131#“这些事是那有两刃利剑的说的”表示在试探中独自争战的主。这从“剑”的含义清楚可知，“剑”是指与虚假争战的真理，在反面意义上是指与真理争战的虚假。经上说它是两刃的利剑，是因为它刺向两边。“剑”或长剑因表示这一点，故也表示对虚假的驱散，以及试探。它表示对虚假的驱散(AE73节)。它表示试探，是因为写给该教会天使的信论述的是试探，还因为试探就是真理与虚假，并虚假与真理的争战。属灵的试探就是这种争战(参看《新耶路撒冷及其属天教义》，187–201节)。“这些事是那有两刃利剑的说的”表示在试探中主独自争战，因为前一章(1:16)说：从在七灯台中间行走的人子口中出来一把两刃的利剑；祂的脸像日头满有力地发光；“人子”表示神性真理方面的主(可参看63节)。在试探中，争战的，唯独是主，根本不是人(参看《新耶路撒冷及其属天教义》，195–200节)。“剑”或长剑表示真理与虚假，并虚假与真理的争战，是因为在圣言中，“战争”表示属灵的战争，属灵的战争就是真理与虚假，并虚假与真理的战争；由于在圣言中，“战争”具有这种含义，所以一切战争武器，如“剑”、“枪”、“弓”、“箭”、“盾”，和其它许多武器，都表示属于属灵争战的某种具体事物；“剑”尤其如此，因为他们在战争中用剑争战。“战争”表示属灵的争战(参看《属天的奥秘》，1659, 1664, 8295, 10455节)；因此，战争的每种武器都表示属于属灵争战的某种事物(参看1788, 2686节)。
在圣言中，“剑”表示与虚假争战的真理，与真理争战的虚假，因而表示对虚假的驱散，也表示属灵的试探，这一点从许多经文明显看出来，我们从中仅引用一些经文用来证实。因此，在马太福音：
耶稣说，祂来并不是给地上带来和平，而是带来剑。(马太福音10:34)
此处“剑”表示试探的争战。经上之所以如此说，是因为那时人们沉浸于虚假，并且主揭开了内层真理；若不用这些真理争战，虚假就无法被逐出。
路加福音：
耶稣对门徒说，如今有钱囊的可以带着，有口袋的也可以带着，没有剑的要卖衣服买剑。(路加福音22:35–38)
“钱囊”和“口袋”表示属灵知识，因而表示真理；“衣服”表示他们自己的东西；“剑”表示争战。
耶利米书：
有剑临到迦勒底人和巴比伦的居民，并她的首领与智慧人。有剑临到说谎的人，他们就变为愚昧；有剑临到她的勇士，他们就惊惶；有剑临到她的马匹、战车；有剑临到她的宝物，宝物就被抢夺；有干旱临到她的众水，它们就干涸。(耶利米书50:35–38)
此处“剑”表示真理的驱散和荒废；剑具体临到的每种人或物，如“迦勒底人”，“巴比伦的居民”，“她的首领与智慧人”，“说谎的人”，“勇士”，“马匹、战车”，“宝物”，都表示被荒废的人或物；如“马”表示理解力的事物；“战车”表示教义；“宝物”表示知识或认知；故经上说，“有干旱临到她的众水，它们就干涸”，因为“水”是指教会的真理，使它们干涸的“干旱”是指荒废。“干旱”和“干涸”是指没有真理的地方(参看《属天的奥秘》，8185节)；“水”是指教会的真理(参看AE71节)；“宝物”是指知识(《属天的奥秘》，1694, 4508, 10227节)；“马”是指理解力的事物，“战车”是指教义(参看《白马》，2–5节)。
以赛亚书：
耶和华必争论，以祂的剑与所有肉体相争；被耶和华所杀的必增多。(以赛亚书66:16)
耶利米书：
毁坏者来到荒漠中一切的高处，耶和华的剑，从地这边直到地那边，尽行吞灭。(耶利米书12:12)
以西结书：
你要预言说，一把剑，已经磨利擦亮。磨利为要大行杀戮，擦亮为要闪光；这剑要一连三次加倍；就是致死伤的的剑，进入密室大行杀戮的剑，使他们的心融化，跌倒加增；我要将剑尖指向他们一切的城门。阿哈！这剑造得像闪电。(以西结书21:9–15, 28)
以赛亚书：
拿水来给口渴的人，拿饼来迎接逃亡的人；因为他们逃避剑和出了鞘的剑，并弯弓与战争的重灾。(以赛亚书21:14, 15)
以西结书：
我在他们面前挥动我的剑，他们各人为自己的灵魂时刻战兢时，他们必吓得发抖；藉勇士的剑使他们的群众众仆倒。(以西结书32:10–12)
诗篇：
愿圣民因荣耀欢乐，愿他们在床上歌唱。愿对神的称颂在他们喉咙里，两刃的剑在他们手中。(诗篇149:5, 6)
诗篇：
大能者啊，愿你大腿边佩剑，在你的威严中，乘驾真理的话语，你的右手必指教你奇妙的事。你的箭锋利。(诗篇45:3–5)
启示录：
有一把大剑赐给那骑在红马上的。(启示录6:4)
又：
有利剑从骑白马的口中出来，可以击杀列族。其余的被骑白马者的剑杀了。(启示录19:15, 21)
在这些经文中，“剑”表示进行争战和摧毁的真理；这种摧毁在灵界尤其明显；在那里，那些处于虚假的人无法承受真理。当他们进入光的领域，也就是神性真理所在的地方，从而被剥夺真理并荒废时，就处于一种剧痛状态，就像那些垂死挣扎的人。
131b.正如圣言中的大多数词语也都有一个反面意义，“剑”也有一个反面意义；它在反面意义上表示与真理争战并摧毁它的虚假。当不再有任何真理，只有虚假时，教会的荒废就会发生；圣言以“剑”来描述这种荒废，如以下经文：
他们要倒在剑刃之下，又被掳到所有民族当中；最终耶路撒冷要被所有民族践踏，直到列族的日期满了。(路加福音21:24)
此处论述的时代完结就是教会的末期，这时虚假将占上风。“倒在剑刃之下”是指真理将被虚假摧毁；此处“列族”是指邪恶，“耶路撒冷”是指教会。
以赛亚书：
我必使人比精金还珍稀。凡被发现的必被刺穿；凡被捉拿的必倒在剑下。(以赛亚书13:12, 15)
“珍稀的人”是指那些处于真理的人；“被刺穿”和“倒在剑下”是指被虚假吞灭。
同一先知书：
到那日，各人必将他的银偶像、金偶像，就是你们亲手给自己所造的，都抛弃了。亚述必倒在不属人(vir)的剑下；有不属人(homo)的剑要吞灭他；他必在这剑面前逃走，他的少年人必成为服苦的。(以赛亚书31:7, 8)
