And he ministered to them.  That this signifies that he instructed them, is evident from the signification of ”ministering,“ as being to instruct.  That ”ministering“ does not here mean ministering as a servant, is evident from the fact that Joseph was set over them, and therefore ”to minister“ here denotes to furnish the things which would be of benefit to them; and because the subject here treated of is the new natural or external sensuous, by ”being set over“ is signified to teach, and by ”ministering“ is signified to instruct.  ”To be set over“ is predicated of the good which is of life; and to ”minister“ of the truth which is of doctrine (n. 4976).

AC 5089. And they were for days in custody.  That this signifies that they were long in a state of rejection, is evident from the signification of ”days,“ as being states (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850); here therefore ”for days“ means that they were long in the state of rejection which is signified by ”custody“ (n. 5083).  The particulars which are contained in the internal sense cannot be here set forth more fully, because they are of such a nature that no idea can be formed of them from the things in this world; as for instance of the celestial of the spiritual man, and of its state in the natural when the interior natural is being made new, and afterward, when it has been made new and the exterior natural is rejected.  But of these and similar things an idea may be formed from the things in heaven, which idea is such that it does not fall into any idea formed from the things in this world, except with those who while in thought can be withdrawn from sensuous things.

[2] Unless man’s thought can be elevated above sensuous things, so that these are seen as below him, he cannot understand any interior thing in the Word, still less such things as are of heaven abstracted from those which are of the world; for sensuous things absorb and suffocate them.  It is for this reason that those who are sensuous and have zealously devoted themselves to getting knowledges, rarely apprehend anything of the things of heaven; for they have immersed their thoughts in such things as are of the world, that is, in terms and distinctions drawn from these, thus in sensuous things, from which they can no longer be elevated and thus kept in a point of view above them; thus neither can their thought he any longer freely extended over the whole field of the things of the memory, so as to select what agrees and reject what is in opposition, and apply whatever is in connection; for as already said their thought is kept closed and immersed in terms, and thus in sensuous things, so that it cannot look around. This is the reason why the learned believe less than the simple, and are even less wise in heavenly things; for the simple can look at a thing above terms and above mere knowledges, thus above sensuous things; whereas the learned cannot do so, but look at everything from terms and knowledges, their mind being fixed in these things, and thus bound as in jail or in prison.

AC 5090. Verses 5-8. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison house.  And Joseph came unto them in the morning, and saw them, and behold they were troubled.  And he asked Pharaoh‘s courtministers that were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore are your faces evil to-day?  And they said unto him, we have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray.  ”And they dreamed a dream both of them,“ signifies foresight concerning them; ”each his dream in one night,“ signifies concerning the event which to them was in obscurity; ”each according to the interpretation of his dream,“ signifies which they had in themselves; ”the butler and the baker,“ signifies concerning the sensuous things of both kinds; ”of the king of Egypt,“ signifies which were subordinate to the interior natural; ”who were bound in the prison house,“ signifies which were among falsities; ”and Joseph came unto them in the morning,“ signifies revealed and clear to the celestial of the natural; ”and saw them,“ signifies perception; ”and behold they were troubled,“ signifies that they were in a sad state; ”and he asked Pharaoh‘s courtministers,“ signifies the sensuous things in question; ”that were with him in the custody of his lord’s house,“ signifies which were rejected; ”saying, Wherefore are your faces evil today?“ signifies from what affection was this sadness; ”and they said unto him,“ signifies perception concerning these things; ”We have dreamed a dream,“ signifies prediction; ”and there is no interpreter of it,“ signifies that no one knows what is in them; ”and Joseph said unto them,“ signifies the celestial of the natural; ”Do not interpretations belong to God?“ signifies that the Divine is in these things; ”tell it me, I pray,“ signifies that it should be known.

AC 5091. And they dreamed a dream both of them.  That this signifies foresight concerning them, is evident from the signification of a ”dream,“ as being foresight (n. 3698); ”both of them,“ denotes the sensuous things of both kinds signified by ”the butler and the baker.“ That the dreams were concerning these things is plain from the following verses.  That a ”dream“ in the supreme sense denotes foresight, is because dreams which flow in immediately through heaven from the Lord foretell things to come.  Such were the dreams of Joseph, the dreams of the butler and the baker, the dream of Pharaoh, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and prophetic dreams in general.  The things to come which are foretold by such dreams are from no other source than the Lord‘s Divine foresight.  Hence also it may be known that all things both in general and in particular are foreseen.

AC 5092. Each his dream in one night.  That this signifies concerning the event which to them was in obscurity, is evident from the signification of a ”dream,“ as being foresight, and hence prediction, and because it signifies prediction, it also signifies the event, for prediction is concerning the event; and from the signification of ”night,“ as being obscurity. ”Night“ in the spiritual sense signifies a state of shade brought on by falsity from evil (n. 1712, 2353), thus also obscurity, namely, of the mind.  The obscurity of night in the world is natural obscurity; but the obscurity of night in the other life is spiritual obscurity. The former arises from the absence of the sun of this world and the deprivation of light therefrom, but the latter from the absence of the sun of heaven which is the Lord, and the deprivation of light (that is, of intelligence) therefrom.  This deprivation does not arise from the sun of heaven setting, like the sun of the world, but from a man or spirit being in falsity from evil, and removing himself, and thus bringing obscurity upon himself. from the mere idea of night and its obscurity in both senses, it is evident how the spiritual sense stands relatively to the natural sense of this same thing.  Moreover spiritual obscurity is threefold, one kind being from the falsity of evil, the second from ignorance of truth, and the third is that of exterior things relatively to interior things, thus of the sensuous things of the external man relatively to the rational things of the internal man.  All these kinds of obscurity however, arise from the fact that the light of heaven (or intelligence and wisdom from the Lord) is not received; for this light is continually flowing in, but it is rejected, suffocated, or perverted by the falsity of evil; is but little received by ignorance of truth; and is dulled by being made general by the sensuous things of the external man.

AC 5093. Each according to the interpretation of his dream. That this signifies which they had in themselves (namely, the event), is evident from the signification of the ”interpretation of a dream,“ as being the unfolding of it, and hence the knowledge of the event, thus the event which they had in themselves.  That a ”dream“ denotes the event may be seen just above (n. 5092).

AC 5094. The butler and the baker.  That this signifies concerning the sensuous things of both kinds, is evident from the signification of a ”butler,“ as being the sensuous subordinate to the intellectual part (n. 5077); and from the signification of a ”baker,“ as being the sensuous subordinate to the will part (n. 5078).  That these were rejected by the interior natural has been said above (n. 5083, 5089). Be it known however that it was not the sensuous things themselves--namely, those of the sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch--that were rejected, for from these the body lives; but it was the views or thoughts, and also the affections and desires, from them. Objects from the world enter into the external or natural memory of man through these sensuous things on the one hand, and objects through rational things on the other. These objects separate themselves in his memory.  Those which have entered through rational things take a more interior place, but those which have entered through the sensuous things have a more exterior place; hence as before said the natural becomes twofold, interior and exterior.

[2] The interior natural is what is represented by Pharaoh the king of Egypt, but the exterior natural by the butler and the baker. What the difference is may be seen from their respective views of things, or thoughts, and the conclusions thence derived.  One who thinks and concludes from the interior natural is so far rational as he imbibes what enters through the rational; but one who thinks and concludes from the exterior natural, is so far sensuous as he imbibes what enters from sensuous things.  Such a man is also called a sensuous man, but the other a rational man.  When a man dies he takes with him all the natural; and such as it has been formed with him in the world, such it remains; in so far as he has become imbued with what is from the rational, in so far he is rational; and in so far as he has become imbued with what is from the sensuous, so far he is sensuous.  The difference is that in so far as the natural has drawn and appropriated to itself what is from the rational, so far it looks at as beneath itself the sensuous things of the exterior natural, and in so far it has dominion over them, deeming worthless and rejecting the fallacies thence derived; whereas in so far as the natural has drawn and appropriated to itself anything from the sensuous things of the body, so far it looks at rational things as beneath itself, deeming them worthless and rejecting them.

[3] For example, the rational natural man can comprehend that man does not live from himself, but by an influx of life through heaven from the Lord; but the sensuous man cannot comprehend this, for he says that he plainly feels and perceives that life is in himself, and that it is idle to speak contrary to the evidence of the senses.  As another example: the rational natural man comprehends that there is a heaven and a bell, whereas the sensuous man denies this, because he does not apprehend that there is any purer world than that which he sees with his eyes.  The rational natural man comprehends that there are spirits and angels who are unseen; but the sensuous man does not comprehend this, supposing that to be nothing which he does not see and touch.

[4] As still another example: the rational natural man comprehends that it is the part of an intelligent man to look at ends, and to foresee and to dispose the means to some ultimate end.  When he looks at nature from the order of things, he sees that nature is a complex of means, and he then perceives that a Supreme Being of intelligence has disposed them; but to what ultimate end he does not see unless he becomes spiritual. On the other hand the sensuous man does not comprehend that there can be anything distinct from nature, thus neither that there can be any Entity which is above nature.  What it is to understand, to be wise, to look at ends, and to dispose means, he does not apprehend unless it is called natural; and when it is called natural, he has an idea of these operations like that which an artificer has of an automaton.  From these few instances it may be seen what is meant by the interior natural and the exterior natural, and also what by sensuous things being rejected; namely, not the rejection of the things of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, in the body, but of the conclusions therefrom concerning interior things.

AC 5095. Of the king of Egypt.  That this signifies which were subordinate to the interior natural, is evident from the representation of Pharaoh or the king of Egypt in this chapter, as being a new state of the natural (n. 5079, 5080), consequently the interior natural, for this was made new.  What the interior natural is, and what the exterior, may be seen just above (n. 5094). What is the nature of the internal sense in the historic and prophetic portions of the Word, must be briefly told.  Where several persons are mentioned in the historic senses--as here Joseph, Pharaoh, the prince of the guards, the butler and the baker--in the internal sense they indeed signify various things; but only in one person. The reason is that names signify things, as for instance Joseph here represents the Lord as to the celestial spiritual from the rational and also in the natural, Pharaoh represents Him as to the new state of the natural or as to the interior natural, the butler and the baker represent Him as to those things which are of the exterior natural. Such is the internal sense; and it is the same in other places, as where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned.  In the sense of the letter these are three persons, but in the supreme sense all three represent the Lord--Abraham the Divine Itself, Isaac the Divine intellectual, and Jacob His Divine natural.  It is the same in the prophets, where sometimes the narration consists of mere names, such as those of persons, kingdoms, or cities, and yet in the internal sense these names together present and describe one thing.  One who is not aware of this may easily be led away by the sense of the letter into thinking of a variety of things, and thus the idea of one thing is dissipated.

AC 5096. Who were bound in the prison house.  That this signifies which were among falsities, is evident from the signification of ”being bound in a prison house,“ as being to be among falsities (n. 4958, 5037, 5038, 5085).  They who are in falsities, and still more they who are in evils, are said to be ”bound,“ and in ”prison“-not that they are in any bond, but for the reason that they are not in freedom, for those who are not in freedom are interiorly bound.  For they who have confirmed themselves in falsity are no longer in any freedom to choose and receive truth; and they who have much confirmed themselves therein are not even in freedom to see truth, still less to acknowledge and believe it; for they are in the persuasion that falsity is truth, and truth falsity.  This persuasion is such that it takes away all freedom to think anything else, and consequently holds the very thought in bonds and as it were in prison.  This has become evident to me from much experience with those in the other life who have been in persuasion of falsity through confirmations in themselves.

[2] They are such as not at all to admit truths, but to reflect or strike them back again, and this with hardness according to the degree of the persuasion, especially when the falsity is from evil, or when evil has persuaded them.  These are they who are meant in the Lord’s parable in Matthew:--

Some seeds fell upon the hard way, and the birds came and devoured them (Matthew 13:4);

the ”seeds“ are Divine truths; the ”hard rock“ is persuasion; the ”birds“ are principles of falsity.  They who are such do not even know that they are in bonds or in prison, for they are affected with their own falsity, and love it for the sake of the evil from which it springs; hence they suppose that they are in freedom, for whatever is of the affection or love appears free.  But they who are not in confirmed falsity--that is, in the persuasion of falsity--easily admit truths, and see and choose them, and are affected with them, and afterward see falsities as it were beneath themselves, and also see how they who are in the persuasion of falsity are bound.  These are in so much freedom that in view and thought they can as it were range through the whole heaven to innumerable truths; but no one can be in this freedom unless he is in good; for from good man is in heaven, and in heaven truths appear from good.

AC 5097. And Joseph came unto them in the morning.  That this signifies revealed and clear to the celestial of the spiritual, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (n. 4286, 4592, 4963); and from the signification of ”morning,“ as being a state of enlightenment, (n. 3458), thus what is revealed and clear. That ”morning“ has this signification is because all times of the day, like all times of the year, signify various states in accordance with the variations of the light of heaven. The variations of the light of heaven are not variations like those of the light of the world every day and every year, but are variations of intelligence and love; for the light of heaven is nothing else than Divine intelligence from the Lord, which is bright before the eyes; and the heat of this light is the Lord‘s Divine love, which is warm to the sense.  It is this light which gives man understanding, and this heat which gives him vital warmth and a will of good.  Morning in heaven is a state of enlightenment as to those things which are of good and truth, which state exists when it is acknowledged, and still more when it is perceived, that good is good and that truth is truth. Perception is internal revelation; hence by the ”morning“ is signified what is revealed; and because then that becomes clear which before was obscure, by ”morning“ is also signified what is clear.

[2] Moreover by ”morning“ is signified in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, for the reason that the Lord is the Sun from which comes all the light in heaven, and He is always in the rising, thus in the morning.  Moreover He is always rising with everyone who receives the truth which is of faith and the good which is of love, but He is setting with everyone who does not receive these-not that the Sun there sets, for as just said He is always in the rising; but that he who does not receive, causes Him as it were to set with himself.  This may be compared in some degree to the changes of the sun of this world in respect to the inhabitants of the earth; for neither does this sun set, since it always remains in its place and is always shining thence; but it appears as if it set, because the earth rotates about its axis once every day, and at the same time removes its inhabitant from the sight of the sun (n. 5084); and therefore the setting is not in the sun, but in the removal of the inhabitant of the earth from its light.  This comparison is illustrative; and because in every part of nature there is something representative of the Lord’s kingdom, it also instructs us that the deprivation of the light of heaven- that is, of intelligence and wisdom-does not take place because the Lord, who is the Sun of intelligence and wisdom, sets with anyone, but because the inhabitant of His kingdom removes himself, that is, suffers himself to be led by the hell by which he is removed.

AC 5098. And saw them.  That this signifies perception, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being to understand and perceive (n. 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723).

AC 5099. And behold they were troubled.  That this signifies that they were in a sad state, is evident without explication.

AC 5100. And he asked Pharaoh‘s courtministers.  That this signifies the sensuous things in question, is evident from the signification of ”Pharaoh’s courtministers,“ as being the sensuous things of both kinds-those which are subordinate to the intellectual part, and those which are subordinate to the will part (n. 5081).

AC 5101. That were with him in the custody of his lord‘s house. That this signifies which were rejected, is evident from the signification of ”being given into custody,“ thus of ”being in custody,“ as being to be in a state of rejection (n. 5083).

AC 5102. Saying, wherefore are your faces evil today?  That this signifies from what affection was this sadness, is evident from the signification of ”faces,“ as being the interiors (n. 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 4797), thus the affections.  For the interiors of man from which come the thoughts which are also interiors, are the affections; because as these are of his love, they are of his life.  It is known that with those who are in innocence the affections are presented visibly in the face; and as the affections are so presented, so also are the thoughts in general, for these are the forms of the affections.  Hence regarded in itself the face is nothing else than a representative image of the interiors.  To the angels all faces appear thus, and not otherwise; for the angels do not see the faces of men in their material form, but in their spiritual form, that is, in the form which the affections and the derivative thoughts present.  These are what make the very face of man, as may be known from the fact that when the face is deprived of them it is a mere dead thing, and that the face has life from them, and is pleasing according to them The sadness of the affection, or ”from what affection is it,“ is signified by his saying ”Wherefore are your faces evil today?“

AC 5103. And they said unto him.  That this signifies perception concerning these things, is evident from the signification of ”saying“ in the historic parts of the Word, as being perception.

AC 5104. We have dreamed a dream.  That this signifies prediction, is evident from the signification of a ”dream,“ as being foresight, and hence prediction (n. 5091).

AC 5105. And there is no interpreter of it.  That this signifies that no one knows what is in them, is evident from the signification of an ”interpretation,“ as being an unfolding of what there is within (n. 5093), thus of what is in them.

AC 5106. And Joseph said unto them.  That this signifies the celestial of the natural, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the natural (n. 5086).

AC 5107. Do not interpretations belong to God?  That this signifies that the Divine is in these things, is evident from the signification of an ”interpretation,“ when predicated of dreams, as being that which is in them (n. 5105). The Divine is signified by ”God.“

AC 5108. Tell it me I pray. That this signifies that it should be known, is evident from the signification of ”tell it I pray,“ as involving that it be known; as is plain from the following verses.

AC 5109. Verses 9-13. And the prince of the butlers told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream behold a vine was before me; and in the vine were three shoots, and it was as though it budded, its blossom went up, and the clusters thereof ripened grapes. And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh‘s cup, and I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh. And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it; The three shoots three days are these. In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and shall bring thee back upon thy station, and thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.  ”And the prince of the butlers told his dream to Joseph,“ signifies that the celestial of the spiritual perceived the event concerning those things which were of the sensuous subject to the intellectual part, and which had hitherto been rejected; ”and said to him,“ signifies revelation from perception; ”In my dream,“ signifies prediction; ”behold a vine was before me,“ signifies the intellectual part; ”and in the vine were three shoots,“ signifies the derivations thence even to the last; ”and it was as though it budded,“ signifies the influx by which the rebirth is effected; ”its blossom went up,“ signifies the state near regeneration; ”and the clusters thereof ripened grapes,“ signifies conjunction of spiritual truth with celestial good; ” and Pharaoh‘s cup was in my hand,“ signifies the influx of the interior natural into the exterior, and the beginning of reception; ”and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup,“ signifies reciprocal influx into the goods from a spiritual origin there; ”and I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh,“ signifies appropriation by the interior natural; ”and Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it,“ signifies revelation from perception from the celestial in the natural as to what it had in itself; ”the three shoots three days are these,“ signifies continuous derivations down to the last one; ”in yet three days,“ signifies that there would then be a new state; ”shall Pharaoh lift up thy head,“ signifies what is provided, and hence what is concluded; ”and shall bring thee back upon thy station,“ signifies that the things which are of the sensuous subject to the intellectual part would be reduced into order, that they might be in the last place; ”and thou shalt give Pharaoh‘s cup into his hand,“ signifies that thereby they may serve the interior natural; ”after the former manner,“ signifies in accordance with the law of order; ”when thou wast his butler,“ signifies as is usual with sensuous things of this kind.

AC 5110. And the prince of the butlers told his dream to Joseph.  That this signifies that the celestial of the spiritual perceived the event concerning the things of the sensuous subject to the intellectual part and which had hitherto been rejected, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (n. 4286, 4585, 4592, 4594, 4963); and from the signification of a ”dream,“ as being foresight and hence the event (n. 5091, 5092, 5104), thus the event that was foreseen or perceived; and from the signification of the ”prince of the butlers,“ as being the sensuous subject to the intellectual part in general (n. 5077, 5082).  That it was rejected is meant by his being in custody (n. 5083, 5101). From these things it is plain that such is the internal sense of these words.  Moreover that Joseph, by whom is represented the celestial of the spiritual perceived the event, is evident from the verses that follow.