“手所造的偶像”是指出于自我聪明的虚假；“亚述”是指实现这一点所凭借的理性。“倒在不属人(vir)的剑下”、“不属人(homo)的”是指没有被真理攻击虚假的任何争战摧毁。“他必在这剑面前逃走，他的少年人必成为服苦的”是指没有被摧毁的真理必服从虚假。这就是这些话的意思，这一点并未表现在字义上；由此明显可知，灵义距离字义何等遥远。
耶利米书：
我击打你们的儿子是是徒然的；他们不受管教；你们自己的剑吞灭你们的先知。(耶利米书2:30)
同一先知书：
看哪，那些先知说，你们必不看见剑，也不遭遇饥荒。那些先知必被剑和饥荒灭绝。我若出往田间，就见有被剑杀的。我若进入城内，就见有因饥荒患病的。(耶利米书14:13–18)
这两段经文论述了教会在真理上的荒废；“先知”是指那些教导真理的人；“灭绝他们的剑”是指进行争战并摧毁的虚假；“田”是指教会；“城”是指教义；“在田间被剑杀的”是指教会里那些真理被摧毁的人；“城内因饥荒患病的”是指教义中的一切真理的缺乏。
又：
他们否认耶和华，说，这并不是祂；灾祸必不临到我们，剑和饥荒，我们也看不见。(耶利米书5:12)
又：
少年人必死于剑下，他们的儿女必因饥荒而死。(耶利米书11:22)
“少年人”是指那些处于真理的人，在抽象意义上是指真理本身；“死于剑下”是指被虚假摧毁；“儿女”是指真理和良善的知识；“饥荒”是指这些知识的缺乏。
耶利米哀歌：
因为旷野的剑，我们冒着灵魂之险才得到粮食。(耶利米哀歌5:9)
“旷野”是指因没有真理而没有良善的地方；它的“剑”是指对真理的摧毁；“粮食”是指良善，这良善是“冒着灵魂之险”才得到的，因为一切良善都通过真理被植入人。
以西结书：
在外有剑，在内有瘟疫、饥荒；在田野的必死于剑下，在城中的必有饥荒、瘟疫吞灭他。(以西结书7:15)
此处“剑”是指对真理的摧毁；“瘟疫”是指由此而来的灭绝；“饥荒”是指彻底的缺乏。其它地方也有类似含义(如耶利米书21:7; 29:17, 18; 34:17)。
撒迦利亚书：
丢弃羊群的无用牧人有祸了！剑必临到他的膀臂和右眼上。他的膀臂必全然枯干，他的右眼也必完全昏暗。(撒迦利亚书11:17)
“临到膀臂的剑”是指对良善方面的意愿的摧毁；“临到右眼的剑”是指对真理方面的理解力的摧毁；“膀臂必全然枯干，右眼也必完全昏暗”表示一切良善和一切真理都将灭亡。
以赛亚书：
要这样对你们的主人说，你听见亚述王的仆人亵渎耶和华的话，不要惧怕。看哪，我必使他倒在自己的剑下。亚述王西拿基立回去；他在他的神尼斯洛庙里叩拜，他的两个儿子用剑杀了他。(以赛亚书37:6, 7, 37, 38)
由于承认或否认神性的，是理性，当它否认神性时，就急切地抓住一切虚假，而不是真理，从而灭亡，所以这种代表就发生了，也就是说，亚述王因亵渎耶和华而在他的神尼斯洛庙里被他的儿子用剑击杀。“亚述”表示两种意义上的理性(《属天的奥秘》，119, 1186节)；这王的“儿子”表示虚假，“剑”表示虚假的摧毁。
摩西五经：
经上吩咐，拜别神的城要用剑击杀，用火烧尽。(申命记13:12–16)
制定这条律例，是因为那时一切事物都具有代表性；“拜别神”是指出于虚假敬拜；“被剑击杀”是指因虚假而灭亡；“用火烧尽”是指因虚假之邪恶而灭亡。
民数记：
凡在田野里摸了被剑刺死者的，就要不洁净。(民数记19:16, 18, 19)
“被剑刺死者”代表教会里那些摧毁自己所拥有的真理之人；“田野”在此是指教会。
“剑”表示摧毁真理的虚假，这一点清楚可见于诗篇：
人子有火着起；他们的牙齿是枪、箭，他们的舌头是利剑。(诗篇57:4)
又：
看哪，他们用口吠叫，嘴里有剑。(诗篇59:7)
又：
作孽的人使他们的舌头尖锐如剑；他们用苦毒的话比准了他们的箭。(诗篇64:3)
由此清楚可知，主对彼得说的话表示什么：
凡动剑的，必死在剑下。(马太福音26:51–52)
即表示那些相信虚假的人必因虚假而灭亡。
由此明显可知，在圣言中，“剑或长剑”、“短剑”或“剑”在两种意义上表示什么。“剑”表示这类事物的原因来自灵界的表象。当属灵的争战，也就是真理与虚假，并虚假与真理的争战在那里发生时，各种战争武器，如剑、枪、盾等等就会出现；并不是说这些争战靠这些东西来进行，因为它们只是表象，代表属灵争战。当虚假与真理激烈争战时，有时只见双方刀光剑影，造成极大的恐惧，那些出于虚假争战的人由此被驱散。
由此清楚可知以西结书中的这些话是什么意思：
我在他们面前挥动我的剑，他们各人为自己的灵魂时刻战兢时，他们必吓得发抖。(以西结书32:10–12)
又：
你要预言说，一把剑，已经磨利擦亮，为要闪光，使他们的心融化。阿哈！这剑造得像闪电。(以西结书21:9–10, 15)
剑造成如此大的恐惧，是因为造剑所用的“铁”表示终端的真理，闪光和光辉来自天堂之光和这光在剑上的振动。天堂之光是从主发出的神性真理。如此临到那些处于虚假之人身上的神性真理就会造成恐惧。
由此也清楚可知这句话表示什么：
亚当被赶出去之后，基路伯就被安置在伊甸的东边，还有剑的火焰自行转动，要把守生命树的道路。(创世记3:24)
“生命树”表示属天之爱，也就是对主之爱；“基路伯”表示守卫；“剑的火焰自行转动”表示对所有处于虚假之人的可怕驱赶和弃绝；“伊甸的东边”是指在那属天之爱中，主的同在所在的地方；因此，这些话表示朝着对唯独主的承认的一切靠近向那些没有过着爱之生活的人关闭。“剑”表示虚假，这一点在以西结书很清楚地看出来，那里论到推罗的首领如此说：
他们要拔出剑来攻击你智慧的美丽。(以西结书28:7)
“推罗的首领”表示源于真理的知识或认知的聪明；这聪明被虚假灭绝了，故经上说，他们要拔出剑来攻击智慧，除非“剑”表示虚假，否则经上不可能说这话。