[2] It is said, ”the celestial of the spiritual,“ and thereby is meant the Lord; the same may also be said abstractedly of Him, because He is the celestial itself and the spiritual itself, that is, good itself and truth itself.  As regards man, these cannot indeed be conceived of abstractedly from person, because what is natural is adjoined to everything of his thought; nevertheless, when we consider that everything in the Lord is Divine, and that the Divine is above all thought, and altogether incomprehensible even to the angels, consequently if we then abstract that which is comprehensible, there remains being and coming-forth itself, which is the celestial itself and the spiritual itself, that is, good itself and truth itself.

[3] Nevertheless as man is such that he can have no idea of thought whatever about abstract things unless he adjoins something natural which has entered from the world through the senses (for without some such natural thing his thought perishes as in an abyss and is dissipated), therefore lest what is Divine should perish in man when he is wholly immersed in bodily and earthly things, and with whomsoever it remained it should be defiled by an unclean idea, and together with what is Divine everything celestial and spiritual thence derived should also perish, it pleased Jehovah to present Himself such as He actually is, and such as He appears in heaven, namely, as a Divine Man.  For everything of heaven conspires to the human form, as may be seen from what has been shown at the end of the chapters concerning the correspondence of all things of man with the Grand Man, which is heaven.  This Divine, or this of Jehovah in heaven, is the Lord from eternity.  The same the Lord took also upon Him when He glorified or made Divine the human in Himself, as is very evident from the form in which He appeared before Peter, James, and John, when He was transfigured (Matt. 17:1, 2); and also in which He at times appeared to the prophets.  It is from this that everyone is able to think of the Divine Itself as of a Man, and at the same time of the Lord, in whom is all the Divine, and a perfect Trinity, for in the Lord the Divine Itself is the Father, this Divine in heaven is the Son, and the Divine thence proceeding is the Holy Spirit.  That these are a one, as He Himself teaches, is hence manifest.

AC 5111. And said to him.  That this signifies revelation from perception, is evident from the signification of ”saying“ in the historic parts of the Word, as being perception (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509), thus also revelation, for this is internal perception, and is from perception.

AC 5112. In my dream.  That this signifies prediction, is evident from the signification of a ”dream,“ as being foresight and prediction therefrom (n. 5091, 5092, 5104).

AC 5113. Behold, a vine was before me.  That this signifies the intellectual part, is evident from the signification of a ”vine,“ as being the intellectual part in the spiritual church, of which hereafter. As by the ”butler“ is signified the sensuous subject to the intellectual part, and as the influx of the intellectual into the sensuous subordinate thereto is here treated of, therefore in the dream there appeared a vine with shoots, blossom, clusters, and grapes, by which is described influx and the rebirth of this sensuous. As regards the intellectual of the spiritual church, be it known that where this church is described in the Word, its intellectual part is everywhere treated of, for the reason that it is the intellectual part which in the man of this church is regenerated and becomes a church.

[2] For there are in general two churches, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial church is with the man who can be regenerated or become a church as to the will part; and the spiritual church is with the man who, as just said, can be regenerated only as to the intellectual part. The Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, was celestial, because with those who belonged to it there was some wholeness in the will part; but the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, was spiritual, because with those who belonged to it there was not anything whole in the will part, but only in the intellectual part. For this reason where the spiritual church is treated of in the Word, its intellectual part is chiefly treated of (n. 640, 641, 765, 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2124, 2256, 2669, 4328, 4493). That with those who are of the spiritual church it is the intellectual part that is regenerated, may be seen also from the fact that the man of this church has no perception of truth from good, as had they who were of the celestial church; but must first learn the truth which is of faith, and become imbued with what is intellectual, and thus from truth learn what is good; and after he has thus learned it, he is able to think it, and then to will it, and at last to do it; and then a new will is formed in him by the Lord in the intellectual part. By this new will the spiritual man is elevated by the Lord into heaven, evil still remaining in the will that is proper to him; which will is then miraculously separated, and this by a higher force, whereby he is withheld from evil and kept in good.

[3] But the man of the celestial church was regenerated as to the will part, by being imbued from infancy with the good of charity; and when he had attained to a perception of this, he was led into the perception of love to the Lord, whereby all the truths of faith appeared to him in the intellect as in a mirror.  The understanding and the will made in him a mind wholly one; for by the things in the understanding it was perceived what was in the will.  In this consisted the wholeness of that first ”man“ by whom the celestial church is signified.

[4] That a ”vine“ is the intellectual part of the spiritual church is evident from many other passages in the Word; as in Jeremiah:--

What hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? and yet I had planted thee a wholly noble vine, a seed of truth; how then art thou turned to Me into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine? (Jer. 2:18, 21);

speaking of Israel, by whom is signified the spiritual church (n. 3654, 4286).  ”Egypt“ and ”the waters of Shihor“ denote memory-knowledges which pervert (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462); ”Assyria“ and ”the waters of the river“ denote reasoning from these knowledges against the good of life and the truth of faith (n. 119, 1186); a ”noble vine“ denotes the man of the spiritual church, who is called a ”vine“ from the intellectual part; the ”degenerate shoots of a strange vine“ denote the man of the perverted church.

[5] In Ezekiel:--

A riddle and a parable concerning the house of Israel. A great eagle took of the seed of the land, and placed it in a field of sowing; it budded and became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its shoots looked back toward her, and the roots thereof were under her; so it became a vine that made shoots, and sent forth sprigs to the eagle. This vine applied its roots, and sent its shoots toward her, in a good field by many waters. It was planted that it might make a branch, that it might be for a vine of magnificence (Ezek. 17:2, 3, 5-8).

The ”eagle“ denotes the rational (n. 3901); the ”seed of the land“ denotes the truth of the church (n. 1025, 1447, 1610; 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310, 3373); its ”becoming a luxuriant vine“ and a ”vine of magnificence“ denotes becoming a spiritual church, which is called a ”vine“ from the wine thence produced, which signifies spiritual good or the good of charity from whence comes the truth of faith, implanted in the intellectual part.

[6] In the same:--

Thy mother was like a vine, in thy likeness, planted by the waters; a fruitful one, and made full of branches by reason of many waters; whence she had rods of strength for the scepter of them that bear rule; and its stature lifted itself above among the tangled boughs, and appeared in its height in the multitude of shoots (Ezek. 19:10, 11);

also said of Israel, by whom is signified the spiritual church, which is compared to a ”vine“ for a reason like that mentioned just above.  In this passage are described its derivations in the natural man even to the last, namely, to memory-knowledges from the senses, which are the ”tangled boughs“ (n. 2831).

[7] In Hosea:--

I will be as the dew to Israel; his branches shall go, and his honor shall be as the olive’s, and his odor as Lebanon‘s.  They that dwell in his shadow shall return; they shall vivify the corn, and blossom as the vine; his memory shall be as the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? (Hosea 14:5-8);

”Israel“ denotes the spiritual church, whose blossoming is compared to a ”vine,“ and its memory to the ”wine of Lebanon,“ from the good of faith implanted in the intellectual part; ”Ephraim“ is the intellectual part in the spiritual church (n. 3969).

[8] In Zechariah:--

The remains of the people; the seed of peace; the vine shall give her fruit, and the earth shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew (Zech. 8:11, 12);

the ”remains of the people“ denote truths stored up by the Lord in the interior man (n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284); the ”seed of peace“ denotes good there; the ”vine,“ the intellectual part.

[9] In Malachi:--

I will rebuke for you him that consumeth, that he corrupt not for you the fruit of the land; neither shall the vine be bereaved for you in the field (Mal. 3:11);

the ”vine“ denotes the intellectual part; the vine is said ”not to be bereaved“ when the intellectual part is not deprived of the truths and goods of faith; on the other hand it is said to be ”empty“ when there are falsities therein and consequent evils; as in Hosea:--

Israel is an empty vine, be maketh fruit like himself (Hosea 10:1).

[10] In Moses:--

He shall bind his ass’s colt unto the vine, and the son of his ass unto the choice vine, after he hath washed his clothing in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes (Gen. 49:11);

from the prophecy of Jacob, then Israel, about his twelve sons, here about Judah, by whom is represented the Lord (n. 3881).  The ”vine“ here denotes the intellectual part in the spiritual church, and the ”choice vine,“ the intellectual part in the celestial church.

[11] In David:--

Jehovah, Thou hast made to come forth a vine out of Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it. Thou didst cleanse before it, and didst cause its roots to be rooted so that it filled the land. The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, and the cedars of God with the boughs. Thou hast sent forth the shoots thereof even to the sea, and the little branches thereof to the Euphrates. The boar out of the forest trampleth it, and the wild beast of the field grazeth it down (Ps.  80:8-11, 13);

the ”vine out of Egypt“ in the supreme sense denotes the Lord, the glorification of His Human being described by it and its shoots.  In the internal sense the ”vine“ here is the spiritual church, and also the man of this church, such as he is when made new or regenerated by the Lord as to the intellectual and will parts. The ”boar in the forest“ is the falsity, and the ”wild beast of the fields“ the evil, which destroy the church as to faith in the Lord.

[12] In the Revelation:--

The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and vintaged the vine of the earth; and cast it into the great winepress of the anger of God; the winepress was trodden outside the city, and there came forth blood out of the winepress even to the horses‘ bridles (Rev. 14:19, 20);

”to vintage the vine of the earth“ denotes to destroy the intellectual part in the church; and because this is signified by the ”vine,“ it is also said that ”there came forth blood out of the winepress even to the horses’ bridles;“ for by ”horses“ are signified intellectual things (n. 2761, 2762, 3217). In Isaiah:--

It shall come to pass in that day, that every place where there were a thousand vines for a thousand of silver, shall be for briars and brambles (Isa. 7:23).

Again:--

The inhabitants of the earth shall be burned, and man shall be left rare; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish (Isa. 24:6, 7).

Again:--

They shall beat themselves upon the paps for the fields of unmixed wine, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of My people come up thorn and briar (Isa. 32:12, 13).

In these passages the subject treated of is the vastation of the spiritual church as to the good and truth of faith, thus as to the intellectual part; for as before said the truth and good of faith are in the intellectual part of the man of this church.  Everyone can see that by a ”vine“ here is not meant a vine, nor by the ”earth“ the earth; but that they mean something of the church.

[13] As in the genuine sense a ”vine“ signifies the good of the intellectual part; and a ”fig-tree“ the good of the natural man, or what is the same, that a ”vine“ signifies the good of the interior man, and a ”fig-tree“ the good of the exterior man, therefore a ”fig-tree“ is often mentioned in the Word at the same time as a ”vine;“ as in the following passages:--

Consuming I will consume them; no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is fallen (Jer. 8:13).

Again:--

I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, which shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree (Jer. 5:15, 17).

In Hosea:--

I will lay waste her vine and her fig-tree (Hosea 2:12).

In Joel:--

A nation is come up upon My land, it hath reduced My vine into a waste, and My fig-tree into froth, stripping it hath stripped it, and cast it forth, the shoots thereof are made white; the vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth (Joel 1:6, 7, 12).

Again:--

Be not afraid ye beasts of My fields; for the dwelling places of the wilderness are become grassy; because the tree hath made its fruit, and the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength (Joel 2:22).

In David:--

He smote their vine and their fig-tree, and brake the tree of their border (Ps. 105:33).

In Habakkuk:--

The fig-tree shall not blossom, and no produce is in the vines (Habakkuk 3:17).

In Micah:--

Out of Zion shall go forth doctrine, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem; they shall sit everyone under his vine and under his fig-tree, and none maketh afraid (Micah 4:2, 4).

In Zechariah:--

In that day shall ye call a man to his fellow, under the vine and under the fig-tree (Zech. 3:10).

In the first book of Kings:--

In the time of Solomon there was peace from all the passes round about; and Judah and Israel dwelt in confidence, everyone under his vine and under his fig-tree (1 Kings 4:24, 25).

That a ”fig-tree“ is the good of the natural or exterior man, may be seen above (n. 217).

[14] That a ”vine“ is the intellectual part made new or regenerated by good from truth and by truth from good, is evident from the Lord‘s words to the disciples, after He had instituted the Holy Supper:--

I say to you, I will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29);

good from truth and truth from good, by which the intellectual part is made new, or man is made spiritual, are signified by the ”product of the vine,“ and the appropriation thereof by ”drinking.“ ”To drink“ is to appropriate, and it is predicated of truth, (n. 3168). That this is not done fully except in the other life, is signified by ”until that day when I shall drink it new with you in My Father‘s kingdom.“ That by the ”product of the vine“ is not meant must or wine, but something heavenly of the Lord’s kingdom, is very manifest.

[15] As the intellectual part in the spiritual man is made new and regenerated by truth which is from the Lord alone, therefore the Lord compares Himself to a ”vine,“ and those who are implanted in the truth which is from Him, and consequently in Him, He compares to the ”shoots,“ and the good therefrom to the ”fruit,“ in John:--

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser; every shoot in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; but every shoot that beareth fruit, He pruneth it, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the shoot cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the shoots; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing. This is My commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you (John 15:1, 2, 4, 5, 12).

[16] As in the supreme sense a ”vine“ signifies the Lord as to Divine truth, and hence in the internal sense the man of the spiritual church, therefore a ”vineyard“ signifies the spiritual church itself (n. 1069, 3220).  As the Nazirite represented the celestial man, who is regenerated through the good of love, and not through the truth of faith like the spiritual man, and who consequently is not regenerated as to the intellectual part, but as to the will part, therefore the Nazirite was forbidden to eat anything which came forth from the vine, thus was not to drink wine (Num. 6:3, 4; Judges 13:14); from this also it is evident that by the ”vine“ is signified the intellectual part that belongs to the spiritual man, as already shown.

[17] The Nazirite represented the celestial man, (n. 3301). Hence also it may be seen that it cannot possibly be known why the Nazirite was forbidden whatever came forth from the vine (not to mention many other things regarding him), unless it is known what the ”vine“ signifies in its own sense, and also unless it is known that there is a celestial church and a spiritual church, and that the man of the celestial church is regenerated in a manner different from the man of the spiritual church--the former by means of seed implanted in the will part, the latter by means of seed implanted in the intellectual part. Such are the arcana stored up in the internal sense of the Word.

AC 5114. And in the vine were three shoots.  That this signifies the derivations thence even to the last, is evident from the signification of the ”vine,“ as being the intellectual part (n. 5113); and from the signification of ”three,“ as being what is complete and continuous even to the end (n. 2788, 4495); and from the signification of ”shoots,“ as being derivations.  For as the ”vine“ is the intellectual part, the ”shoots“ are nothing else than derivations thence; and as ”three“ signifies what is continuous even to the end, or from the first even to the last, by ”three shoots“ are signified the derivations from the intellectual part down to the last, which is the sensuous; for the first in order is the intellectual part, and the last is the sensuous.  The intellectual part in general is the sight of the internal man, which sees from the light of heaven, which is from the Lord, and all that it sees is spiritual and celestial.  But the sensuous in general is of the external man, here the sensuous of the sight, because this corresponds and is subordinate to the intellectual; this sensuous sees from the light of the world, which is from the sun, and all that it sees is worldly, bodily, and earthly.

[2] There are in man derivations from the intellectual part, which is in the light of heaven, down to the sensuous, which is in the light of the world; unless this were so, the sensuous could not have any human life.  The sensuous of man has no life in consequence of seeing from the light of the world, for the light of the world has no life in it; but in consequence of seeing from the light of heaven, for this light has life in it.  When this light falls with man into those things which are from the light of the world, it vivifies them and causes him to see objects intellectually, thus as a man; and from this, by knowledges born from things he has seen and heard in the world, thus from things that have entered through the senses, man has intelligence and wisdom, and from these has civil, moral, and spiritual life.

[3] As regards the derivations specially, in man they are of such a nature that they cannot be briefly set forth They are steps or degrees as of a ladder between the intellectual part and the sensuous, but no one can apprehend these degrees unless he knows that they are most distinct from one another, so distinct that the interior can exist and subsist without the exterior, but not the exterior without the interior.  For example: the spirit of man can subsist without the material body, and also actually does so subsist when by death it is separated from the body. The spirit of man is in an interior degree, and the body is in an exterior degree.  It is similar with the spirit of man after death: if he is among the blessed, he is in the last degree among them when in the first heaven, in an interior degree when in the second, and in the inmost when in the third; and when he is in this, he is indeed at the same time in the rest, but these are quiescent in him, almost as the bodily part in man is quiescent in sleep, but with this difference, that with the angels the interiors are then in the highest wakefulness.  Therefore there are as many distinct degrees in man as there are heavens, besides the last, which is the body with its sensuous things.

[4] From this it may in some measure appear how the case is with the derivations from first to last, or from the intellectual part down to the sensuous.  The life of man, which is from the Lord‘s Divine, passes through these degrees from the inmost down to the last or ultimate degree, and in each degree it is derived from what is prior, becoming more and more general, and in the ultimate degree most general.  The derivations in the lower degrees are merely compositions, or rather combinations (conformationes), of the singulars and particulars of the higher degrees in succession, together with an addition from purer nature, and then from grosser nature, of such things as may serve for containing vessels; and if these vessels are decomposed, the singulars and particulars of the interior degrees, which had been combined therein, return to the degree next higher.  And as with man there is a connection with the Divine, and his inmost is of such a nature that he can receive the Divine, and not only receive it, but also make it his own by acknowledgment and affection, thus by reciprocation, he therefore can never die, because he has thus been implanted in the Divine, and is therefore in what is eternal and infinite, not merely through the influx thence, but also through the reception of it.

[5] From this it may be seen how unlearnedly and inanely those think about man who compare him to the brute animals, and believe that he will not live after death any more than they--not considering that with the brute animals there is no reception, nor through acknowledgment and affection any reciprocal appropriation, of the Divine, and consequent conjunction with it; and not considering that in consequence of the state of animals being of this nature, the recipient forms of their life cannot but be dissipated; for with them the influx passes through their organic forms down into the world, and there terminates and vanishes, and never returns.

AC 5115. And it was as though it budded.  That this signifies the influx by which the rebirth is effected, is evident from the signification of ”budding,“ or producing leaves and afterward blossoms, as being the first of rebirth.  The reason why influx is signified is that when man is being reborn, spiritual life flows into him, exactly as when a tree is budding its life flows in through the heat from the sun.  He who is born a man is in the Word occasionally compared to the subjects of the vegetable kingdom, especially to trees; and this because the whole vegetable kingdom, as well as the animal kingdom, represents such things as are in man, and consequently such as are in the Lord’s kingdom; for man is a heaven in the least form, as is evident from what has been shown at the end of the chapters concerning the correspondence of man with the Grand Man, or heaven.  Hence also the ancients called man a microcosm; and they might also have called him a little heaven had they known more about the state of heaven. Universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord‘s kingdom, (n. 2758, 3483, 4939).

[2] But it is especially the man who is being born anew, that is, who is being regenerated by the Lord, who is called a heaven; for he is then implanted in the Divine good and truth which are from the Lord, and consequently in heaven. For the man who is being reborn begins like a tree from seed (and therefore the truth which is from good is signified by ”seed“ in the Word); and also like a tree he produces leaves, then blossoms, and finally fruit; for he produces such things as are of intelligence, which in the Word are signified by ”leaves,“ then such things as are of wisdom, which are signified by ”blossoms,“ and finally such things as are of life, that is, the goods of love and charity in act, which in the Word are signified by ”fruits.“ Such is the representative likeness between the fruit-bearing tree and the man who is being regenerated, insomuch that if anything is known about spiritual good and truth, the nature of regeneration may be learned from a tree.  From this it is evident that by the ”vine“ in this dream is representatively described the full process of the rebirth of man as to the sensuous subject to the intellectual part; first by the three shoots, then by the budding, next by the blossoms, afterward by the ripening of the clusters into grapes, and finally by their being pressed into Pharaoh’s cup and given to him.

[3] Moreover the dreams which flow in through heaven from the Lord, never appear otherwise than according to representatives. He therefore who does not know what this or that thing in nature represents, and especially he who is quite unaware that anything is representative, cannot but believe that these representatives are merely comparisons, such as everyone uses in common speech.  They indeed are comparisons, but such as correspond, and are therefore actually presented to view in the world of spirits, when the angels in an interior heaven are conversing about the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord‘s kingdom. In regard to dreams, (n. 1122, 1975, 1977, 1979-1981).

AC 5116. Its blossom went up.  That this signifies the state near regeneration, is evident from the signification of the ”blossom“ that buds forth from the tree before the fruit, as being the state before regeneration.  As just said (n. 5115), the budding and fruiting of a tree represent the rebirth of man--its becoming green from the leaves represents the first state; the blossoming the second, which is the next before regeneration; and the fruiting the third, which is the very state of the regenerate.  It is from this that ”leaves“ signify the things of intelligence, or the truths of faith (n. 885), for these are the first things of the rebirth or regeneration; while ”blossoms“ signify the things of wisdom, or the goods of faith, because these immediately precede the rebirth or regeneration; and ”fruits“ signify those things which are of life, or the works of charity, because these follow and constitute the very state of the regenerate.

[2] That such things exist in the vegetable kingdom is owing to the influx of the spiritual world.  This however cannot be believed by those who attribute all things to nature, and nothing to the Divine; whereas they who attribute all things to the Divine, and nothing to nature, are permitted to see not only that everything is from the Divine, but also that everything has a correspondence, and is therefore representative; and finally they are permitted to see that universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord’s kingdom; thus that the Divine is in every particular of nature, insomuch that nature is a representation of the eternal and the infinite--of the eternal from propagation even to eternity, of the infinite from the multiplication of seeds to infinity. Such endeavors could never have existed in everything in the vegetable kingdom unless the Divine continually flowed in; for from influx comes endeavor, from endeavor energy, and from energy effect.

[3] They who attribute all things to nature say that such things were imparted to fruits and seeds at their first creation, and that from the energy thence received they are afterward impelled of themselves to such activities; but they do not consider that subsistence is a perpetual coming into existence, or what is similar, that propagation is perpetual creation; neither do they consider that the effect is the continuation of the cause, and that when the cause ceases, the effect also ceases, and consequently that without a continual influx of the cause, every effect instantly perishes; nor do they consider that what is unconnected with a first of all things, consequently with the Divine, is instantly annihilated, because the prior must be continually in the posterior in order that the posterior may exist.

[4] If they who attribute all things to nature and little or nothing to the Divine, considered these things, they too could acknowledge that each and all things in nature represent such things as are in the spiritual world, consequently such as are in the Lord‘s kingdom, where the Divine of the Lord is most nearly represented.  For this reason it was said that the influx is from the spiritual world; but it is meant that the influx is through the spiritual world from the Lord’s Divine.  The reason why natural men do not consider such things is that they are not willing to acknowledge them; for they are in earthly and bodily things, and hence in a life of the love of self and of the world, and therefore are in inverted order relatively to those things which are of the spiritual world or of heaven, and from an inverted state it is impossible to see such things; for they see the things which are below as if they were above, and the things which are above as if they were below; and therefore when in the other life such persons are seen in the light of heaven, they appear with the head downward and the feet upward.

[5] Who among them is there that sees trees and other plants in blossom, and deems that this is as it were their gladness because they are now producing fruits or seeds?  They see that blossoms precede, and that they last until they have in their bosoms the beginnings of the fruit or seed, and thereby convey into these beginnings their sap; and if they knew anything about the rebirth or regeneration of man (or rather, if they desired to know), they would from this likeness see in the flowers a representative of the state of man before regeneration, namely, that man then blossoms in like manner from the good of intelligence and wisdom, that is, is in interior gladness and beauty, because he is then in the effort to implant in the life the goods of intelligence and wisdom, that is, to produce fruits. That this state is of such a nature cannot even be known, because the nature of the interior gladness and beauty which are thus represented is utterly unknown to those who are solely in the gladness of the love of the world and the delights of the love of self.  This gladness and these delights cause those which are interior to appear to such persons so utterly joyless and undelightful that they hold them in aversion; and the result of this is that they reject them as trivial, or of no value, and therefore deny them, and at the same time deny that what is spiritual and celestial is anything.  From this comes the insanity of the present age, which is believed to be wisdom.

AC 5117. And the clusters thereof ripened grapes.  That this signifies the conjunction of spiritual truth with celestial good, is evident from the signification of ”ripening,“ as being the progress of rebirth or regeneration even to the conjunction of truth with good, and thus conjunction; and from the signification of ”clusters,“ as being the truth of spiritual good; and from the signification of ”grapes,“ as being the good of celestial truth; here both of these in that sensuous which is represented by the butler. The conjunction of these in the sensuous is similar to the ripening of clusters into grapes; for in the rebirth, or regeneration, all truth tends to conjunction with good, truth not receiving life previously to such conjunction, consequently not being made fruitful.  This is represented in the fruits of trees when they are ripening.  In unripe fruits, which here are the ”clusters,“ is represented the state when truth still predominates; but in the ripe fruits, which are the ”grapes,“ is represented the state when good has the predominance, the predominance of good being represented also in the flavor and sweetness which are perceived in ripe grapes.  But concerning the conjunction of truth with good in the sensuous which is subject to the intellectual part, further particulars cannot be given, for they are secrets too deep for apprehension, and it is necessary for knowledges about the state of the celestial of the spiritual, and about this sensuous, to come first, and also about the state of the natural in which this conjunction comes into existence.

[2] That ”grapes“ signify the good of the spiritual man, thus charity, is evident from many passages in the Word; as in Isaiah:--

My well beloved had a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil; he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isa. 5:1, 2, 4);

where a ”vineyard“ denotes the spiritual church; his ”looking that it should bring forth grapes“ denotes the goods of charity; and its ”bringing forth wild grapes,“ the evils of hatred and revenge.

[3] Again:--

Thus hath said Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it (Isa. 65:8);

the ”new wine in the cluster“ denotes truth from good in the natural.

[4] In Jeremiah:--

Gathering I will gather them, saith Jehovah; no grapes in the vine, nor figs in the fig-tree (Jer. 8:13);

there being ”no grapes in the vine“ denotes that there is no interior or rational good, and ”no figs in the fig-tree,“ that there is no exterior or natural good; for a ”vine“ is the intellectual part (n. 5113); and when the conjunction of truth and good is therein, a ”vine“ is the rational, for the rational is thence. A ”fig-tree“ is the good of the natural or exterior man, (n. 217).

[5] In Hosea:--

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree in its beginning (Hosea 9:10);

”grapes in the wilderness“ denote rational good not yet made spiritual; the ”first-ripe in the fig-tree“ denotes natural good in like manner; ”Israel“ denotes the ancient spiritual church in its beginning (”fathers“ in this and other passages not being the sons of Jacob, but those with whom the Ancient Church was first set up).

[6] In Micah:--

There is no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first-ripe.  The holy is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men (Micah 7:1, 2);

the ”cluster to eat“ denotes the good of charity in its beginning; ”the first-ripe,“ the truth of faith also at that time.

[7] In Amos:--

Behold the days come that the ploughman shall reach the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that draweth the seed; and the mountains shall drop new wine, and all the hills shall melt.  And I will bring back the captivity of My people, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and shall settle and plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; and they shall make clusters, and eat the fruit of them (Amos 9:13, 14);

it treats here of the setting up of a spiritual church, which is thus described--the conjunction of spiritual good with its truth by the ”ploughman reaching the reaper;“ and the conjunction of spiritual truth with its good by the ”treader of grapes reaching him that draweth the seed;“ the goods of love and charity therefrom are signified by the ”mountains dropping new wine and the hills melting;“ ”bringing back the captivity of the people“ denotes deliverance from falsities; ”building the waste cities“ denotes rectifying the falsified doctrinals of truth; ”inhabiting them and planting vineyards“ denotes cultivating those things which are of the spiritual church; ”drinking the wine thereof,“ appropriating the truths of that church which are of charity; and ”making clusters and eating the fruit of them,“ appropriating the goods thence derived.  Everyone can see that ”building cities,“ ”planting vineyards,“ ”drinking wine,“ ”making clusters,“ and ”eating the fruit of them,“ are merely natural things, in which there would be nothing Divine unless they contained a spiritual sense.

[8] In Moses:--

He hath washed his clothing in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes (Gen. 49:11);

speaking of the Lord; ”wine“ denotes spiritual good from the Divine love; the ”blood of grapes,“ celestial good therefrom.

[9] Again:--

Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and the blood of the grape thou drinkest unmixed (Deut. 32:14);

speaking of the Ancient Church, whose goods of love and charity are thus described, and each expression signifies some specific good:  the ”blood of the grape,“ spiritual celestial good, the Divine in heaven proceeding from the Lord being so called.  Wine is called the ”blood of grapes“ because both expressions signify holy truth proceeding from the Lord; but ”wine“ is predicated of the spiritual church, and ”blood“ of the celestial church, and for this reason wine was enjoined in the Holy Supper.

[10] Again:--

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; the grapes thereof are grapes of gall, they have clusters of bitternesses (Deut. 32:32);

speaking of the Jewish Church, their ”vine being of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah“ denotes the intellectual part beset by falsities from infernal love; ”the grapes thereof grapes of gall“ and ”their having clusters of bitternesses,“ denotes that it was similar with the will part therein. For as in a good sense a ”grape“ signifies charity, it is predicated of the will part, but of the will part within the intellectual part; and similarly in the opposite sense, because all truth is of the understanding and all good is of the will.

[11] In the Revelation:--

The angel said, Put forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe (Rev. 14:18);

”to gather the clusters of the earth“ denotes to destroy all things of charity.

[12] In Matthew:--

By their fruits ye shall know them. Do they gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:16).

And in Luke:--

Every tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns they do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush do they gather the grape (Luke 6:44).

As charity toward the neighbor is treated of in these passages, it is said that they should be ”known by their fruits,“ which are the goods of charity; the internal goods of charity being ”grapes,“ and the external ”figs.“

[13] The law enacted in the Jewish Church:--

When thou comest into thy companion‘s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes according to thy soul, to thy fill; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel (Deut. 23:24);

involves that everyone associating with others who are in a different doctrine and religion may learn and accept their goods of charity, but may not become imbued with them and conjoin them with his own truths. As a ”vineyard“ denotes the church, it denotes where there is doctrine or religion; ”grapes“ are the goods of charity; and a ”vessel“ is the truth of the church.

AC 5118. And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand.  That this signifies the influx of the interior natural into the exterior, and the beginning of reception, is evident from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095); and from the representation of the butler, as being the exterior natural (n. 5077, 5082); ”in my hand“ meaning with him; and from the signification of a ”cup,“ as being that which contains, and also at the same time that which is contained (n. 5120). Hence, and from the series of things in the internal sense, by ”Pharaoh‘s cup was in my hand“ is signified the influx of the interior natural into the exterior, and the beginning of reception therein. What the interior natural is, and what the exterior, has been stated above, namely, that the interior natural is that which communicates with the rational and into which the rational flows, and the exterior natural is that which communicates with the senses, or through them with the world, thus into which the world flows.  As regards influx, it is continuous from the Lord through the rational into the interior natural, and through this into the exterior; but that which flows in is changed and turned according to the reception.  With the unregenerate, goods are there turned into evils, and truths into falsities; but with the regenerate, goods and truths are there presented as in a mirror.  For the natural is like a face representative of the spiritual things of the internal man; and this face becomes representative when the exteriors correspond to the interiors.  From this it may in some measure appear what is meant by the influx of the interior natural into the exterior, and by the beginning of reception therein.

AC 5119. And I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup. That this signifies reciprocal influx into the goods from a spiritual origin there, is evident from the signification of ”grapes,“ as being the goods of charity (n. 5117), thus goods from a spiritual origin, for all the goods of genuine charity are from this source; and from the signification of ”pressing into Pharaoh‘s cup,“ as being reciprocal influx.  By reciprocal influx it is not meant that the exterior natural flows into the interior, because this is impossible; for exterior things cannot possibly flow into interior things; or what is the same thing, lower or posterior things into higher and prior ones; but the rational calls forth the things which are in the interior natural, and by means of this the things which are in the exterior; not that the things themselves which are therein are called forth, but that which has been concluded or as it were extracted from them.  Such is the nature of reciprocal influx.  It appears as if the things which are in the world flow in through the senses toward the interiors, but this is a fallacy of sense; the influx is of interiors into exteriors, and by means of this influx, perception On these subjects I have at times conversed with spirits; and it was shown by living experience that the interior man sees and perceives in the exterior what is done outside of this, and that the sensuous has life from no other source, or that from no other source is the faculty of sense, or sensation. But this fallacy is of such a nature, and so great, that it can by no means be dispelled by the natural man, and not even by the rational unless this is able to think abstractedly from what is sensuous. These things are said in order that it may be known what reciprocal influx is.

AC 5120. And I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh. That this signifies appropriation by the interior natural, is evident from the signification of ”giving the cup“ (thus wine to drink), as being to appropriate. ”Drinking“ is the appropriation of truth, (n. 3168); and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095, 5118).  As is evident from what goes before, the subject here treated of is the regeneration of that sensuous which is subject to the intellectual part of the interior man (which sensuous is signified by the ”butler“), and consequently the influx of truth and good and their reception in the exterior natural; but as these things are far removed from the apprehension of those who have not any distinct idea about the rational and the natural, or about influx, no further explication is given.

[2] Moreover a ”cup“ is often mentioned in the Word, and by it in the genuine sense is signified spiritual truth, that is, the truth of faith which is from the good of charity the same as by ”wine;“ and in the opposite sense is signified the falsity by which comes evil, and also falsity from evil.  That a ”cup“ signifies the same as ”wine“ is because a cup is what contains, and wine is what is contained, and hence they constitute one thing, and therefore the one is meant by the other.

[3] That such is the signification of ”cup“ in’ the Word, is plain from the following passages:--

Jehovah, Thou wilt set in order a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou wilt make fat my head with oil; my cup will run over (Ps. 23:5);

”to set in‘ order a table and anoint the head with oil“ denotes being gifted with the good of charity and love; ”my cup will run over“ denotes that the natural is thence filled with spiritual truth and good.  Again:--

What shall I render unto Jehovah? I will take the cup of salvations, and call upon the name of Jehovah (Ps. 116:12, 13);

”to take the cup of salvations“ denotes the appropriation of the goods of faith.

[4] In Mark:--

Whosoever shall give you drink in a cup of water in My name, because ye are Christ’s, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward (Mark 9:41);

”to give drink in a cup of water in My name“ denotes instructing in the truths of faith from a little charity.

[5] In Matthew:--

Presently, taking the cup, and giving thanks, He gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood, that of the New Testament (Matthew 26:27, 28; Mark 14:23, 24; Luke 22:20).

It is said the ”cup“ and not the ”wine,“ because ”wine“ is predicated of the spiritual church, but ”blood“ of the celestial church, although both of these signify holy truth proceeding from the Lord; but in the spiritual church the holy of faith from charity toward the neighbor, and in the celestial church the holy of charity from love to the Lord.  The spiritual church is distinguished from the celestial in this, that the former is in charity toward the neighbor, while the latter is in love to the Lord; and the Holy Supper was instituted to represent and signify the Lord‘s love toward the whole human race, and the reciprocal love of man toward Him.

[6] As by ”cup“ was signified that which contained, and by ”wine“ that which was contained, consequently by ”cup“ man’s external, and by ”wine“ his internal, therefore the Lord said:--

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but the inner parts are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, and the outside will also become clean (Matt. 23:25, 26; Luke 11:39);

by a ”cup“ here also is meant in the internal sense the truth of faith, to cultivate which without its good is to ”cleanse the outside of the cup,“ especially when the interiors are full of hypocrisy, deceit, hatred, revenge, and cruelty; for then the truth of faith is only in the external man, and nothing at all of it is in the internal; and to cultivate and to become imbued with the good of faith causes truths to be conjoined with good in the interior man, in which case even fallacies are accepted as truths, as is signified by ”cleansing first the inside of the cup, and the outside will also become clean.“

[7] Likewise in Mark:--

Many other things there are which the Pharisees and the Jews have received to hold, as the baptizings of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and couches.  Forsaking the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the baptisms of pots and cups; and many other like things ye do. Ye renounce the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition (Mark 7:4, 8, 9).

[8] That by ”cup“ is signified in the opposite sense that falsity from which is evil, and also the falsity which is from evil, is evident from the following passages:--

Thus hath said Jehovah the God of Israel unto me, Take this cup of wine of anger from My hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it. And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.  Therefore I took the cup from Jehovah‘s hand, and made all the nations to drink unto whom Jehovah had sent me (Jer. 25:15-17, 28);

the ”cup of wine of anger“ denotes the falsity by which is evil.  The reason why the falsity by which is evil is signified, is that as wine intoxicates and makes insane, so does falsity, spiritual intoxication being nothing else than insanity brought on by reasonings about what is to be believed, when nothing is believed that is not apprehended; hence come falsities, and from falsities evils (n. 1072); and therefore it is said that ”they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send.“ The ”sword“ is falsity fighting against truth (n. 2799, 4499).

[9] In the book of Lamentations:--

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup shall pass through unto thee also; thou shalt he drunken and shalt be uncovered (Lamentations 4:21);

”to be drunken from the cup,“ denotes to be insane from falsities, and ”to be uncovered, or naked, without shame,“ the evil thence derived (n. 213, 214).

[10] In Ezekiel:--

Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore I will give her cup into thy hand. Thus hath said the Lord Jehovih, Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup, which is deep and wide; thou shalt be for laughter and mockery, large for holding; thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of thy sister Samaria, thou shalt both drink and press out, and thou shalt pulverise the potsherds thereof (Ezek. 23:31-34);

said of Jerusalem, by which is signified what is spiritual of the celestial church.  ”Cup“ here denotes falsity from evil; and because this vastates or destroys the church, it is called the ”cup of devastation and desolation.“ In Isaiah:--

Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of His‘ anger; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling (Isa. 51:17).

In Habakkuk:--

Drink thou also that thy foreskin be uncovered; the cup of Jehovah’s right hand shall come round unto thee, that shameful vomit be upon thy glory (Habakkuk 2:16).

In David:--

In the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and He hath mixed with wine, He hath filled with the mixture, and hath poured out therefrom; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall suck them out, and drink them (Ps. 75:8).

[11] In these passages also a ”cup“ denotes insanity from falsities and the evils thence derived. It is called the ”cup of the anger of jehovah,“ and also ”of the right hand of Jehovah,“ for the reason that the Jewish nation, like the common people, believed evils and the punishment of evils and falsities to come from no other source than Jehovah, when yet they are from the man himself, and from the infernal crew with him.  It is often stated in this way from the appearance and consequent belief; but the internal sense teaches how it should be understood, and what should be believed (n. 245, 592, 696, 1093, 1683, 1874, 1875, 2335, 2447, 3605, 3607, 3614).

[12] As a ”cup,“ like ”wine,“ signifies in the opposite sense the falsities through which come evils, and also falsities from evils, a ”cup“ signifies temptation also, because this takes place when falsity fights against truth, and consequently evil against good.  A ”cup“ is used to express and describe temptation in the following passage  Jesus prayed, saying, If Thou wilt that this cup pass from Me! nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done (Luke 22:42; Matt. 26:39, 42, 44; Mark 14:36); the ”cup“ here denotes temptation.  Likewise in John:--

Jesus said to Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath; the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:11).

And also in Mark:--

Jesus said to James and John, Ye know not what ye ask; can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said, We can. But Jesus said to them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized with shall ye be baptized (Mark 10:38, 39; Matt. 20:22, 23).