131. These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword. That this signifies the Lord who alone fights in temptations, is evident from the signification of a sword, as being truth fighting against falsity, and, in an opposite sense, falsity fighting against truth. It is called sharp, and two-edged, because it cuts on both sides. Because this is signified by sword, therefore it also signifies dispersion of falsities, and also temptation. That it signifies dispersion of falsities, may be seen above (n. 73). That it signifies temptation is because, in what is written to the angels of this church, temptations are treated of, and also because temptation is a combat of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth. (That spiritual temptation is such combat, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 187-201.) The reason why by these things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword, is meant the Lord as alone fighting in temptations is, that, in the preceding chapter, ver. 16, it is said that out of the mouth of the Son of man was seen going forth a sharp two-edged sword; and by the Son of man is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, as may be seen above, n. 63. (That the Lord alone fights in temptations, and not man at all, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 195-200.) The reason why by a sword is signified the combat of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, is, that by wars in the Word, are signified spiritual wars; and spiritual wars are those that take place between truths and falsities. And because wars in the Word have such a signification, therefore also all the arms used in war, as a sword, a spear, a bow, darts, a shield, and many others, signify specifically something pertaining to spiritual combat, especially the sword, because in wars they formerly fought with swords. (That wars signify spiritual combats may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; and that hence, particular arms of war signify what belongs to spiritual combat, may be seen, n. 1788, 2686.)
[2] That a sword in the Word signifies truth combating against falsity, and falsity against truth, and hence the dispersion of falsities, and also spiritual temptation, is evident from many passages, of which we will adduce a few only by way of confirmation. Thus in Matthew:
Jesus said, that he was not come to send peace upon earth, but a sword (10:34);
where, by sword is meant the combat of temptation; the reason it is so said, was, that men at that time were immersed in falsities, and the Lord revealed interior truths; and falsities cannot be cast forth except by combats from those truths.
[3] In Luke:
Jesus said to the disciples "Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (22:35-38).
By a purse and scrip are signified spiritual knowledges (cognitiones), thus truths; by garments are signified things proper to themselves; and by a sword is signified combat.
[4] Again in Jeremiah:
"O sword, against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her princes, and against her wise men. O sword, against liars that they may become foolish; O sword, against her mighty men that they may be dismayed; O sword, against her horses and against her chariots; O sword, against her treasures that they may be spoiled; a drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up" (Arcana Coelestia 8185; that waters denote the truths of the church, may be seen above, n. 71; that treasure denotes knowledges, n. 1694, 4508, 10227; that horses denote intellectual things and chariots doctrinals, may be seen in the small work, The White Horse 2-5.)
[5] In Isaiah:
"Jehovah shall contend, and by his sword with all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be multiplied" (66:16).
In Jeremiah:
"Upon all the hills in the desert the spoilers have come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the earth even to the end of the earth" (12:12).
In Ezekiel:
"Prophesy, and say, a sword well sharpened, and also well polished; it is sharpened to slay a slaughter, it is polished to glitter; the sword shall be repeated the third time; the sword of the slain, the sword of great slaughter penetrating into the secret chambers, that the heart may faint, and offences may be multiplied against all their gates will I set the point of the sword ah! it has become lightning" (21:9, 10, 14, 15, 28).
In Isaiah:
"Bring waters to meet him that is thirsty, with bread prevent him that wandereth; for before the sword shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow, and for the grievousness of war" (21:14, 15).
In Ezekiel:
"They shall quake with fear when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble every moment, a man for his own soul; by the swords of the mighty casting down the multitude of them" (32:10-12).