From this it is evident that a ”cup“ is temptation, because temptation arises through evils combating by means of falsities against goods and truths; for baptism signifies regeneration, and because this is effected by means of spiritual combats, therefore by ”baptism“ is at the same time signified temptation.

[13] In the directly opposite sense a ”cup“ signifies falsity from evil with those who are profane, that is, who inwardly are in what is contrary to charity, and outwardly counterfeit holiness; in which sense it is used in Jeremiah:--

Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah‘s hand, making the whole earth drunken; all nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad (Jer. 51:7);

”Babylon“ denotes those who are in external sanctity, and inwardly in what is profane (n. 1182, 1326); the falsity which they veil over with sanctity is the ”golden cup;“ ”making the whole earth drunken“ denotes that they lead those who are of the church (which is meant by the ”earth“) into errors and insanities.  The profane things which they hide under external sanctity are that they strive after nothing else than to be the greatest and wealthiest of all, and to be worshiped as gods, possessors of heaven and earth, by thus having dominion over the souls and bodies of men, and this by means of the Divine and holy things of which they make pretense. Hence as to the external man they appear like angels, but as to the internal they are devils.

[14] The like is said of Babylon in the Revelation  The woman was arrayed in crimson and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of her whoredom (Rev. 17:4). Again:--

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become a habitation of demons. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Render Unto her as she rendered unto you, in the cup which she mingled, mingle to her double (Rev. 18:2-4, 6).

Again:--

The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; remembrance of Babylon the great was made before God, to give to her the cup of the fury of God’s anger (Rev. 16:19).

Again:--

The third angel said with a great voice, If anyone worship the beast and his image, he shall drink of the wine of God‘s anger mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone (Rev. 14:9, 10).

AC 5121. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it.  That this signifies revelation from perception from the celestial in the natural as to what it had in itself, is evident from the signification of ”saying“ in the historic parts of the Word, as being perception (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3395, 3509), here revelation from perception, because said of a dream and its interpretation - all revelation being either from speech with angels through whom the Lord speaks, or from perception; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106); and from the signification of ”interpretation,“ as being what it had in itself (n. 5093, 5105, 5107). From this it is plain that by ”Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it“ is signified revelation from perception from the celestial in the natural as to what it had in itself.

[2] In regard to revelations being either from perception, or from speech with angels through whom the Lord speaks, it is to be known that they who are in good and thence in truth, and especially they who are in the good of love to the Lord, have revelation from perception; whereas they who are not in good and thence in truth, can indeed have revelations, yet not from perception, but through a living voice heard within them, and thus through angels from the Lord.  This revelation is external, but the former is internal. The angels, especially the celestial, have revelation from perception, as also had the men of the Most Ancient Church, and some too of the Ancient Church, but scarcely anyone at this day; whereas very many, even those who have not been in good, have had revelations from speech without perception, and also by means of visions or dreams.

[3] Such were most of the revelations of the prophets in the Jewish Church; they heard a voice, they saw a vision, and they dreamed a dream; but as they had no perception, these were merely verbal or visual revelations without any perception of what they signified.  For genuine perception comes through heaven from the Lord, and affects the intellect spiritually, and leads it perceptibly to think as the thing really is, together with internal assent, the source of which it knows not. It supposes that it is in itself, and that it flows from the connection of things; whereas it is a dictate through heaven from the Lord, flowing into the interiors of the thought, about such things as are above the natural and sensuous, that is, about such things as are of the spiritual world or of heaven.  From what has now been said it may be seen what revelation from perception is. But the revelation from perception which the Lord had (who is here represented by Joseph, and which revelation is here treated of in the internal sense), was from the Divine in Himself, thus was from Himself.

AC 5122. The three shoots three days are these.  That this signifies continuous derivations down to the last or ultimate one, is evident from the signification of ”three,“ as being one period and its continuation from beginning to end (n. 2788, 4495); from the signification of ”shoots,“ as being derivations (n. 5114); and from the signification of ”days,“ as being states (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850). From this it follows that by ”the three shoots three days are these“ is signified the state of the rebirth of this sensuous which is represented by the butler, from its first down to its ultimate; its successive derivations being signified by the ”shoots.“

[2] The states of the rebirth of each sensuous, and of each thing in the natural, and also in the rational, have their progressions from beginning to end; and when they come to the end they commence from a kind of new beginning, that is, from the end to which they had striven in the former state, to a further end; and so on; and at last the order is inverted, and then what was last becomes first, just as while man is being regenerated both as to the rational and as to the natural, the periods of the first state and from the truths which are of faith to the goods which are of charity; and then the truths of faith apparently act the first part, and the goods of charity the second, for the truths of faith look to the good of charity as their end. These periods continue even until the man has been regenerated.  Afterward charity, which was the end, becomes the beginning, and from it new states commence, which proceed in both directions, namely, toward what is still more interior, and also toward what is exterior; toward the former being toward love to the Lord, and toward the latter being toward the truths of faith, and further toward natural truths, and also toward sensuous truths, which are then successively reduced to correspondence with the goods of charity and of love in the rational, and thus into heavenly order.

[3] These are the things which are meant by continuous progressions and derivations down to the ultimate one.  Such progressions and derivations with the man who is being regenerated are perpetual, from his infancy even to the last hour of his life in the world, and also afterward even to eternity; and yet he can never be so regenerated that he can in any way be said to be perfect; for there are things to be regenerated that are innumerable, nay, illimitable in number, both in the rational and in the natural, and everyone of them has shoots illimitable, that is, progressions and derivations toward interior things and toward exterior things.  Man knows nothing at all of this; but the Lord knows all things and every single thing, and provides for them every moment.  If He were to pause even for an instant, all the progressions would be disturbed; for what is prior looks to what follows in a continuous series, and produces series of consequences to eternity. From this it is plain that the Divine foresight and providence are in everything, even the very least; and that unless this were so, or if they were only universal, the human race would perish.

AC 5123.  In yet three days.  That this signifies that there would then be a new state, is evident from the signification of ”three,“ as being what is continuous even to the end, thus what is complete (n. 2788, 4495); and from the signification of ”days,“ as being states (n. 5122).  From this it is plain that by ”three days“ is signified a complete state; consequently, ”in three days,“ or ”after three days,“ denotes a new state (n. 4091); for after a complete state a new one begins.

AC 5124. Shall Pharaoh lift up thy head.  That this signifies what is provided, and therefore what is concluded, is evident from the signification of ”lifting up the head,“ as being to conclude, and in the supreme sense to provide; for the Divine conclusion, and execution of a thing concluded, is providence.  ”To lift up the head“ was a customary form of passing sentence among the ancients, when the bound, or those in prison were adjudged either to life or to death; when to life, this was expressed by ”lifting up the head,“ as in the second book of Kings:--

Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he was made king, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of the prison house, and spake good to him, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings that were with him in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27, 28).

So in Jeremiah:--

Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the (first) year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of the prison house (Jer. 52:31).

But when they were adjudged to death, it was expressed by ”lifting up the head from off him,“ as in what follows concerning the baker: ”In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee“ (verse 19).

[2] This form of sentence had its origin among the ancients who were in representatives, from the representation of those who were bound in prison or in a pit; and as by these were represented those who were in vastation under the lower earth (n. 4728, 4744, 5038), therefore by ”lifting up their head“ was signified their liberation, for they are then elevated or lifted up out of vastation to the heavenly societies (n. 2699, 2701, 2704).  ”To be lifted up“ or ”to be elevated“ is to advance toward the interior things; for what is elevated or high is predicated of these (n. 2148, 4210); and because it is toward interior things it is toward heaven, for heaven is in the interior things.  This was signified by ”lifting up the head.“  But by ”lifting the head from off“ anyone, was signified to adjudge him to death, because then those who were above those in the pit, or in vastation, were elevated to heaven, while the others were let down to lower depths.  Because of this signification, therefore, this form of sentence was received in the Word.  It is hence plain that by ”lifting up the head“ is signified what is concluded; and because what is concluded is signified, in the supreme sense is signified what is provided; for what the Divine concludes, this it provides.

AC 5125. And shall bring thee lack upon thy, station.  That this signifies that the things which are of the sensuous subject to the intellectual part would be reduced into order, that they might be in the last place, is evident from the representation of the butler, of whom these things are said, as being the sensuous subject to the intellectual part (n. 5077, 5082), consequently the things of this sensuous in the external natural, for the sensuous itself is not reduced into order, but those things which have entered through it into man’s fantasy; and from the signification of ”bringing back upon the station,“ as being to reduce into order; and because sensuous things (that is, those which have entered from the world through the external organs of sensation) are in the last place, and are in the last place when they minister and are subservient to interior things, therefore these are at the same time signified. Moreover with the regenerate these sensuous things are in the last place; but with the unregenerate are in the first place (n. 5077, 5081, 5084, 5089, 5094).

[2] Whether sensuous things are in the first or last place can easily be perceived by man if he pays attention.  If he sanctions everything to which the sensuous prompts or which it craves, and disapproves of everything that the intellectual part dictates, then sensuous things are in the first place, and the man is governed by the appetites, and is wholly sensuous.  Such a man is but little removed from the condition of irrational animals, for they are governed in the same way; nay, he is in a worse condition if he abuses the intellectual or rational faculty to confirm the evils and falsities to which sensuous things prompt and which they crave.  But if he does not sanction them, but from within sees how they stray into falsities and incite to evils, and strives to chasten them and thus reduce them to compliance (that is, subject them to the intellectual and will parts which are of the interior man), then sensuous things are reduced into order, that they may be in the last place. When sensuous things are in the last place, a happy and blessed feeling flows from the interior man into the delights of these things, and increases them a thousandfold.  The sensuous man does not believe that this is so, because he does not comprehend it; and as he is sensible of no other delight than sensuous delight, and thinks there is no higher delight, he regards as of no account the happy and blessed feeling which is within the delights of sensuous things; for whatever is unknown to anyone is believed not to be.

AC 5126. And thou shalt give Pharaoh‘s cup into his hand. That this signifies that thereby they may serve the interior natural, is evident from the signification of ”giving a cup to drink,“ as being to appropriate (n. 5120); that it is also to serve is plain; and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095, 5118).  That there is an interior natural and also an exterior natural, and that the exterior natural is constituted of what enters immediately through the senses from the world into the natural mind, namely, into its memory and thence into the imagination, may be seen above (n. 5118).

[2] In order that it may be known what is the exterior and what the interior natural, which are of the exterior man, and hence what is the rational which is of the interior man, this must be briefly told.  A man from his infancy even to childhood is merely sensuous, for he then receives only earthly, bodily and worldly things through the senses of the body, and from these things his ideas and thoughts are then formed - the communication with the interior man not being as yet open, or only so far that he can comprehend and retain these worldly things The innocence which he then has is only external, and not internal; for true innocence dwells in wisdom.  By external innocence the Lord reduces into order what enters through the senses; and without an influx of innocence from the Lord in that first age, there would never be any foundation upon which the intellectual or rational faculty which is proper to man, could be built.

[3] From childhood to early youth communication is opened with the interior natural by learning what is becoming, what the civil laws require, and what is honorable, both by instructions from parents and teachers and by studies.  And from youth to early manhood communication is opened between the natural and the rational by learning the truths and goods of civil and moral life, and especially the truths and goods of spiritual life, through the hearing and reading of the Word; but in so far as the youth then becomes imbued with goods by means of truths, that is, in so far as he does the truths which he learns, so far the rational is opened; whereas in so far as he does not become imbued with goods by means of truths, or in so far as he does not do truths, so far the rational is not opened, and yet the knowledges still remain in the natural, namely, in its memory, and thus as it were on the threshold outside the house.

[4] In so far however as he then and in subsequent years disregards goods and truths, and denies and acts contrary to them, that is, instead of them believes falsities and does evils, so far the rational is closed, and also the interior natural; nevertheless of the Lord’s Divine providence so much of communication still remains as to enable him to apprehend goods and truths with some degree of understanding, yet not to make them his own unless he performs serious repentance and for a long while afterward struggles with falsities and evils.  With those however who suffer themselves to be regenerated, the contrary comes to pass; for by degrees or successively the rational is opened in them, and to this the interior natural is made subordinate, and to this the exterior natural.  This takes place especially in youth up to adult age, and progressively to the last years of their life, and afterward in heaven to eternity.  From all this it may be known what is the interior and what the exterior natural in man.

AC 5127. After the former manner.  That this signifies in accordance with the law of order is evident from the signification of the ”former manner,“ as being the law of order; for it is a law of order that exterior things should be subject to interior things, or what is the same, lower things to higher ones, and should serve them as servants; for exterior or lower things are nothing but servants, while interior or higher things are relatively lords.  That such is the signification of the words ”after the former manner“ is because the butler as a servant had previously served Pharaoh as his lord, in accordance with the law of subordination; thus the sensuous represented by the butler had served the interior natural represented by Pharaoh, in accordance with the law of order.

[2] That it is the law of order that lower or exterior things should serve higher or interior things, is wholly unknown to the sensuous man; for one who is merely sensuous does not know what interior is, thus neither what is relatively exterior. He knows that he thinks and speaks, and that he wills and acts; and from this he supposes that to think and to will are interior, and that to speak and to act are exterior; but he does not know that to think from the senses only, and to at from the appetites, is of the external man, thus that his thinking and willing are solely of the exterior natural, and that this is still more the case when he thinks falsities and wills evils; and because in such persons the communication with interior things is closed, he therefore does not know what interior thought and will are.  If he is told that interior thought is to think from truth, and that interior will is to act from good, he does not at all apprehend it; still less that the interior man is distinct from the exterior, and so distinct that the interior man can see as from a higher position what is going on in the exterior man, and that the interior man has the capacity and ability of chastening the exterior, and of not willing and thinking what the exterior man sees from phantasy, and desires from cupidity.

[3] These things he does not see so long as his external man has dominion and rules; but when he is out of this state, as when he is in some depression arising from misfortunes or illness, he can see and apprehend these things, because then the dominion of the external man ceases. For the faculty or ability of understanding is always preserved to man by the Lord, but is very obscure with those who are in falsities and evils, and is always clearer in proportion as falsities and evils are lulled to sleep.  The Lord‘s Divine flows in continually with man and enlightens him, but where there are falsities and evils (that is, where there are things contrary to truths and goods), the Divine light is either reflected or suffocated or perverted, and only so much of it is received, as it were through chinks, as to give him the faculty of thinking and speaking from sensuous things, and also of thinking and speaking of spiritual things from forms of speech impressed on the natural or bodily memory.

AC 5128. When thou wast his butler.  That this signifies as is usual with sensuous things of this kind, is evident from the signification of a ”butler,“ as being sensuous things, or that portion of them which is subject to the intellectual part (n. 5077, 5082); its being ”as is usual“ with them is signified by ”when thou wast.“ That sensuous things ought to be subject and subordinate to rational things has already been treated of in the preceding pages; and as this subjection and subordination is here treated of in the internal sense, it still remains to show how the case is in regard to it.

[2] The man in whom sensuous things are in subjection is called rational, but the man in whom they are not in subjection is called sensuous; but whether a man is rational or sensuous can scarcely be discerned by others; but it can be discerned by himself if he explores his interiors, that is, his will and his thought.  Whether a man is sensuous or rational cannot be known by others from his speech or from his actions; for the life of the thought which is in the speech, and the life of the will which is in the actions, do not appear to any bodily sense.  Only the sound is heard and the gesture seen together with their affection, and it is not distinguished whether the affection is pretended or real; but in the other life this is distinctly perceived by those who are in good, both as to what is in the speech and what is in the actions; thus what is the quality of the life, and also from what source the life therein is derived.  In this world also there are some signs from which it can in some measure be inferred whether sensuous things are subject to the rational, or the rational to sensuous things, or what is the same, whether a man is rational or merely sensuous. The signs are these.  If it is observed that a man is in principles of falsity, and does not suffer himself to be enlightened, but entirely rejects truths, and without reason obstinately defends falsities, this is a sign that he is a sensuous man, and not a rational, the rational being closed in him, so that it does not admit the light of heaven.

[3] Still more sensuous are those who are in the persuasion of falsity, because the persuasion of falsity totally closes the rational.  It is one thing to be in principles of falsity, and another to be in the persuasion of falsity.  They who are in the persuasion of falsity have some light in their natural, but it is a light like that of winter.  In the other life this light appears with them white like snow; but as soon as the heavenly light falls into it, it is darkened, and becomes dark like night in accordance with the degree and quality of the persuasion.  This is also evident with them while they live in the world, for they cannot then see anything whatever of truth; nay, in consequence of the obscure or benighted influence of their falsity, truths to them are as things of naught, and they also ridicule them.  To the simple such persons sometimes appear as if they were rational; for by means of that snowy wintry light they can through reasonings so dexterously confirm falsities, that these appear like truths.  In such persuasion are many of the learned, more than the rest of mankind; for they have confirmed falsities in themselves by syllogistic and philosophical reasonings, and finally by many acquired knowledges. Among the ancients such men were called serpents of the tree of knowledge (n. 195-197); but at this day they may be called interior sensuous men who have no rational.

[4] The principal sign whether a man is merely sensuous or is rational, is from his life; not such as appears in his speech and his works, but such as it is within these; for the life of the speech is from the thought, and the life of the works is from the will, and that of both is from the intention or end.  Such therefore as is the intention or end within the speech and the works, such is the life; for speech without interior life is mere sound, and works without interior life are mere movements.  This is the life which is meant when it is said that ”the life remains after death.“ If a man is rational, he speaks from thinking well, and acts from willing well, that is, he speaks from faith and acts from charity; but if a man is not rational, he may then indeed begin to act, and also to speak, as a rational man; but still there is nothing of life from the rational in him; for a life of evil closes up every way or communication with the rational, and causes the man to be merely natural and sensuous.

[5] There are two things which not only close up the way of communication, but even deprive a man of the capacity of ever becoming rational - deceit and profanation.  Deceit is like a subtle poison which infects the interiors, and profanation mixes falsities with truths and evils with goods: through these two the rational wholly perishes.  There are in every man goods and truths from the Lord stored up from infancy, which in the Word are called ”remains“ (n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284); these remains are infected by deceit, and are mixed up by profanation. What profanation is, (n. 593, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3402, 3489, 3898, 4289, 4601).  From these signs it may in some measure be known who is a rational, and who a sensuous man.

[6] When sensuous things are subject to the rational, then the sensuous things from which man’s first imagination is formed, are enlightened by the light which comes through heaven from the Lord, and are also disposed into order so as to receive the light and correspond.  When they are in this state, sensuous things no longer stand in the way of truths being acknowledged and seen, those which disagree being instantly removed, and those which agree being accepted. Those which agree are then as it were in the center, and those which disagree are in the circumference; those which are in the center are as it were lifted up toward heaven, and those which are in the circumference as it were hang downward.  Those which are in the center receive light through the rational, and when they are presented to view in the other life they are seen as little stars which gleam and shed light round about even to the circumference, with a gradual diminution. Into such a form are natural and sensuous things disposed when the rational has dominion, and sensuous things are in subjection.  This takes place while the man is being regenerated, and thereby he is in a state of seeing and acknowledging truths in their full extent.  But when the rational is subject to sensuous things, the contrary comes to pass; for falsities are in the middle, or in the center, and truths are in the circumference.  The things which are in the center are in a certain light, but it is a fatuous light, or such as arises from a coal fire, into which flows a light on all sides from hell.  This is the light which is called darkness, for as soon as any light from heaven flows into it, it is turned into darkness.

AC 5129. Verses 14, 15.  But remember me with thee when it as‘ well with thee, and do mercy I pray with me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For being carried off by theft I was carried away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the pit.  ”But remember me with thee,“ signifies the reception of faith; ”when it is well with thee,“ signifies when there is correspondence; ”and do mercy I pray with me,“ signifies the reception of charity; ”and make mention of me unto Pharaoh,“ signifies communication with the interior natural; ”and bring me out of this house,“ signifies deliverance from evils; ”for being cared off by theft I was carried away,“ signifies that heavenly things were alienated by evil; ”out of the land of the Hebrews,“ signifies from the church; ”and here also have I done nothing,“ signifies innocence; ”that they should put me into the pit,“ signifies rejection among falsities.

AC 5130. But remember me with thee.  That this signifies the reception of faith, is evident from the representation of Joseph, who says these things of himself, as being the Lord as to the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106); and from the signification of ”remember me with thee,“ as being the reception of faith; for to remember and to be mindful of the Lord is from no other source than faith; hence ”remember me with thee,“ denotes that he may receive faith.  The case in regard to faith is this: he who receives and has faith is continually mindful of the Lord, even when he is thinking or speaking of other things, and also when he is discharging his public, private, or domestic duties, although he is not aware that he is then mindful of the Lord; for the remembrance of the Lord by those who are in faith reigns universally with them, and what reigns universally is not perceived, except while the thought is directed to it.

[2] This may be illustrated by various things with man.  He who is in any love, whatever it may be, is continually thinking about whatever belongs to that love; and this although he is engaged in thought, in speech, or in action relative to other things.  In the other life this is very evident from the spiritual spheres about everyone; for simply from these spheres it is known in what faith and in what love are all who are there, and this even though they are thinking and speaking of something entirely different (n. 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 2489, 4464); for that which reigns universally in anyone produces a sphere of the same, and displays his life before others.  From this may be seen what is meant when it is said that we must be constantly thinking about the Lord, salvation, and the life after death.  All who are in faith from charity do this, and therefore they do not think ill of the neighbor, and they have justice and equity in every thing of their thought, speech, and action; for that which reigns universally flows into particulars and guides and governs them, because the Lord keeps the mind in such things as are of charity and the derivative faith and thus disposes every thing in conformity therewith.  The sphere of faith from charity is the sphere which reigns in heaven; for the Lord flows in with love, and through love with charity, consequently with the truths which are of faith; and from this they who are in heaven are said to be in the Lord.

[3] In what now follows the subject treated of is the rebirth of the sensuous subject to the intellectual part, and which is represented by the butler; and because its rebirth is treated of, the reception of faith is also treated of. For the sensuous, like the rational, is born again by means of faith, but by the faith into which charity flows. Unless charity flows into faith and gives it life, faith cannot reign universally; for what a man loves reigns, and not what he merely knows and holds in his memory.

AC 5131. When it is well with thee.  That this signifies when there is correspondence, is evident from the signification of its ”being well with thee,“ when the rebirth or regeneration of the exterior natural or sensuous is treated of, as being correspondence; for it is not well with it until it corresponds.  At the end of the different chapters it may be seen what correspondence is. There is a correspondence of sensuous with natural things, a correspondence of natural with spiritual things, a correspondence of spiritual with celestial things, and finally a correspondence of celestial things with the Divine of the Lord; thus there is a succession of correspondences from the Divine down to the ultimate natural.

[2]  But as an idea of the nature of correspondences can with difficulty be formed by those who have never thought about then’ before, it may be well to say a few words on the subject.  It is known from philosophy that the end is the first of the cause, and that the cause is the first of the effect.  That the end, the cause, and the effect may follow in order, and act as a one, it is needful that the effect should correspond to the cause, and the cause to the end.  But still the end does not appear as the cause, nor the cause as the effect; for in order that the end may produce the cause, it must take to itself administrant means from the region where the cause is, by which means the end may produce the cause; and in order that the cause may produce the effect, it also must take to itself administrant means from the region where the effect is, by which means the cause may produce the effect.  These administrant means are what correspond; and because they correspond, the end can be in the cause and can actuate the cause, and the cause can be in the effect and can actuate the effect; consequently the end through the cause can actuate the effect.  It is otherwise when there is no correspondence; for then the end has no cause in which it may be, still less an effect in which it may be, but is changed and varied in the cause, and finally in the effect, according to the form made by the administrant means.

[3] All things in general and in particular in man, nay, all things in general and in particular in nature, succeed one another as end, cause, and effect; and when they thus correspond to one another, they act as a one; for then the end is the all in all things of the cause, and through the cause is the all in all things of the effect.  As for example, when heavenly love is the end, the will the cause, and action the effect, if there is correspondence, then heavenly love flows into the will, and the will into the action, and they so act as a one that by means of the correspondence the action is as it were the love; or as when the faith of charity is the end, thought the cause, and speech the effect, then if there is correspondence, faith from charity flows into the thought, and this into the speech, and they so act as a one, that by means of the correspondence the speech is as it were the end.  In order however that the end, which is love and faith, may produce the cause, which is will and thought, it must take to itself administrant means in the rational mind that will correspond; for without administrant means that correspond, the end, which is love or faith, cannot be received, however much it may flow in from the Word through heaven. From this it is plain that the interiors and the exteriors of man, that is, what is rational, natural, and sensuous in him, must be brought into correspondence, in order that he may receive the Divine influx, and consequently that he may be born again; and that it is not well with him till then.  This is the reason why here by ”when it is well with thee“ is signified correspondence.

AC 5132. And do mercy I pray with me.  That this signifies the reception of charity, is evident from the signification of ”mercy,“ as being love (n. 3063, 3073, 3120, 5042); here love toward the neighbor, or charity, because the reception of faith was spoken of above (n. 5130); for faith and charity will make a one in the sensuous when this is being reborn.  That ”mercy“ signifies charity is because all who are in charity are in mercy, or in other words all who love the neighbor are merciful to him; and therefore acts of charity are described in the Word by works of mercy; as in Matthew:--

I was hungry and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye gathered Me; naked and ye clothed Me; I was sick and ye visited Me; I was in prison and ye came unto Me (Matthew 25:35, 36);

and in other places by benefiting the poor, the afflicted, the widows, and the fatherless.

[2] In its essence charity is to will well to the neighbor, to be affected with good, and to acknowledge good as the neighbor, consequently those who are in good, with a difference according to the degree of their good; and hence charity, because it is affected with good, is affected with mercy toward those who are in miseries.  The good of charity has this within it because it descends from the  Lord‘s love toward the whole human race, which love is mercy because all the human race is settled in miseries. Mercy sometimes shows itself in the evil, who are in no charity; but this is grief on account of what they themselves suffer, for it is shown toward their friends who make one with them, and when their friends suffer, they suffer.  This mercy is not the mercy of charity, but is the mercy of friendship for the sake of self, which regarded in itself is unmercifulness; for it despises or hates all others besides itself, thus besides the friends who make one with it.

AC 5133. And make mention of me unto Pharaoh.  That this signifies communication with the interior natural, is evident from the signification of ”making mention to“ anyone, as being to communicate; and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095).  By ”communication with the interior natural“ is meant conjunction by correspondence.  The interior natural is that which receives ideas of truth and good from the rational, and stores them up for use, consequently which communicates immediately with the rational; but the exterior natural is that which receives images and thence ideas of things from the world through the senses.

[2] These ideas, unless enlightened by those which are in the interior natural, present fallacies, which are called the fallacies of the senses.  When man is in these fallacies, he believes nothing but what agrees with them, and what they confirm, as is the case if there is no correspondence; and there is no correspondence unless the man is imbued with charity, for charity is the uniting means, because in the good of it there is life from the Lord, which disposes truth into order, so that the form of charity, or charity in an image, may come into existence.  This form appears visibly in the other life, and is the angelic form itself.  Hence all the angels are forms of charity, the beauty of which is from the truths which are of faith, and the life of this beauty is from the good which is of charity

AC 5134. And bring me out of this house.  That this signifies deliverance from evils, is evident from the signification of ”bringing out,“ as being deliverance; and from the signification of a ”house,“ as being good (n. 710, 1708, 2048, 2233, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4982); and therefore in the opposite sense, evil.  Hence it is plain that deliverance from evils is signified by the words, ”bring me out of this house,“ and this also follows in its order from the things which precede.  When faith is received in the exterior natural which is here treated of, (n. 5130), correspondence is effected (n. 5131), and charity is received (n. 5132), and thus communication is effected with the interior natural (n. 5133), which is then delivered from the evils whereby the celestial represented by Joseph (n. 5086, 5087, 5106) was alienated; which alienation is signified by his being ”carried off by theft,“ as presently follows.  Moreover when the natural is being regenerated by means of charity and faith, it is delivered from evils; for evils are then separated, and are cast out from the center where they were before, to the circumferences, whither the light of truth from good does not reach.  In this way are evils separated in man, and yet are retained, for they cannot be entirely destroyed.  But with the Lord, who made the natural in Himself Divine, evils and falsities were utterly cast out and destroyed; for the Divine can have nothing in common with evils and falsities, nor be terminated in them, as is the case with man; for the Divine is the very being of good and of truth, which is infinitely removed from what is evil and false.

AC 5135. For in being carried off by theft I was carried away. That this signifies that celestial things were alienated by evil, is evident from the representation of Joseph, who says these things of himself, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106), consequently the celestial things therein; and from the signification of ”being carried off by theft,“ as being to be alienated by evil; for ”to steal“ is to alienate, and ”theft“ is the evil which alienates, and also the evil which claims the celestial things that are in the natural.  ”Theft“ signifies alienation in respect to the abode of which it takes possession, and from which it casts out goods and truths, and which it fills with evils and falsities; ”theft“ also signifies the claiming of what belongs to others when it attributes to itself and makes its own the goods and truths which are in that abode, and also when it applies them to evils and falsities. That it may be known what ”theft“ is in the spiritual sense, it is necessary to state how the case is with evils and falsities when they enter and take possession of the abode, and also when they claim the goods and truths which are there.

[2] From infancy until childhood, and sometimes till early manhood, by instruction from his parents and teachers a man is imbued with goods and truths; for he then learns them with avidity, and believes them in simplicity.  The state of innocence favors them and adapts them to the memory, but places them only at the first threshold; for the innocence of infancy and childhood is not internal innocence which affects the rational, but is external innocence which affects only the exterior natural (n. 2306, 3183, 3494, 4563, 4797).  But when the man grows older and begins to think from himself, and not as before from parents and teachers, he then takes up again and as it were ruminates the things which he had before learned and believed, and either confirms them, or doubts about them, or denies them.  If he confirms them, it is a sign that he is in good; if he denies them, it is a sign that he is in evil; but if he doubts about them, it is a sign that in succeeding years he will accede either to the affirmative or to the negative.

[3] The things which man as a little child in its first age learns eagerly or believes, and which he afterward either confirms, or doubts about, or denies, are especially these: that there is a God, and that He is one; that He has created all things; that He rewards those who do well, and punishes those who do evil; that there is a life after death, in which the evil go to hell and the good to heaven, thus that there in a hell and a heaven, and that the life after death is eternal; also that he ought to pray daily, and this with humility; that the Sabbath day is to be kept holy; that parents are to be honored; and that no one must commit adultery, murder, or theft; with other like things.  These things man imbibes and is imbued with from early childhood; but when he begins to think from himself and to lead himself, if he confirms such things in himself, and adds to them things which are still more interior, and lives according to them, then it is well with him; but if he begins to infringe these things, and at last to deny them, however much for the sake of civil laws and for the sake of society he may live in externals according to them, he is then in evil.

[4] This evil is what is signified by ”theft,“ in so far as like a thief it takes possession of the abode in which good has been before, and in so far as with many it takes away the goods and truths which had been there before, and applies them to confirm evils and falsities.  The Lord in so far as possible then removes from that abode the goods and truths of early childhood, and withdrawing them toward the interiors stores them up in the interior natural for use.  These goods and truths stored up in the interior natural are signified in the Word by ”remains“ (n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284).  But if evil steals the goods and truths there, and applies them to confirm evils and falsities, especially if it does this from deceit, then it consumes these remains; for it then mingles evils with goods and falsities with truths till they cannot be separated, and then it is all over with the man.

[5] That such things are signified by ”theft,“ may be seen from the mere application of ”theft“ to the things of spiritual life.  In spiritual life there are no other riches than the knowledges of good and truth, and no other possessions and inheritances than the felicities of life arising from goods and their truths As before said, to steal these things is ”theft“ in the spiritual sense; and therefore by ”thefts,“ in the Word, nothing else is signified in the internal sense; as in Zechariah:--

I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, when behold a flying roll.  Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth upon the faces of the whole earth; for everyone that stealeth hence, like it is innocent; and everyone that sweareth, like it is innocent.  I have cast it forth that it may enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth by My name for lying; and it shall pass the night in his house, and shall consume it and the wood thereof and the stones thereof (Zech.  5:1, 3, 4);

the evil which takes away the remains of good is signified by ”him that stealeth,“ and by the ”house of the thief;“ and the falsity which takes away the remains of truth is signified by ”him that sweareth,“ and by the ”house of him that sweareth for lying;“ the ”faces of the whole earth“ denote the universal church; therefore it is said that ”the curse shall consume the house and the wood thereof and the stones thereof.“ The ”house“ is the natural mind or man as to this mind (n. 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023); ”wood“ is the goods therein (n. 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943); and the ”stones“ are truths (n. 643, 1298, 3720).

[6] Profanation and hence the taking away of good and truth are signified in the spiritual sense by the deed of Achan, who took of the accursed things a mantle of Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, and hid them in the earth in the midst of his tent, and who therefore was stoned, and all the things were burned; as is related in Joshua:--

Jehovah said unto Joshua, Israel hath sinned, they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; and they have taken of the accursed thing, and have stolen, lied, and have put it among their vessels (Joshua 7:10, 11, 21, 25);

by ”accursed things“ were meant falsities and evils, which were in no wise to be mixed up with holy things; the ”mantle of Shinar, shekels of silver, and wedge of gold“ are in the spiritual sense species of falsity; ”hiding them under the earth in the midst of the tent“ signified a commixture with holy things. A ”tent“ denotes what is holy, (n. 414, 1102, 1566, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391, 4599). These things were signified by Israel’s ”stealing, lying, and putting it among their vessels;“ for ”vessels“ are holy truths (n. 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318).

[7] In Jeremiah:--

I will bring the issue of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him. If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grape-gleanings? if thieves by night, would they not destroy a sufficiency? I will strip Esau, I will uncover his secret things, and he shall not be able to hide, his seed is devastated, and his brethren, and his neighbors, and he is not (Jer. 49:8-10);

where ”Esau“ denotes the evil of the love of self to which falsities are adjoined (n. 3322).  That this evil consumes the remains of good and truth is signified by ”thieves in the night destroying a sufficiency;“ and by ”his seed, his brethren, and his neighbors being devastated, and he is not.“ ”Seed“ denotes the truths which are of faith from charity (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310, 3373); ”brethren“ denote the goods which are of charity (n. 367, 2360, 2508, 2524, 3160, 3303, 3459, 3815, 4121, 4191); ”neighbors‘ denote the adjoined and related truths and goods which belong to him.

[8] Something similar is said of Esau in Obadiah:--

If thieves come to thee, if overthrowers by night how wilt thou be cut off!) will they not steal till they have enough? if grape-gatherers come to thee, will they not leave some clusters? (Obadiah 1:5);

“grape-gatherers” denote falsities which are not from evil; by these falsities the goods and truths stored up by the Lord in man’s interior natural (that is, remains) are not consumed, but by falsities derived from evils, which steal truths and goods and also by wrong applications employ them to confirm evils and falsities.

[9] In Joel:--

A great people and mighty, they shall run like heroes; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone in his ways; they shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run on the wall; they shall climb up into the houses; they shall enter in through the windows like a thief (Joel 2:2, 7, 9);

a “great people and mighty” denotes falsities fighting against truths (n. 1259, 1260); and because they fight mightily in destroying truths, they are said to be “like heroes and men of war;” the “city” through which they are said to “run to and fro” denotes the doctrinals of truth (n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216); the “houses into which they shall climb” denote the goods which they destroy (n. 710, 1708, 2048, 2233, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4982); the “windows through which they shall enter in” denote things intellectual and the derivative reasonings (n. 655, 658, 3391); hence they are compared to a “thief,” because they take possession of the abode previously occupied by truths and goods.

[10] In David:--

As thou hatest discipline, and castest My words behind thee; if thou seest a thief thou runnest with him, and thy part is with adulterers. Thou openest thy mouth for evil, and with thy tongue thou weavest deceit (Ps. 50:17-19);

speaking of a wicked person, “to run with a thief” denotes to alienate truth from himself by means of falsity.

[11] In the Revelation:--

They repented not of their murders, nor of their enchantments, nor of their whoredoms, nor of their thefts (Rev.  9:21);

“murders” denote evils which destroy goods; “enchantments,” falsities therefrom which destroy truths; “whoredoms,” truths falsified; “thefts,” goods thus alienated.

[12] In John:--

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not through the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; through Me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, and to murder, and to destroy (John 10:1, 2, 9, 10);

here again a “thief” denotes the evil of merit; for he who takes away from the Lord what is His, and claims it for himself, is called a “thief.” As this evil closes the way and prevents good and truth from the Lord from flowing in, it is said “to murder” and “to destroy.” The same is signified by the commandment in the Decalogue:--

Thou shalt not steal (Deut. 5:19);

 (n. 4174). From all this it is evident what is signified by the laws enacted in the Jewish Church in regard to thefts (Exod. 21:16; 22:1-4; Deut. 24:7), for as all the laws in that church originated in the spiritual world, they correspond to the laws of order which are in heaven.

AC 5136. Out of the land of the Hebrews.  That this signifies from the church, namely, that celestial things were alienated from it through evil, is evident from the signification of the “land of the Hebrews,” as being the church.  The “land of the Hebrews” here, is the land of Canaan; for Joseph was taken away from there.  The reason why the land of Canaan in the Word signifies the church, is that the church has been there from the most ancient time: first the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood; next the Ancient Church, which was after the flood; afterward the Second Ancient Church, which was called the Hebrew Church; and at last the Jewish Church.  And in order that the Jewish Church might be instituted there, Abram was commanded to betake himself thither out of Syria, and it was there promised him that this land should be given to his posterity for an inheritance. This is the reason why “land” or “earth” in the Word signifies the church, and the “whole earth,” as sometimes occurs, the universal church; and also the “new heaven and new earth,” a new church internal and external.

[2] The reason why the church was continued there from the most ancient time, is that the man of the Most Ancient Church, who was celestial, was of such a character that in each and all things in the world and upon the earth he saw a representative of the Lord‘s kingdom; the objects of the world and the earth being to him the means of thinking about heavenly things.  This was the origin of all the representatives and significatives that were afterward known in the Ancient Church, for they were collected by those who are meant by “Enoch,” and were preserved for the use of posterity (n. 519, 521, 2896). From this it came to pass that every place, and also every mountain and river, in the land of Canaan, where the most ancient people dwelt, and likewise all the kingdoms round about, became representative; and as the Word could not be written except by representatives and significatives, even of places, therefore for the sake of this end the church was successively preserved in the land of Canaan; but after the coming of the Lord it was transferred elsewhere, because representatives were then abolished.

[3] From the foregoing it is plain that by the land of Canaan which is here called the “land of the Hebrews,” is signified the church; but see what has been previously adduced on these subjects; namely, that the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, was in the land of Canaan (n. 567, 3686, 4447, 4454); that part of the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, was there (n. 3686, 4447); also that a second Ancient Church, which was called the Hebrew Church, was there (n. 4516, 4517); that for the same reason Abram was commanded to go there, and that land was given to his posterity (n. 3686, 4447); that from this the land of Canaan represented the Lord’s kingdom (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); and that it is for this reason that by “earth” or “land” in the Word is signified the church (n. 566, 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4447, 4535).

AC 5137. And here also have I done nothing.  That this signifies innocence, is evident without explication; for not to do anything evil is the part of innocence.