In David:
"The saints will be joyful in glory; they will sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand" (Psalms 149:5, 6).
In the same:
"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty. In thy honour ascend thy chariot, ride on the Word of truth; thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp" (Psalms 45:3-5).
And in the Apocalypse:
"And there was given to him sitting on the red horse a great sword " (6:4).
And in another place:
"And out of the mouth of him sitting upon the white horse goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse" (19:15, 21).
By sword in the above passages is signified truth combating and destroying; this destruction is especially evident in the spiritual world, where those who are in falsities cannot sustain the truth. They are in a state of anguish, as if struggling with death when they come into the sphere of light, that is, where Divine truth is, and also they are thus deprived of truths, and vastated.
[6] As most expressions In the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has sword, and in that sense it signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it. The vastations of the church, which take place when there are no longer any truths, but only falsities, are described in the Word by a sword, as in the following passages:
"They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive among all nations; at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down of" all "nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).
The consummation of the age, here treated of, is the last time of the church, when falsities shall prevail. To fall by the edge of the sword, denotes that truths would be destroyed by falsity; nations denote evils; by Jerusalem is signified the church.
[7] In Isaiah:
"I will make a man more rare than fine gold. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is gathered together shall fall by the sword" (13:12, 15).
By the man who is rare, is denoted those who are in truths; to be thrust through and to fall by the sword, denotes to be consumed by falsities.
[8] In the same:
"In that day they shall cast away every man the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you. Then shall Asshur fall by the sword, not of a man (vir) and the sword, not of a man (homo), shall devour him but he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute" (31:7, 8).
The idols which their hands have made denote falsities from their own intelligence; by Asshur is denoted the Rational by which this is effected. To fall by the sword, not of a man (vir), and not of a man (homo), denotes not to be destroyed by any combat of truth against falsity. By he who fleeth before the sword, his young men shall be for tribute, is denoted, that the truth which is not destroyed shall be made subservient to falsities. That this is the meaning of those words is not evident in the sense of the letter; it is therefore evident how far removed is the spiritual sense from the sense of the letter.
[9] In Jeremiah:
"I have smitten your sons in vain; and they received not correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets" (2:30).
In the same:
"Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword; and if I enter into the city, then behold the sicknesses of famine" (14:13-18).
Both these passages treat of the vastation of the church as to truth: by prophets are meant those who teach truths, and by the sword which consumes them, falsity combating and destroying. By field is signified the church; by city doctrine; the slain with the sword in the field, denote those in the church with whom truths are destroyed; by the sicknesses of famine in the city is signified a defect of all truth in doctrine.
[10] In the same:
"They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us: neither shall we see sword and famine" (5:12).
In the same:
"The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine" (11:22).
By young men are signified those who are in truths, and, in the abstract, truths themselves; to die by the sword is to be destroyed by falsities; sons and daughters signify the knowledges of truth and good; by famine is meant a defect of them.
[11] In Lamentations:
"We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness" (5:9).
By wilderness is meant where there is no good because no truth; by the sword thereof, the destruction of truth; bread denotes good, which is obtained with the peril of the soul because all good is implanted in man by truth.
[12] In Ezekiel:
"The sword without, and the pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die by the sword, and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him" (7:15).
By sword is here meant the destruction of truth; by pestilence, consequent extinction; and famine signifies a complete defect. The signification is similar in other places; as in Jeremiah (21:7; 29:17, 18; 34:17).
[13] In Zechariah:
"Woe to the shepherd of nought deserting the flock, a sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm in drying up shall dry up, and his right eye in darkening shall be darkened" (11:17).
A sword upon the arm denotes the destruction of the Voluntary as to good; by a sword upon the right eye is signified the destruction of the Intellectual as to truth; that all good and all truth would perish, is signified by its being said, that the arm in drying up shall dry up, and the right eye in darkening shall be darkened.
[14] In Isaiah:
"Thus shall ye say unto your master, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Asshur have blasphemed Jehovah. Behold, I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. And Sennacherib the king of Asshur returned; and it came to pass, when he bowed himself in the house of Nisroch his god, his two sons smote him with the sword" (37:6, 7, 37, 38).
Because it is the Rational that acknowledges and that denies the Divine, and when it denies it seizes eagerly on every falsity instead of truth, and thus perishes, therefore this representative came to pass, that is, that the king of Asshur, because he blasphemed Jehovah, was smitten with the sword by his sons, in the house of Nisroch his god. Asshur signifies the Rational in both senses (see Deuteronomy 13:12, 13, 15, 16).