AC 5138. That they should put me into the pit. That this signifies rejection among falsities, is evident from the signification of a “pit,” as being falsity (n. 4728, 4744, 5038). Evil has been treated of above - that celestial things were alienated by it (n. 5134, 5135); but here falsity is treated of, for where the one is mentioned in the Word, the other is mentioned also, that is to say, where evil is mentioned, falsity also is mentioned; because where good is treated of, there also truth is treated of, in order that there may be a marriage in everything of the Word.  For the heavenly marriage is that of good and truth, but the infernal marriage is that of evil and falsity; because where there is evil, there is also falsity, joining itself to evil as a wife to her husband; and where there is good there is also truth, because truth conjoins itself with good as a wife with her husband.  Hence the quality of the faith may be known from the life; for good is of the life and truth is of the faith, and conversely it is the same with evil and falsity. There is a marriage in everything of the Word, (n. 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4137).

AC 5139. Verses 16-19. And the prince of the bakers saw that he had interpreted good, and he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and behold three baskets with holes in them upon my head; and in the uppermost basket there was of all food for Pharaoh, the work of the baker; and the bird did eat them out of the basket from upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets three days are these. In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift off thy head from upon thee, and shall hang thee upon wood; and the bird shall eat thy flesh from upon thee. “And the prince of the bakers saw,” signifies the perception of the sensuous that is subject to the will part; “that he had interpreted good,” signifies what would happen; “and he said unto Joseph,” signifies the perception of the celestial in the natural; “I also was in my dream,” signifies prediction; “and behold three baskets,” signifies the successives of things of the will; “with holes in them upon my head,” signifies without termination anywhere in the middle; “and in the uppermost basket,” signifies the inmost of the will part; “there was of all food for Pharaoh,” signifies full of celestial good for the nourishment of the natural; “the work of the baker,” signifies according to every use of the sensuous; “and the bird did eat them out of the basket from upon my head,” signifies that falsity from evil consumed it; “and Joseph answered and said,” signifies revelation from perception from the celestial in the natural; “This is the interpretation thereof,” signifies what it had in it; “the three baskets,” signifies the successives of the things of the will; “three days are these,” signifies even to the last; “in yet three days,” signifies that which is in the last; “shall Pharaoh lift off thy head from upon thee,” signifies what is concluded from what is foreseen; “and shall hang thee upon wood,” signifies rejection and damnation; “and the bird shall eat thy flesh from upon thee,” signifies that the falsity from evil will consume what is of these sensuous things.

AC 5140. And the prince of the bakers saw.  That this signifies the perception of the sensuous that is subject to the will part, is evident from the signification of “seeing,” as being to understand and perceive (n. 2150, 2807, 3764, 4723); and from the signification of the “prince of the bakers,” as being the sensuous in general subject to the will part, thus these sensuous things (n. 5078, 5082).

AC 5141. That he had interpreted good.  That this signifies what would happen, is evident from the signification of “interpreting,” as being what it had in it, or what there was therein (n. 5093, 5105, 5107, 5121); thus also what would happen.  That good would happen, is the perception from the sensuous, which perception is comparatively obscure.  There actually do exist perception from the sensuous or exterior natural, perception from the interior natural, and perception from the rational; for when a man is in interior thought from affection, and withdraws his mind from sensuous things and from the body, he is in rational perception; for then the things which are beneath, or which belong to the external man, are quiescent, and the man is almost in his spirit.  But when man is in exterior thought, from causes which exist in the world, then his perception is from the interior natural, and the rational indeed flows in, but not with any life of affection.  But when man is in pleasures, and in the delights of the love of the world and also of the love of self, the perception is from the sensuous; for his life is then in externals or in the body, and admits no more from the interiors than may serve to moderate his outbursts into what is dishonorable and unbecoming.  But the more external the perception is, the more obscure it is, because exterior things are comparatively general, for innumerable interior things appear as one in the exterior.

AC 5142. And he said unto Joseph. That this signifies the perception of the celestial in the natural, is evident from the signification of “saying,” in the historic parts of the Word, as being perception; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106).

AC 5143. I also was in my dream.  That this signifies prediction, is evident from the signification of a “dream,” as being prediction concerning the event (n. 5092, 5104, 5112).

AC 5144. And behold three baskets.  That this signifies the successives of the things of the will, is evident from the signification of “three,” as being what is complete and continuous even to the end (n. 2788, 4495, 5114, 5122), thus what is successive; and from the signification of “baskets,” as being things of the will.  That “baskets” are things of the will is because they are vessels to hold food; and also because food signifies celestial and spiritual goods, and these are of the will; for all good pertains to the will, and all truth to the understanding.  As soon as anything comes forth from the will, it is perceived as good.  In what precedes, the sensuous subject to the intellectual part has been treated of, which was represented by the butler; what is now treated of is the sensuous subject to the will part, which is represented by the baker (n. 5077, 5078, 5082).

[2] What is successive or continuous in intellectual things was represented by the vine, its three shoots, its blossoms, clusters, and grapes; and finally the truth which is of the intellect was represented by the cup (n. 5120); but what is successive in the things of the will is represented by the three baskets on the head, in the uppermost of which there was of all food for Pharaoh, the work of the baker.  By what is successive in the things of the will is meant what is successive from the inmosts of man down to his outermost, in which is the sensuous; for there are steps or degrees as of a ladder, from inmosts to outermosts (n. 5114).  Into the inmost there flows good from the Lord, and this through the rational into the interior natural, and thence into the exterior natural or sensuous, in a distinct succession, as by the steps of a ladder; and in each degree it is qualified according to the reception.  But the further nature of this influx and its succession will be shown in the following pages.

[3] “Baskets” signify the things of the will in so far as goods are therein, in other passages of the Word, as in Jeremiah:--

Jehovah showed me, when behold two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah; in one basket exceedingly good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; but in the other basket exceedingly bad figs, which could not be eaten for badness (Jer. 24:1, 2);

here “basket” is expressed in the original by a different word, which signifies the will part in the natural; the “figs” in the one basket are natural goods; while those in the other are natural evils.

[4] In Moses:--

When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God will give thee, thou shalt take of the first ripe of all the fruit of the land, which thou shalt bring in from thy land, and thou shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah shall choose. Then the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it before the altar of Jehovah thy God (Deut. 26:1, 2, 4);

here “basket” is expressed by still another word that signifies a new will part in the intellectual part; “the first ripe of the fruit of the earth” are the goods thence derived.

[5] In the same:--

For the sanctifying of Aaron and his sons, Moses was to take unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil; of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them upon one basket, and bring them near in the basket. Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting (Exod. 29:2, 3, 32);

“basket” here is expressed by the same term as in the present chapter, signifying the will part in which are the goods signified by “bread,” “cakes,” “oil,” “wafers,” “Sour,” and “wheat;” by the will part is meant the containant; for goods from the Lord flow into the interior forms of man, as into their vessels, which forms, if disposed for reception, are the “baskets” in which these goods are contained.

[6] Again:--

When a Nazirite was being inaugurated he was to take a basket of unleavened things of fine flour, cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, with their meat-offering, and their drink-offerings; a ram also he shall make a sacrifice of peace-offerings to Jehovah, besides the basket of unleavened things; and the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hand of the Nazirite, and the priest shall wave them with a waving before Jehovah (Num. 6:16, 17, 19, 20);

here also “basket” denotes the will part as the containant; the “cakes,” the “wafers,” the “oil,” the “meat-offering,” the “boiled shoulder of the ram,” are celestial goods which were being represented; for the Nazirite represented the celestial man (n. 3301).

[7] At that time such things as were used in worship were carried in baskets; as was also the kid of the goats by Gideon, which he brought forth to the angel under the oak (Judges 6:19); and this for the reason that baskets represented the containants, and the things in the baskets, the contents.

AC 5145.  With holes in them upon my head.  That this signifies without termination anywhere in the middle, is evident from the signification of “with holes in them,” as being open from highest to lowest, thus not closed, consequently without termination anywhere in the middle; and from the signification of the “head,” as being the interiors, especially those of the will; for in the head are all substances and forms in their beginnings, and therefore all sensations tend thither and there present themselves, and all acts descend from it and take their origin.  It is evident that the faculties of the mind, that is, of the understanding and the will, are there; and therefore by the “head” are signified the interiors.  These baskets represented the things which are in the head.

[2] The sensuous things which are subject to the will part are now treated of, and by the “baskets with holes in them upon the head” is signified that the interiors were without termination anywhere in the middle, and for this reason these sensuous things were rejected and damned - as will be seen in what follows.  But it may be well to state what is meant by being without termination anywhere in the middle.  Man‘s interiors are distinguished into degrees, and in each degree the interiors are terminated, and by termination are separated from the degree next below; it is thus from the inmost to the outermost.  The interior rational constitutes the first degree; in this are the celestial angels, or in this is the inmost or third heaven.  The exterior rational makes the second degree; in this are the spiritual angels, or in this is the middle or second heaven.  The interior natural makes the third degree; in this are good spirits, or the ultimate or first heaven.  The exterior natural; or the sensuous, makes the fourth degree; and in this is man. These degrees in man are most distinct.

[3] Thence it is that if he lives in good, a man is as to his interiors a heaven in the least form, or that his interiors correspond to the three heavens; and hence it is that if a man has lived a life of charity and love, he can be carried after death even into the third heaven.  But that he may be of this character, it is necessary that all the degrees in him should be well terminated, and thus by means of terminations be distinct from one another; and when they are terminated, or by means of terminations are made distinct from one another, each degree is a plane in which the good which flows in from the Lord rests, and where it is received.  Without these degrees as planes, good is not received, but flows through, as through a sieve or a basket that has holes in it, down to the sensuous, and then, being without any direction in the way, it is turned into a foulness which appears to those who are in it as good, namely, into the delight of the love of self and of the world, consequently into the delight of hatred, revenge, cruelty, adultery, and avarice, or into mere voluptuousness and luxury.  This is the case if the things of man’s will are without termination anywhere in the middle, or if they “have holes in them.”

[4] It is quite possible to know whether there are these terminations and consequent planes; for the perceptions of good and truth, and of conscience, show this.  With those who have perceptions of good and truth, as have the celestial angels, the terminations are from the first degree to the last; for without terminations of all the degrees, such perceptions are impossible.  In regard to these perceptions, (n. 125, 202, 495, 503, 511, 536, 597, 607, 784, 865, 895, 1121, 1383, 1384, 1387, 1919, 2144, 2145, 2171, 2515, 2831). With those also who have conscience, as the spiritual angels have, there are terminations, but from the second degree or from the third to the last, the first degree being closed with these angels.  It is said “from the second degree” or “from the third,” because conscience is twofold, interior and exterior; interior conscience is that of spiritual good and truth, exterior conscience is that of what is just and equitable. Conscience itself is an interior plane in which the influx of the Divine good terminates.  But they who have no conscience have not any interior plane to receive this influx; and with these persons good flows through down to the exterior natural or natural-sensuous; and as before said is there turned into foul delights.  Sometimes these persons seem to feel a pain as of conscience, but it is not conscience; it is a pain arising from the loss of their delight, such as that of honor, gain, reputation, life, pleasures, or the friendship of people like themselves; and this is because the terminations are in delights like these. From all this it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by the baskets with holes in them.

[5] In the other life especially is it discerned whether the things of a man‘s will have or have not been terminated. With those in whom they have been terminated there is zeal for spiritual good and truth, or for what is just and equitable, for these persons have done what is good for the sake of good or for the sake of truth, and have acted justly for the sake of what is just or equitable, and not for the sake of gain, honor, and things like these.  All those with whom the interiors of the will have been terminated are taken up into heaven, for the Divine that flows in can lead them; whereas all those with whom the interior things of the will have not been terminated, betake themselves into hell; for the Divine flows through, and is turned into what is infernal, just as when the heat of the sun falls upon foul excrements, and causes a noisome stench. Consequently all who have had conscience are saved; but they who have had no conscience cannot be saved.

[6] The things of the will are said to have holes in them, or not to be terminated, when there is no affection of good and truth, or of what is just and equitable; and also when these things are regarded as comparatively worthless or as nothing, or are valued solely for the sake of securing gain or honor. The affections are what terminate and close, and are therefore called “bonds” - affections of good and truth “internal bonds,” and affections of evil and falsity “external bonds” (n. 3835).  Unless the affections of evil and falsity were bonds, the man would be insane (n. 4217); for insanities are nothing else than the loosenings of such bonds; thus they are non-terminations in such persons; but as in these persons there are no internal bonds, they are inwardly insane in respect to the thoughts and affections, while restrained from breaking out by external bonds, which are affections of gain and honor, and of reputation as a means of acquiring these, and the consequent fear of the law and of the loss of life.  This was represented in the Jewish Church by the fact that every open vessel in the house of a dead person upon which there was no cloth cover was unclean (Num. 19:15).

[7] Similar things are signified by “works full of holes” in Isaiah:--

They that make thread of silks, and they that weave works full of holes, shall blush; and the foundations thereof shall be broken in pieces, all they that make hire pools of the soul (Isa. 19:9, 10);

and by “holes” in Ezekiel:--

The spirit brought the prophet to the door of the court; where he saw, and behold a hole in the wall; and he said unto him, Come bore a hole through the wall; be therefore bored through the wall, and behold a door; then said he unto him, Go in and see the abominations that they do here. When he went in and saw, behold every figure of creeping thing and beast, an abomination, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the walls round about (Ezek. 8:7-10).

AC 5146. And in the uppermost basket.  That this signifies the inmost of the will part, is evident from the signification of a“ basket,” as being the will part (n. 5144); and from the signification of “the uppermost,” as being the inmost (n. 2148, 3084, 4599).  The reason why the “uppermost” denotes the inmost is that with man who is in space, interior things appear as higher things, and exterior things as lower ones; but when the idea of space is put off, as is the case in heaven and also in the interior thought of man, there is then put off the idea of what is high and what is low; for height and depth come from the idea of space.  Nay, in the interior heaven there is no idea of things interior and exterior, because something of space adheres to this idea also; but there is the idea of more perfect or more imperfect state; for interior things are in a more perfect state than exterior ones, because interior things are nearer the Divine, and exterior things are more remote from it.  This is the reason why what is uppermost signifies what is inmost.

[2] Nevertheless no one can apprehend what the interior is relatively to the exterior unless he knows how the case stands with degrees (n. 3691, 4154, 5114, 5145).  Man has no other conception of what is interior and hence more perfect than as of what is purer in continual diminution; but the purer and the grosser are possible in one and the same degree, both according to the expansion and the contraction, and according to the determinations, and also according to the insertions of things homogeneous or heterogeneous.  As such an idea prevails about the interior of man, it is quite impossible to avoid the notion that the exteriors are continuously coherent with the interiors, and thus act with them absolutely as a one.  But if a genuine idea about degrees is formed, it is then possible to see how the interiors and the exteriors are distinct from one another, and that they are so distinct that the interiors can come into existence and subsist without the exteriors, but by no means the exteriors without the interiors.  It is also then possible to see how the case stands with the correspondence of the interiors in the exteriors, and also how the exteriors can represent the interiors. This is the reason why the learned can treat hypothetically only of the intercourse between the soul and the body; nay, this is also the reason why many of them believe life to be in the body, so that when the body dies, they believe that they will die as to the interiors also, on account of the coherence of these with the body, when yet it is only the exterior degree that dies, the interior then surviving and living.

AC 5147. There was of all food for Pharaoh.  That this signifies full of celestial good for the nourishment of the natural, is evident from the signification of “food,” as being celestial good; and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095), and also the natural in general; for when they correspond the interior and exterior natural make a one; and as food is for nourishment, by the words “there was of all food for Pharaoh” is signified full of celestial good for the nourishment of the natural. It is said that this food was in the uppermost basket; and by this is signified that the inmost of the will part was full of celestial good. For good from the Lord flows in through man’s inmost, and thence through degrees as by the steps of a ladder to the exteriors; for the inmost is relatively in the most perfect state, and therefore can receive good immediately from the Lord; but not so the lower things.  If these were to receive good from the Lord immediately, they would either obscure it or pervert it, for they are relatively more imperfect.

[2] As regards the influx of celestial good from the Lord, and its reception, he it known that man‘s will part receives good, and his intellectual receives truth, and that the intellectual can by no means receive truth so as to make it its own, unless at the same time the will part receives good; and conversely; for the one flows in this way into the other, and disposes it to receive.  The things of the intellect may be compared to forms which are continually varying, and the things of the will to the harmonies that result from this variation; consequently truths may be compared to variations, and goods to the delights therefrom; and as this is eminently the case with truths and goods, it is evident that the one is impossible without the other, and also that the one cannot be produced except by means of the other.

[3] That “food” signifies celestial good, is because the food of the angels is nothing else than the goods of love and of charity, by which they are not only made alive, but are also refreshed.  These goods in act, or the practice of them, serve especially for the refreshment of the angels, because they are their desires; and it is known that when the desires are realized in act, they afford refreshment and life.  That such things yield nourishment to the spirit of man, while material food yields nourishment to his body, may also be seen from the fact that food without delights conduces but little to nourishment, but together with delights it nourishes.  It is the delights that open the passages or ducts which receive the food and convey it into the blood; whereas things undelightful close them.  With the angels these delights are the goods of love and of charity, and from this it can be inferred that they are spiritual foods which correspond to earthly foods.  As goods are food, so truths are drink.

[4] “Food” is mentioned in many places in the Word, and one who is not acquainted with the internal sense cannot know but that ordinary food is there meant, whereas it is spiritual food; as in Jeremiah:--

All the people groan, seeking bread; they have given their desirable things for food, to refresh the soul (Lam. 1:11).

In Isaiah:--

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

In Joel:--

The day of Jehovah is near, and as devastation from the Thunderer shall it come. Is not the food cut off before our eyes? gladness and joy from the house of our God? The grains have rotted under their clods; the garners are devastated, the barns are destroyed, because the corn is withered (Joel 1:15-17).

In David:--

Our garners are full, bringing forth from food to food; our flocks are thousands and ten thousands in our streets. There is no cry in our streets; blessed is the people that is in such a case (Ps. 144:13-15).

Again:--

All things wait for Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in its time. Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest Thy hand, they are sated with good (Ps. 104:27, 28).

[5] In these passages celestial and spiritual food is meant in the internal sense, while material food is meant in the sense of the letter. From this it is plain in what manner the interiors and exteriors of the Word, or those things therein which are of the spirit, and those which are of the letter, correspond to each other; so that while man understands these things according to the sense of the letter, the angels with hint understand them according to the spiritual sense The Word has been so written as to serve not only the human race, but also heaven; for which reason all the expressions therein are significative of heavenly things, and all the things are representative of them, and this even to the least jot.

[6] That “food” in the spiritual sense is good, the Lord also plainly teaches in John:--

Labor not for the food that perisheth, but for the food that abideth into life eternal, which the Son of man shall give to you (John 6:27).

Again:--

My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink (John 6:55);

where “flesh” is the Divine good (n. 3813); and “blood” is the Divine truth (n. 4735).  And again:--

Jesus said to His disciples, I have food to eat that ye know not. The disciples said one to another, Hath any man brought Him aught to eat? Jesus saith to them, My food is that I do the will of Him that sent Me, and that I perfect His work (John 4:32-34);

“to do the will of the Father, and to perfect His work,” is the Divine good in act or exercise, which as before said in the genuine sense is “food.”

AC 5148. The work of the baker.  That this signifies according to every use of the sensuous, is evident from the signification of “work,” as being according to every use; and from the signification of a “baker,” as being the sensuous subject to the will part (n. 5078, 5082).  The reason why “work” denotes use is that it is predicated of the will part, or of the sensuous subject to the will part; and whatever is done by means of this, and can be called “work,” must be use.  All the works of charity are nothing else, for works of charity are works from the will that are uses.