[15] This statute was made, because at that time all things were representative; to worship other gods is to worship from falsities; to be smitten with the sword is to perish by falsity; and to be burned with fire is to perish by the evil of falsity.
[16] In the same:
"Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with the sword in the field shall be unclean" (Numbers 19:16, 18, 19).
The slain in the field with the sword, represented those within the church who destroyed the truths which they had; by field is meant the church.
[17] That sword signifies falsities destroying truth is clear in David:
"The sons of men are inflamed; their teeth are as spears and darts, and their tongue a sharp sword" (Psalms 57:4).
"Behold, they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips" (Psalms 59:7).
Working iniquity "they whet their tongue like a sword; they make ready their bow with bitter words" (Psalms 64:3).
From these considerations it is clear what is signified by the words of the Lord to Peter:
"All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:51, 52);
that is, those who believe falsities will perish by them.
[18] From these things it is now clear what is signified in the Word by sword in both senses. The reason why such things are signified by it, is also from appearances in the spiritual world. When spiritual combats take place there, which are combats of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, various weapons of war are seen there, as swords, spears, shields, and similar things; not that these combats are carried on by such things, for they are appearances only, representative of spiritual combats. When falsities fight keenly against truths, sometimes the glitter or sheen of a sword waving itself on both sides, and striking with great terror, is seen, by which those are dispersed who fight from falsities.
[19] From this it is clear what is meant by these words in Ezekiel:
"They shall be horribly afraid when I shall brandish my sword before their faces, that they may tremble at every moment for their own soul" (Ezekiel 32:10, 11, 12).
In the same:
"Prophesy, and say, a sword has been sharpened, and also well polished, that it may shine, that the heart may faint, ah! it has become lightning" (Ezekiel 21:9, 10, 15).
The reason why a sword causes such great terror is that iron, of which it is made, signifies truth in ultimates, and glitter and sheen are from the light of heaven, and its shining upon it; the light of heaven is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; Divine truth, thus falling into those who are filled with falsity, strikes terror.
[20] It is therefore clear what is signified when Adam was cast out
"By cherubim being placed at the east of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning every way, and brandishing itself to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).
By the tree of life is signified celestial love, which is love to the Lord; by cherubim a guard; by the flame of a sword turning itself every way, the terrible driving away and rejection of all who are in falsities; the east of Eden denotes where the presence of the Lord is in that celestial love. By those words therefore is signified that all approach to the acknowledgment of the Lord alone is closed to those who do not live a life of love. That by sword is signified falsity is quite clear in Ezekiel, where is thus said of the prince of Tyre:
"They shall unsheath swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom " (28:7).
By the prince of Tyre is here signified intelligence derived from the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and because this is extinguished by falsities it is therefore said that they should unsheathe their swords upon wisdom, which could not have been said unless by swords were meant falsities.
131. These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword, signifies the Lord, who alone combats in temptation. This is evident from the signification of "long sword" or "sword [romphaeae seu gladii]," as meaning truth combating against falsity, and in the opposite sense, falsity combating against truth. It is said to be "sharp two-edged," because it pierces on both sides. Because this is signified by "the long sword," dispersion of falsities is also signified by it, and also temptation. That it signifies dispersion of falsities, see above (n. 63. That the Lord alone combats in temptations, and not man at all, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 195-200.) By "long sword" or by "sword [romphaeam seu gladium]" is signified the combat of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth, because by "wars" in the Word are signified spiritual wars, and spiritual wars are wars of truths against falsities and of falsities against truths; and as "wars" in the Word have such a signification, all weapons of war, as "sword," "spear," "bow," "arrows," "shield," and many others, signify each some special thing pertaining to spiritual combat; especially the "sword," because in wars they fight with swords. (That "wars" signify spiritual combats, see Arcana Coelestia 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; consequently that each weapon of war signifies something pertaining to spiritual combat, see n. 1788, 2686)
[2] That "sword" in the Word signifies truth combating against falsity, and falsity against truth, and therefore the dispersion of falsities, and also spiritual temptation, can be seen from very many passages, of which I will introduce here only a few by way of confirmation. Thus in Matthew:
Jesus said that He came not to send peace on earth, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).
Here by "sword" is meant the combat of temptation. It was so said, because men at that time were in falsities, and the Lord uncovered interior truths, and only by combats from such truths can falsities be cast out.
[3] In Luke:
Jesus said to His disciples, Now he that hath a purse let him take it, likewise a wallet; and he that hath no sword let him sell his garments and buy one (Luke 22:35-38).
By "purse" and "wallet" spiritual knowledges, thus truths, are signified; "garments" signify what is their own; and by "sword" combat is signified.
[4] In Jeremiah:
A sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her chiefs, and against her wise men. A sword against liars that they may become foolish; a sword against her mighty men that they may be dismayed; a sword against her horses and against her chariots; a sword against her treasures that they may be spoiled; a drought upon her waters that they may be dried up (Arcana Coelestia 8185; that "waters" are truths of the church, see above, n. 71; that "treasures" are knowledges, Arcana Coelestia, 1694, 4508, 10227; that "horses" are things intellectual, and "chariots" doctrinals, see White Horse 2-5.)
[5] In Isaiah:
Jehovah will plead, and with His sword with all flesh, and the slain of Jehovah shall be multiplied (Isaiah 66:16).
In Jeremiah:
Upon all the heights in the desert the devastators are come, because the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the end of the land even to the end of the land (Jeremiah 12:12).
In Ezekiel:
Prophesy and say, a sword sharpened and also furbished, it is sharpened to slay a slaughter, it is furbished that it may have luster; let the sword be doubled for the third time; the sword of the slain, the sword of great slaughter entering into the secret chambers that the heart may melt, and stumblings be multiplied; against all their gates will I set the point of the sword: Ah! It is made into lightning (Ezekiel 21:9-15, 28).
In Isaiah:
Bring waters to meet him that is thirsty, with bread prevent him that wandereth; for before the sword shall they wander, before the drawn sword, and before the bended bow, and for the grievousness of war (Isaiah 21:14, 15).
In Ezekiel:
They shall quake with fear when I shall make my sword to fly before their faces, that they may tremble every moment, a man for his own soul; by the swords of the mighty casting down their multitude (Ezekiel 32:10-12).
In David:
Let the saints exult in glory; let them sing upon their beds. Let the exaltations of God be in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand (Psalms 149:5, 6).
In the same:
Gird thy sword upon the thigh, O mighty one, in thy honor ascend the chariot, ride on the Word of truth, thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp (Psalms 45:3-5).
In Revelation:
There was given unto him that sat on the red horse a great sword (Revelation 6:4).
In another place:
Out of the mouth of him that sat on the white horse went forth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. The rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse (Revelation 19:15, 21).
By "sword" in these passages is signified truth combating and destroying; this destruction is especially apparent in the spiritual world; there those that are in falsities cannot sustain the truth; when they come into the sphere of light, that is, where Divine truth is, they are in anguish, like those who are struggling with death; and thus also they are deprived of truths and are vastated.
[6] As most expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, so also has "sword;" in that sense it signifies falsity combating against truth and destroying it. The vastations of the church, which take place when there are no longer any truths, but only falsities, are described in the Word by a "sword," as in the following passages:
They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations; Jerusalem shall finally be trodden down by all nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled (Luke 21:24).
The consummation of the age, which is here treated of, is the last time of the church, when falsities are to prevail. "To fall by the edge of the sword" denotes that truth will be destroyed by falsity; "nations" here are evils and "Jerusalem" is the church.
[7] In Isaiah:
I will make a man more rare than fine gold. Everyone that is found shall be thrust through; and everyone gathered in shall fall by the sword (Isaiah 13:12, 15).
"A man who is rare" for those that are in truths; "to be thrust through" and "to fall by the sword" means to be consumed by falsity.
[8] In the same:
In that day they shall cast away every man the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made unto you. Then shall Asshur fall by the sword, not of a man [viri]; and the sword not of a man [hominis] shall devour him; but he who fleeth for himself before the sword, his young man shall be for tribute (Isaiah 31:7, 8).
"The idols which the hands have made" are falsities from self-intelligence; "Asshur" is the rational by which [per quod]. "To fall by the sword not of a man" [viri], and "not of a man" [hominis], is not to be destroyed by any combat of truth against falsity. "He who fleeth for himself before the sword, his young man shall be for tribute," means that the truth which is not destroyed shall be subservient to falsities. That this is the meaning of these words does not appear in the sense of the letter, which shows how far distant the spiritual sense is from the sense of the letter.