AC 5149. And the bird did eat them out of the basket from upon my head.  That this signifies that falsity from evil consumed it, is evident from the signification of “the bird” as being intellectual things, and also thoughts, consequently the things thence derived; namely, in the genuine sense truths of every kind, and in the opposite sense falsities (n. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 3219); and from the signification of “eating,” as being to consume (in the original tongue also, the word “eat” means to consume); and from the signification of a “basket,” as being the will part (n. 5144, 5146), here evil from the will part, because the basket had holes in it (n. 5145).  From this it follows that by the “bird eating out of the basket from upon the head” is signified that falsity from evil consumed.

[2] There is falsity from two origins--falsity of doctrine, and falsity of evil.  Falsity of doctrine does not consume goods, for a man may be in falsity of doctrine, and yet in good, and therefore men of every doctrine, even Gentiles, are saved; but the falsity of evil is that which consumes goods. Evil in itself is opposite to good, yet by itself it does not consume goods, but by means of falsity, for falsity attacks the truths which belong to good, because truths are as it were outworks that encompass good. These outworks are assaulted by means of falsity, and when these are assaulted good is given to destruction.

[3] One who does not know that “birds” signify things of the intellect, cannot know otherwise than that where “birds” are mentioned in the Word, either birds are meant, or else they are used by way of comparison, as in common speech. Except from the internal sense no one can know that by “birds” are meant things of the understanding such as thoughts, ideas, reasonings, principles, consequently truths or falsities; as in Luke:--

The kingdom of God is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew and became a great tree; so that the birds of the heaven dwelt in the branches of it (Luke 13:19);

the “birds of the heaven” here denotes truths.

[4] In Ezekiel:--

It shall go forth into a magnificent cedar; and under it shall dwell every bird of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell (Ezek. 17:23);

“bird of every wing” denotes truths of every kind.  And again:--

Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon. All the birds of the heavens made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches all the beasts of the field brought forth, and in his shadow dwelt all great nations (Ezek. 31:3, 6);

“birds of the heavens” in like manner denote truths.

[5] Again:--

Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and all the wild animals of the field shall be upon his branches (Ezek. 31:13);

where “birds of the heavens” denote falsities. In Daniel:--

Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream; behold a tree in the midst of the earth; the beast of the field had shadow under it, and the bird of the heaven dwelt in the branch thereof (Daniel 4:10, 12, 18);

where again “birds of the heaven” denote falsities.

[6] In Jeremiah:--

I beheld and lo there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were fled (Jer. 4:25);

“no man” denotes no good (n. 4287); the “birds of the heaven that were fled” denotes that truths were dispersed. Again:--

From the bird of the heavens, even to the beast, they are fled, they are gone (Jer. 9:10);

where the meaning is similar. And in Matthew:--

The sower went forth to sow; and some seeds fell upon the hard way, and the birds came and devoured them (Matthew 13:3, 4);

where “birds” denote reasonings, and also falsities.  The meaning is similar in many other passages.

AC 5150. And Joseph answered and said.  That this signifies revelation from perception, from the celestial in the natural, is evident from the signification of “answering and saying,” as being revelation from perception (n. 5121); and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106). That here “Joseph” is the celestial in the natural, is because the subject here treated of is the natural.  In regard to the celestial and the spiritual the case is this. The celestial itself and the spiritual itself which flow into heaven from the Divine of the Lord dwell principally in the interior rational; for there the forms are more perfect, and are accommodated to reception; nevertheless the celestial and spiritual from the Divine of the Lord flow into the exterior rational also, and likewise into the natural; and this both mediately and immediately--mediately through the interior rational, and immediately from the Lord’s very Divine. That which flows in immediately disposes, and that which flows in mediately is disposed. This is the case in the exterior rational, and in the natural; and hence it is evident what is meant by the celestial in the natural.

[2] The celestial is from the Divine good, and the spiritual is from the Divine truth, both of them being from the Lord; and when these are in the rational they are called the celestial and the spiritual in the rational; and when in the natural, the celestial and the spiritual in the natural.  By the “rational” and the “natural” is meant the man himself, in so far as he is formed to receive the celestial and the spiritual; but by the “rational” is meant his internal, and by the “natural” his external. Through influx and according to the reception, a man is called celestial or spiritual--celestial if the Lord‘s Divine good is received in the will part, spiritual if it in received in the intellectual part.

AC 5151. This is the interpretation thereof.  That this signifies what (the dream) had in it, is evident from the signification of “interpretation,” as being what it has in it, or what is therein (n. 5093, 5105, 5107).

AC 5152. The three baskets.  That this signifies the successives of the things of the will, is evident from the signification of “three baskets,” as being the successives of the things of the will (n. 5144).

AC 5153. Three days are these.  That this signifies even to the last, is evident from the signification of “three,” as being one period and its continuous progression from beginning to end, thus even to the last (n. 2788, 4495, 5122).

AC 5154. In yet three days.  That this signifies that which is in the last, is evident from what was said just above (n. 5152) about the signification of “three.”

AC 5155. Shall Pharaoh lift off thy head from upon thee.  That this signifies what is concluded from what is foreseen, is evident from the signification of “lifting off the head,” as being what is provided and therefore concluded, or what is concluded from what is provided (n. 5124); but here from what is foreseen, because the statement follows that the baker should be hanged upon wood, by which is signified rejection and damnation.  The reason why what is concluded from what is foreseen (not from what is provided), is signified is that providence is predicated of good, but foresight of evil; for all good flows in from the Lord, and therefore this is provided; but all evil is from hell, or from man’s own which makes one with hell; and therefore this is foreseen. As regards evil, Providence is nothing but the direction or determination of evil to less evil, and as far as possible to good; but the evil itself is foreseen. In the present instance it is foresight that is signified, because the subject treated of is the sensuous that is subject to the will part and its rejection on account of evil.

AC 5156. And shall hang thee upon wood.  That this signifies rejection and damnation, is evident from the signification of “being hanged upon wood,” as being rejection and damnation; for hanging upon wood was a curse, and a curse is a rejection from the Divine, consequently damnation that hanging upon wood was a curse, is evident in Moses:--

When there shall be in a man a crime of judgment of death, and he be put to death, so that thou hangest him upon wood, his carcass shall not remain all night upon the wood, but burying thou shalt bury him the same day, for he that is hanged is the curse of God; that thou defile not the land which Jehovah thy God will give thee for an inheritance (Deut. 21:22, 23);

that he “should not remain all night upon the wood” signified perpetual rejection; for in the evening the day began anew, and therefore unless they who had been hanged were cast away before evening, it would have represented that evil was not rejected, and consequently that the land was not freed from it, but was defiled; and therefore it is added, “that thou defile not the lad which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” That the hanged remained until evening and no longer may be seen in (Joshua 8:29; 10:26).  Among the Jewish nation there were two main penalties--stoning and hanging. Stoning was on account of falsity, and hanging upon wood was on account of evil; and this because “stone” is truth (n. 643, 1298, 3720), and in the opposite sense falsity; and “wood” is good (n. 2784, 2812, 3720), and in the opposite sense evil; and therefore in the prophetic Word mention is occasionally made of “committing adultery with stone and wood,” whereby is signified the perversion of truth, which is falsity, and the adulteration of good, which is evil.

AC 5157. And the bird shall eat thy flesh from upon thee.  That this signifies that the falsity of evil will consume what is of these sensuous things, is evident from the signification of “eating,” as being to consume (n. 5149); and from the signification of “bird,” as being falsity (n. 5149); and from the signification of “flesh,” as being good (n. 3812, 3813), and hence in the opposite sense evil; for most of the expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense, which is known from their signification in the genuine sense; and from the signification of “from upon thee,” as being from the sensuous things subject to the will part, for these are represented by the baker (n. 5078, 5082). That these were evil, and therefore to be rejected, is evident from what goes before.

[2] How the case is in regard to this--that the sensuous things subject to the intellectual part which are represented by the butler, were retained, and that the sensuous things subject to the will part which are represented by the baker, were rejected-- is a secret that without enlightenment cannot be comprehended, but what follows may help to throw light upon it.  By sensuous things are meant those memory-knowledges and those delights which have been insinuated through the five external or bodily senses into man‘s memory and into his desires, and which together constitute the exterior natural, from which a man is called a sensuous man. These memory-knowledges are subject to the intellectual part, but the delights are subject to the will part; the memory-knowledges also bear relation to the truths which are of the understanding, and the delights to the goods which are of the will; the former are what are represented by the butler and were retained, and the latter are what are represented by the baker and were rejected.

[3] The reason why the former were retained is that for a time they could agree with intellectual things; and the reason why the latter were rejected is that they could not possibly agree. For the will part in the Lord (who is the subject here treated of in the supreme internal sense) was Divine from conception, and was the Divine good itself; but the will part that He had by birth from the mother was evil; and therefore this was to be rejected, and in its place a new one was to be procured from the Divine will part by means of the intellectual, or from the Divine good by means of the Divine truth, thus from His own power. This is the secret that is here described in the internal sense.

AC 5158. Verses 20-23. And it came to pass on the third day, on Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a feast to all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the prince of the butlers and the head of the prince of the bakers in the midst of his servants.  And he brought back the prince of the butlers upon his butlership, and he gave the cup upon Pharaoh‘s palm; and he hanged the prince of the bakers; as Joseph interpreted to them. And the prince of the butlers did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him.  “And it came to pass on the third day,” signifies in the last; “on Pharaoh’s birthday,” signifies when the natural was being regenerated; “and he made a feast to all his servants,” signifies initiation and conjunction with the exterior natural; “and he lifted up the head,” signifies according to what was provided and foreseen; “of the prince of the butlers and the head of the prince of the bakers,” signifies concerning the sensuous things subject to both parts, the intellectual part and the will part; “in the midst of his servants,” signifies which were among those things that were in the exterior natural; “and he brought back the prince of the butlers upon his butlership,” signifies that the sensuous things of the intellectual part were received and made subordinate; “and he gave the cup upon Pharaoh‘s palm,” signifies instrumental to the interior natural; “and he hanged the prince of the bakers,” signifies that the sensuous things of the will part were rejected; “as Joseph interpreted to them,” signifies prediction from the celestial in the natural; “and the prince of the butlers did not remember Joseph,” signifies that there was not as yet conjunction in every way with the celestial of the natural; “and he forgot him,” signifies removal.

AC 5159. And it came to pass on the third day.  That this signifies in the last, is evident from the signification of the “third day,” as being the last of a state, for “day” is state (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850), and the “third” is what is complete, thus the last (n. 1825, 2788, 4495). By the last of a state is meant when a prior state comes to an end and a new one begins. A new state begins in the man who is being regenerated, when the order is changed, as takes place when interior things obtain dominion over exterior things, and the exterior things begin to serve the interior, both as to the things of the intellect and as to those of the will.  With those who are being regenerated, this is observed from the fact that something within dissuades them from allowing sensuous delights and bodily or earthly pleasures to reign, and to draw over to their side the things of the intellect to confirm them; and when this is the case the prior state is at its last, and the new state is at its first.  Such is the signification of “on the third day.”

[2] With every man, whether being regenerated or not, there come forth changes of state, and also inversions; but in one way with those who are being regenerated, and in another way with those who are not being regenerated. With those who are not being regenerated, these changes or inversions are owing to causes in the body, and to causes in civil life. The causes in the body are the cupidities that come with the time of life and pass away with the time of life, and are also reflections on the health of the body and long life in the world; the causes in civil life are seeming outward bridlings of cupidities, chiefly in order to acquire the reputation of being wise and of loving justice and goodness, but with the end of getting honors and gain; whereas with those who are being regenerated, the changes or inversions are effected for spiritual reasons, which proceed from goodness and justice itself; and when the man begins to be affected with these, he is at the end of the prior state, and at the beginning of a new one.

[3] But as few are able to know how the case herein is, it shall be illustrated by an example. He who does not suffer himself to be regenerated, loves the things of the body for the sake of the body, and for no other end, and he also loves the world for the sake of the world, rising no higher because at heart be denies all that is higher or interior. But on the other hand one who is being regenerated likewise loves the things of the body and also the things of the world, but for a higher or more interior end; for he loves the things of the body with the end of having a sound mind in a sound body, and he loves his mind and its soundness with an end still more interior--that he may relish (or be wise in) good and understand truth.  Like other men he too loves the things of the world; but he loves them for the sake of the end that through the world, its wealth, possessions, and honors, he may have the means of doing what is good and true, and what is just and fair.

[4] This example shows the respective qualities of those who are not being regenerated and of those who are: and that in the outward form they appear alike, but that in the internal form they are wholly unlike. And from what has been said it is also evident what are the reasons, and of what nature these are, that produce the changes and inversions of state in both these classes of persons. And it can further be seen that in the regenerate interior things have dominion over exterior things, while in the unregenerate exterior things have dominion over interior things. It is the ends in a man that have the dominion, for the ends subordinate and subject to themselves all things that are in him. His veriest life is from no other source than his end, because his end is always his love.

AC 5160. On Pharaoh’s birthday.  That this signifies when the natural was being regenerated, is evident from the signification of “being born,” as being to be regenerated; and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the interior natural (n. 5080, 5095), here the natural in general, because with the regenerate the interior and the exterior natural act as a one through their mutual correspondence. “To be born” is to be regenerated because spiritual things are meant in the internal sense, and spiritual birth is regeneration, which is also called rebirth; and therefore when “birth” is mentioned in the Word, no other birth is understood in heaven than that which is effected by “water and the spirit,” that is, through faith and charity; because it is by his being born again or regenerated that man becomes man, and is wholly distinguished from the brutes; for he then becomes a son and heir of the Lord‘s kingdom. Spiritual births are signified by the births which are mentioned in the Word, (n. 1145, 1255, 3860, 3868, 4070, 4668),

AC 5161. And he made a feast to all his servants.  That this signifies initiation and conjunction with the exterior natural, is evident from the signification of a “feast,” as being initiation to conjunction (n. 3832), and also conjunction through love, and appropriation (n. 3596); and from the signification of “servants,” as being the things of the exterior natural.  For when man is being regenerated lower things are subordinated and subjected to higher, or exterior things to interior, the exterior things then becoming servants, and the interior, masters. Such is the signification of “servants” in the Word (n. 2541, 3019, 3020); but they become such servants as are loved by the Lord; for it is mutual love that conjoins them, and causes their service not to be perceived as such, but as compliance from the heart; for good flows in from within, and produces in it this delight.  In old time feasts were held for various reasons, and by them was signified initiation into mutual love, and thus conjunction. They were also held on birthdays; and then represented the new birth, or regeneration, which is the conjunction of the interiors with the exteriors in man through love, consequently is the conjunction of heaven with the world in him; for what is worldly or natural in man is then conjoined with what is spiritual and celestial.

AC 5162. And he lifted up the head. That this signifies according to what is provided and foreseen, is evident from the signification of “lifting up the head,” as being what is concluded from what is provided, and also from what is foreseen (n. 5124, 5155).  This was provided in respect to the sensuous subject to the intellectual part, and retained as good, which is represented by the butler; and it was foreseen in respect to the sensuous subject to the will part, and rejected as evil, which is represented by the baker.  For good is provided and evil is foreseen, because all good is from the Lord, and all evil is from hell, or from man’s own. Man‘s own is nothing but evil, (n. 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 1581, 3812, 4328).

AC 5163. Of the prince of the butlers, and the head of the prince of the bakers.  That this signifies concerning the sensuous things subject to both parts, the intellectual part and the will part, is evident from the representation of the butler, as being the sensuous subject to the intellectual part (n. 5077, 5082); and from the representation of the baker, as being the sensuous subject to the will part (n. 5078, 5082).

AC 5164. In the midst of his servants.  That this signifies that were among those things that were in the exterior natural, is evident from the signification of “in the midst,” as being among them; and from the signification of “servants,” as being the things in the exterior natural (n. 5161). In the Word all things are called “servants” that are beneath and are therefore subordinate and subject to what is higher, just as those things which are of the exterior natural, or the sensuous things therein, are in respect to the interior natural; and the things of the latter also are called “servants” in respect to the rational; and consequently all things in man both in general and in particular, and equally so whether inmost or outmost, are called “servants” relatively to the Divine, for this is supreme.

[2] The “servants” here, in the midst of whom Pharaoh the king executed judgment upon the butler and the baker, were the princes and grandees of the palace; and the reason why these, like other subjects of every condition, are called “servants” relatively to the king (as is also the case in every kingdom at this day) is that royalty represents the Lord as to Divine truth (n. 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5068), in respect to whom all are alike servants, whatever their condition may be; and in the Lord’s kingdom or heaven they who are the greatest (that is, they who are inmost) are servants more than others, because they are in the greatest obedience, and in deeper humiliation than the rest; for these are they who are meant by the “least that shall be greatest,” and by the “last that shall be first”:--

The first shall be last, and the last shall be first (Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30).

He that is least among you the same shall be great (Luke 9:48);

and also by the “great who should be ministers,” and by the “first who should be servants:”--

Whosoever would be great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first of you, shall be servant of all (Mark 10:44; Matt. 20:26, 27).

[3] They are called “servants” relatively to the Divine truth which is from the Lord, and “ministers” relatively to the Divine good which is from Him. The reason why the “last who are first” are servants more fully than others is that they know, acknowledge, and perceive, that everything of life, and consequently everything of power which they have, is from the Lord and not at all from themselves; whereas they who do not perceive this, because they do not so acknowledge, are also servants, yet more in the acknowledgment of the lips than of the heart.  But they who are in what is contrary call themselves “servants” relatively to the Divine, and yet desire to be masters; for they are indignant and angry if the Divine does not favor them and as it were obey them; and at last they are opposed to the Divine, and take away all power from the Divine, and attribute all things to themselves. There are very many of this character within the church, who deny the Lord, and say they acknowledge one supreme Being.

AC 5165. And he brought back the prince of the butlers upon his butlership.  That this signifies that the sensuous things of the intellectual part were received and made subordinate, is evident from the representation of the prince of the butlers, as being in general the sensuous things subject to the intellectual part; and from the signification of “bringing back upon his butlership,” as being to reduce into order under the intellectual. “To bring back upon a station” is to reduce into order so as to be in the last place, (n. 5125). It is here said “upon the butlership,” because the butlership and the things relating to it, such as wine, new wine, strong drink, and water, are predicated of what belongs to the understanding, as also are drinking and giving to drink (n. 3069, 3168, 3772, 4017); hence it is plain that by “bringing back the prince of the butlers upon his butlership” is signified reducing into order the sensuous things of the intellectual part, and thus receiving them and making them subordinate.

[2] These sensuous things are received and made subordinate when they minister and serve as means to interior things, both for bringing forth into act and for seeing inwardly; for man sees interior things in the sensuous things of the exterior natural almost as he sees affections in the face, and those still more interior in the eyes. Without such an interior face, or without such a plane, a man in the body cannot think at all of what is above sensuous things, for he sees what is above as one sees the affections and thoughts of another in his face, while not attending to the face itself; and as when one hears another speak, while not attending to the words, but to the sense of what is said, the very speaking of the words being the plane in which that sense is.  It is similar with the exterior natural; unless this served interior things as a plane in which they see themselves as in a mirror, man could not think at all; and therefore this plane is formed first, even from infancy. But these matters are unknown, because that which comes forth interiorly in man does not come to view except by interior reflection.

[3] The quality of the exterior natural is very manifest in the other life, for the faces of spirits and angels are formed from it and according to it.  In the light of heaven the interiors, and especially the intentions or ends, shine forth through that face. If love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor have formed the interiors, there is a consequent resplendence in the face, and the face itself is love and charity in form; but if the love of self and of the world, and the derivative hatred, revenge, cruelty, and the like, have formed the interiors, there is a consequent diabolical expression in the face, and the face itself is hatred, revenge, and cruelty in form.  From this it is evident what the exterior natural is and what is its use, and also what it is when made subject to interior things, and what it is when interior things are made subject to it.

AC 5166. And he gave the cup upon Pharaoh‘s palm.  That this signifies instrumental to the interior natural, is evident from what has been said above, (n. 5126), where similar words occur.

AC 5167. And he hanged the prince of the bakers.  That this signifies that the sensuous things of the will part were rejected, is also evident from what has been unfolded above (n. 5156), where similar words are used.

AC 5168. As Joseph interpreted to them.  That this signifies prediction from the celestial in the natural, is evident from the signification of “interpreting,” as being to say what the dream has in it, or what is within it, and also what would happen (n. 5093, 5105, 5107, 5141), thus to predict; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial in the natural (n. 5086, 5087, 5106). How it was that the sensuous things of the intellectual part were retained, and those of the will part rejected, may be seen above (n. 5157).

[2] The subject treated of in the internal sense of this chapter is the subordination of the exterior natural, which is to be made subordinate in order that it may serve the interior natural as a plane (n. 5165); for unless it is made subordinate, interior truths and goods, and consequently interior thoughts which have in them what is spiritual and celestial, have not anything in which they can be represented; for they are presented in the exterior natural as in their face, or as in a mirror; and therefore when there is no subordination the man can have no interior thought; nay, he cannot have any faith; for there is no comprehension, whether distant or eminent, and therefore no perception of such things.  The only thing that can make the natural subordinate, and reduce it to correspondence, is the good in which there is innocence, which good in the Word is called “charity.” Sensuous things and memory-knowledges are only the means into which this good may flow, and in which it may present itself in form, and unfold itself for every use; but without this good in them, memory-knowledges, even if the very truths of faith, are nothing but scales among filth, which fall off.

[3] But how through good by means of memory-knowledges and truths of faith exterior things are reduced into order, and to correspondence with interior things, is at this day further from apprehension than it was formerly; and this for several reasons, the chief of which is that at this day there is no longer charity within the church; for it is the last time of the church, and therefore there is no affection of knowing such things.  For this reason somewhat of aversion at once shows itself when anything is said that is within or above sensuous things, and consequently when anything of angelic wisdom is set forth. But as such things are in the internal sense (for the things contained in this sense are adapted to angelic wisdom), and as the Word is now being unfolded in respect to the internal sense, they must be declared, however remote they will appear from what is sensuous.

AC 5169. And the prince of the butlers did not remember Joseph. That this signifies that there was not as yet conjunction in every way with the celestial of the natural, is evident from the signification of “remembering Joseph,” as being the reception of faith (n. 5130), and consequently conjunction, because conjunction is effected by means of faith; here therefore “not remembering” means that there was not as yet conjunction in every way; and from the representation of the prince of the butlers, as being the sensuous of the intellectual part; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the natural.

AC 5170. And he forgot him.  That this signifies removal, is evident from the signification of “forgetting,” when not remembering is non-conjunction, as being removal; for it is according to non-conjunction that removal takes place. That which falls into oblivion is also removed. And such also is the case with the sensuous things subject to the intellectual part, for those which are retained are not therefore conjoined, for they are not yet free from fallacies, but as fast as they are purified they are conjoined.  Of this however more will be said in the following chapter, where the butler is said to have remembered Joseph.

AC 5171. To what provinces angelic societies belong may be known in the other life from their situation relatively to the human body, and also from their operation and influx; for they flow into and operate upon that organ or member in which they are, but their influx and operation can be perceived only by those who are in the other life, and not by man unless his interiors are opened to that extent, nor even then unless the Lord gives him a sensitive reflection joined with perception.

AC 5172. There are certain upright spirits who think without any meditation, and who therefore rapidly and as it were without premeditation utter whatever occurs to their thought. They have an interior perception, which does not become so visual by means of meditations and thoughts as is the case with others; for in the course of their lives they have been as it were self-instructed about the goodness of things, but not so much so about the truth of them. I have been told that such persons belong to the province of the Thymus Gland; for the thymus is a gland that is especially serviceable to infants, and during that age is soft. In such spirits likewise there remains a soft infantile quality, into which the perception of good flows, and from which perception truth shines forth in a general manner.  These spirits are able to be in great turmoils without being disturbed, as is also the case with the gland in question.

AC 5173. In the other life there are very many methods of agitation, and also very many methods of inaugurations into circles. The purifying in the body of the blood, as well as of the serum or lymph, and also of the chyle, represents these agitations, which are effected also by various castigations; and the subsequent introducing into use of these fluids represents the inaugurations into circles.  It is a very common thing in the other life for spirits, after undergoing agitation, to be let into a tranquil and delightful state, thus into the societies into which they are to be inaugurated, and to which they are to be joined.

[2] That the castigation and purifying of the blood, serum, and chyle, and of the food in the stomach, correspond to such things in the spiritual world, cannot but seem strange to those who think of nothing else in natural things than what is natural, and especially to those who believe in nothing else, thus denying that there is or can be anything spiritual within natural things that acts and rules; when yet the truth is that in all and each of the things in nature and her three kingdoms there is an inward active force from the spiritual world; and unless this were so, nothing whatever is the natural world could act as cause and effect, and consequently nothing could he produced.  That which is with natural things from the spiritual world is called a force implanted from the first creation; whereas it is an endeavor, or the cessation of which, action or motion ceases.  Hence it is that the universal visible world is a theater representative of the spiritual world.

[3] The case herein is like that of the motion of the muscles from which is action; unless there were in this motion an endeavor from man’s thought and will it would cease in a moment; for it is according to laws known in the learned world that when endeavor ceases, motion ceases, and also that every thing of determination is in endeavor, and that in motion there is nothing real except endeavor. It is clear that this force or endeavor in action or motion is the spiritual in the natural; for to think and will is spiritual, and to act and be moved is natural. It is true that those who do not think beyond nature do not apprehend this, and yet they cannot deny it. Nevertheless that in the will and thence in the thought, which produces, is not alike in form to the action that is produced; for the action merely represents that which the mind wills and thinks.

AC 5174. It is known that the food in the stomach is agitated in many ways, in order that its inner elements may be extracted, and may serve for use, that is, may pass into chyle, and then into blood; and that it is further agitated in the intestines.  Such agitations are represented by the first agitations of spirits, which all take place according to their life in the world, in order that evils may be separated, and goods gathered to serve for use; and therefore it may be said of souls or spirits that shortly after death or release from the body, they come first as it were into the region of the stomach, and are there agitated and purified.  They in whom evils have obtained the ascendency, after being agitated with no good result, are conveyed through the stomach into the intestines, even to the last, which are the colon and rectum, and thence are cast forth into the privy, that is, into hell. But they in whom goods have had the ascendency, after some agitations and purifications become chyle, and pass into the blood, some by a longer and some by a shorter way, some being agitated severely, some gently, and some scarcely at all.  These last are represented in the food juices which are at once imbibed by the veins and carried into the circulation, even into the brain; and so on.

AC 5175. For when a man dies and enters the other life, his life is circumstanced like food, which is softly taken hold of by the lips and is then passed through the mouth, fauces, and esophagus, into the stomach, and this according to the nature that has been contracted in the life of the body by means of various activities.  At first most spirits are treated gently, being kept in the company of angels and good spirits, which is represented by the food being first touched softly by the lips, and then tasted by the tongue to discover its quality.  Food that is soft, and in which there is what is sweet, oily, and spirituous, is at once absorbed by the veins, and carried into the circulation; but food that is hard, and in which there is what is bitter, noisome, and but little nutritious, is mastered with more difficulty, being let down through the esophagus into the stomach, where it is churned in various ways and windings; and food that is still harder, more noisome, and innutritious, is thrust down into the intestines, and at last into the rectum, where first is hell; and finally it is cast out, and becomes excrement. It is similar with the life of man after death. He is at first kept in externals, and because in these he had led a civil and moral life, he is with angels and upright spirits; but after external things are taken away from him it becomes plain of what quality he had been inwardly in respect to his thoughts and affections, and finally in respect to his ends, his life remaining according to these last.

AC 5176. So long as spirits are in the state in which they are like food in the stomach, so long they are not in the Grand Man, but are being introduced into it; but when they are representatively in the blood, they are then in the Grand Man.

AC 5177. They who have been very solicitous about the future, and especially they who have therefore become grasping and avaricious, appear in the region where the stomach is. Many have appeared to me there.  The sphere of their life may be compared to a sickening smell which is exhaled from the stomach, and also to the heaviness from indigestion.  They who have been of this character stay long in this region, because solicitude about the future, when confirmed by act, greatly dulls and retards the influx of spiritual life; for they attribute to themselves that which is of the Divine Providence; and they who do this obstruct the influx, and take away from themselves the life of good and truth.

AC 5178. As solicitude about things to come is what produces anxieties in man, and as such spirits appear in the region of the stomach, therefore anxieties affect the stomach more than the other viscera.  It has also been given me to perceive how these anxieties are increased and diminished by the presence and removal of the spirits referred to.  Some anxieties were perceived interiorly, some more exteriorly, some more above, and some more below, according to the difference of such solicitude as to origin, derivation, and direction. It is for this reason also that when such anxieties take possession of the mind, the region about the stomach is constricted, and at times pain is felt there, and the anxieties also seem to rise up from there; and hence also it is that when man is no longer solicitous about the future, or when everything turns out well for him so that he no longer is fearful of any misfortune, the region about the stomach is relieved and expands, and he feels delight.

AC 5179. I once observed an anxious feeling in the lower part of the stomach, from which it was evident to me that such spirits were present.  I spoke with them, and said that they should go away, because their sphere induced anxiety and did not agree with the spheres of the spirits who were with me. I then discoursed with them about spheres, saying that there are very many spiritual spheres about man, and that men do not know nor desire to know that such is the case, because they deny all that which is called spiritual, and some whatever is not seen and touched; thus that certain spheres from the spiritual world encompass man, agreeing with his life, and that by means of them man is in company with spirits of similar affection, and that many things take place thereby which the man who attributes all things to nature either denies or ascribes to a more occult nature--as for example that which is ascribed to fortune; for by their experience some persons are fully persuaded that something called fortune is secretly at work, but they know not what is the source of it. That this hidden something is from a spiritual sphere, and is the ultimate of Providence, will of the Lord‘s Divine mercy be shown elsewhere, from what has been attested by experience.

AC 5180. There are genii and spirits who induce upon the head a kind of suction or drawing, in such a way as to cause pain in the part affected. I noticed a distinct feeling of suction, as if a membrane were being very sensibly sucked up. I doubt whether others could have borne this on account of the pain; but having become accustomed to it, I have at last often borne it without pain.  The chief place of the suction was on the top of the head; and from there it spread toward the region of the left ear, and also toward the region of the left eye. That which spread toward the eye was from spirits, and that which spread toward the ear was from genii.  Both of these belong to the province of the receptacle and ducts of the chyle, whither also the chyle is drawn from all quarters, although at the same time it is driven there.  There were also others, who acted within the head in almost the same way, but not with so great a force of suction.  It was said that these are they to whom the subtle chyle corresponds, which is brought toward the brain and there mingled with new animal spirit, in order that it may be sent down toward the heart. They who acted outwardly were first seen by me on the front side, a little to the left, and afterward in a higher position there; so that their region was observed to be from the plane of the septum of the nose rising toward the plane of the left ear.

[2] They who constitute this province are of two kinds, some being quite modest, while others are wanton. The modest are they who have desired to know men’s thoughts for the purpose of alluring and binding them to themselves (for one who knows another‘s thoughts, knows also his secret and inner things, and this effects conjunction), the end being social intercourse and friendship. These desire to know only what is good in men, exploring this and putting a good interpretation on everything else. But the wanton desire and endeavor in many ways to find out the thoughts of others, with a view either of making capital of them or of doing harm; and because they are in such a desire and endeavor, they keep the person’s mind fixed on the thing they desire to know, never giving way, yielding an affectionate assent, and thus drawing out even the secret thoughts. In the other life they act in a similar manner in the societies there, and still more artfully; for there they do not allow the other to wander from his idea, which they also kindle into activity, and thus lure it forth. By this means they afterward hold the others as it were in bonds, and under their control, being privy to their evils. But these spirits are among the wandering spirits, and are often chastised.

AC 5181. From the circles above referred to it may also somewhat be known to what province in the Grand Man, and correspondently in the body, spirits and angels belong. The circles of those who belong to the province of the Lymphatics are slight and rapid, like gently flowing water, so that scarcely any circling can be perceived. They who belong to the lymphatics are afterward conveyed into places which they said have reference to the Mesentery, and where I was told that there are as it were labyrinths, and that they are afterward taken away to various places in the Grand Man to serve for use, as is done with the chyle in the body.

AC 5182. There are circles into which recent spirits have to be inaugurated in order that they may be able to be in the companionship of others, and both speak and think together with them. In the other life there must be a concord and unanimity of all, in order that they may be a one; just as is the case with each and all things in man, which though everywhere various, yet by being of one accord make a one. It is similar in the Grand Man; and to this end the thought and speech of one must be in accord with those of others.  It is a fundamental necessity that the thought and speech should accord together in every individual in a society; otherwise a discordance like a disagreeable grating noise is perceived, which strikes harshly on the minds of the others. Moreover every thing discordant tends to disunite, and is impure, and must be rejected.  This impurity arising from discord is represented by the impurity with and in the blood, from which it needs to be cleansed. This cleansing is effected by means of agitations, which are nothing else than temptations of various kinds; and afterward by means of introduction into circles. The first introduction into circles takes place in order that the spirits may be accommodated together; the second is in order that the thought and speech may be in accord; the third is that the spirits may agree together as to thoughts and affections; and the fourth is that they may agree in truths and goods.

AC 5183. It has been granted me to observe the circles of those who belong to the province of the Liver, and this for the space of an hour.  The circles were gentle, flowing about variously in accordance with the working of this viscus, and they affected me with much delight. Their working is diverse, but is usually orbicular.  That their working is diverse is represented also in the functions of the liver, which are diverse; for the liver draws in blood and separates it, pouring the better part into the veins, sending away that of a middle quality into the hepatic duct, and leaving the viler part for the gallbladder. This is the case in adults; but in embryos the liver receives the blood from the womb of the mother, and purifies it, insinuating the purer part into the veins, that it may flow into the heart by a shorter way, thus acting as a guard before the heart.

AC 5184. They who belong to the Pancreas act by a sharper mode, and as it were in a sawing manner, and with a buzzing sound like that of sawing, which comes audibly to the ears of spirits, but not to those of man unless he is in the spirit while in the body.  Their region is between the region of the spleen and that of the liver, more to the left.  They who are in the province of the Spleen are almost directly over the head; but their working falls on the organ in question.

AC 5185. There are spirits who relate to the Pancreatic, Hepatic, and Cystic Ducts, and consequently to the biles in them, which the intestines cast out. These spirits are of different kinds, but act in consort according to the state of those to whom the working is directed.  They present themselves chiefly at chastisements and punishments, which they desire to direct. The worst of them are so stubborn that they are not willing to desist unless deterred by fears and threats; for they dread sufferings, and then promise anything.  They are those who in the life of the body have clung tenaciously to their opinions, not so much from evil of life as from a natural depravity. When they are in their natural state they think nothing; to think nothing is to think obscurely of many things together, and not distinctly of anything.  Their delight is to chastise, and in this way to do good; nor do they abstain from things unclean.

AC 5186. They who constitute the province of the Gall bladder are at the back.  They are those who in the life of the body have despised what is upright, and in a certain way what is pious; and also those who have brought these things into disrepute.

AC 5187. A certain spirit came to me, inquiring whether I knew where he might stay; and when, thinking him well disposed, I told him that possibly he might stay here, there came agitating spirits of this province who tormented him miserably.  I was sorry for this, and in vain desired to prevent it. I then noticed that I was in the province of the gall-bladder. The agitating spirits were of those who despise what is upright and pious.  It was granted me to observe one kind of agitation there, that consists in forcing one to speak faster than he can think.  This they effected by abstracting the speech from the thought, and by then forcing the spirit to follow their speech, which it is painful to do.  By means of such an agitation the slow are inaugurated into a quicker thinking and speaking.

AC 5188. There are some in the world who act by artifices and lies, whence come evils.  Their quality was shown me, and also the manner in which they act, how they employ the harmless as instruments of persuading others, and also how they induce on them the person of having said so and so, when yet they have said nothing of the kind. In a word, they use evil means to arrive at their end, whatever it may be, even such means as deceits, lies, and artifices.  Such spirits have reference to the sores called Spurious Tubercles, which usually grow on the pleura and other membranes; and wherever these sores take firm hold they spread their poison widely, until at last they bring decay upon the whole membrane.

[2] Such spirits are severely punished; but their punishment is different from that of others, being effected by means of whirlings; for they are whirled round from left to right, like an orbit which at first is a plane, but which in whirling round swells out.  Afterward the swelling seems to be pressed in and to grow hollow, whereupon the speed is increased; and wonderful to say this is according to the form and in imitation of such swellings or abscesses.  It was observed that while being whirled they tried to draw others, for the most part the guiltless, into their whirl, and thus into destruction; thus that they did not care whom they drew into perdition, so long as these seemed to themselves to perish.

[3] It was also observed that they have a most intense sight, seeing as it were instantly and thereby seizing on as means whatever is favorable; thus that they are sharper than others. They may also be called deadly ulcers, wherever in the chamber of the breast these may be, whether in the pleura, in the pericardium, in the mediastinum, or in the lungs. It was shown that after punishment such spirits are rejected to the back into the deep, and that they lie there with the face and belly downward, having but little human life, and being thereby deprived of their sharp-sightedness, which had been that of a ferine life. Their hell is in a deep place under the right foot, somewhat in front.

AC 5189. There came some spirits in front; and before their coming I noticed a sphere from evil spirits, from which I supposed that evil spirits were approaching; but they were their enemies, as I learned from the aggressive and hostile feeling which they inspired against them. When they arrived they placed themselves above my head, and spoke with me, saying that they were men.  I answered that they were not men endowed with a body such as men in the world have, who are wont to call themselves men from the form of the body; but that nevertheless they are men, because the spirit of the man is truly the man. To this I perceived no dissent, for they confirmed it.  They said further that they were men who are unlike; and because it seemed impossible to me that there could be a society in the other life of those who are unlike, I talked with them about it, and said that if a common cause impelled them to unity, they nevertheless could be associated, because they would thus all have one end. They said that their quality was such that each one speaks differently from the others, and yet they all think alike.  This they also illustrated by examples, whereby it appeared that the perception of all was one, but that their speech was diverse.

[2] They then applied themselves to my left ear and said that they were good spirits, and it was their custom so to speak. It was said of them that they come in a body, and that no one knows where they come from.  I perceived the sphere of evil spirits to be exceedingly hostile to them; for evil spirits are the subjects whom they agitate.  Their society, which is a wandering one, was represented by a man and a woman in a chamber, clothed with a garment that was turned into a robe of an azure color.

[3] It was perceived that they have reference to the Isthmus in the brain, which is between the cerebrum and the cerebellum, through which fibers pass, and thence spread in various directions, and in every direction operate diversely in the outward things; also that they have reference to the Ganglia in the body, into which a nerve flows, and from there is divided into a number of fibers, some of which run one way and some another, their action being dissimilar in ultimates, and yet is from one beginning; thus being in ultimates dissimilar in appearance, yet similar in end. Moreover it is known that one force acting in the extremities can have a manifold variation, and this according to the form there. Ends also are represented by the beginnings, such as they are in the brain, from which are the fibers; the thoughts from these ends are represented by the fibers from those beginnings; and the actions thence resulting by the nerves which are composed of fibers.

AC 5190. A continuation about the correspondence with the Grand Man will be found at the end of the following chapter.

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