[9] In Jeremiah:
In vain I have smitten your sons; they accepted not correction; your own sword hath devoured your prophets (Jeremiah 2:30).
Behold, the prophet say, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine. By sword and by famine shall the prophets be consumed. If I go forth into the field, behold the slain with the sword; and if I enter into the city, then behold the sickness of famine (Jeremiah 14:13-18).
Both these passages treat of the vastation of the church in respect to truth; "prophets" are those who teach truths; and "the sword that consumes them" is falsity combating and destroying; "the field" is the church; "the city" is doctrine; "the slain with the sword in the field" are those in the church with whom truths are destroyed; "the famine" that is in the city is dearth of all truth in doctrine.
[10] In the same:
They have denied Jehovah when they have said, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword and famine (Jeremiah 5:12).
In the same:
The young men shall die by the sword; and their sons and their daughters shall die by famine (Jeremiah 11:22).
"Young men" are those who are in truths, and in the abstract, truths themselves; "to die by the sword" is to be destroyed by falsities; "sons and daughters" are the knowledges of truth and good; "famine" is a dearth of these.
[11] In Lamentations:
We get our bread with peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lamentations 5:9).
"The wilderness" is where there is no good because there is no truth; its "sword" is the destruction of truth; "bread" is good, which is got with "peril of souls," because all good is implanted in man by means of truth.
[12] In Ezekiel:
The sword is without, and pestilence and famine within; he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him (Ezekiel 7:15).
"The sword" is the destruction of truth; "pestilence" consequent extermination; and "famine" complete dearth. Similarly in other places (as in Jeremiah 21:7; 29:17, 18; 34:17).
[13] In Zechariah:
Woe to the shepherd of nought forsaking the flock; a sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm in drying up shall dry up, and his right eye in growing dim shall grow dim (Jeremiah 11:17).
"A sword upon the arm" is the destruction of the voluntary in respect to good; "a sword upon the right eye" is the destruction of the intellectual in respect to truth; that all good and all truth are to perish is signified by "the arm in drying up shall dry up; and the right eye in growing dim shall grow dim."
[14] In Isaiah:
Thus shall ye say to your lord, Fear not for the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the lads of the king of Asshur have blasphemed Jehovah. Behold, I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. And Senacherib, king of Asshur, returned; and it came to pass, when he bowed himself in the house of Nisroch his god, his two sons smote him with the sword (119, 1186); the "sons" of that king signify falsities, and the "sword" signifies destruction by falsities.
[15] In Moses:
[It was commanded that] the city that worshiped other gods should be smitten with the sword, and burned up with fire (Deuteronomy 13:12-16).
This was decreed because at that time all things were representative; "to worship other gods" is to worship from falsities; "to be smitten with the sword" is to perish by falsity; and "to be burned up with fire" is to perish by the evil of falsity.
[16] In the same:
Whosoever in the field toucheth one that is slain with the sword shall be unclean (Numbers 19:16, 18, 19).
"One in the field slain with the sword" represented those within the church who destroyed truths with themselves; "the field" here is the church.
[17] That "sword" signifies falsity destroying truth is manifest in David:
The sons of man are set on fire; their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).
Behold, they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips (Psalms 59:7).
Workers of iniquity sharpen their tongues like a sword; they hurl their arrow with a bitter word (Psalms 64:3).
From this it is clear what is signified by the Lord's words to Peter:
All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword (Matthew 26:51-52);
namely, that those who believe falsities will perish by falsities.
[18] From this it is now evident what is signified in the Word by "the long sword," "the short sword," or the "sword" [romphaea, macharera, seu gladius] in both senses. Such things are signified by "sword" by reason also of appearance in the spiritual world. When spiritual combats take place there, which are combats of truth against falsity and of falsity against truth, various weapons of war, as swords, spears, shields, and the like are seen; not that the combats are maintained by these, but they are mere appearances, representative of spiritual combats. When falsities are fiercely combating truths, there sometimes appears from heaven the brightness or flashing of a sword vibrating every way, and causing great terror, by which those who are combating from falsities are dispersed.
[19] This makes clear what is meant by these words in Ezekiel:
They shall be horribly afraid when I shall brandish My sword before their faces, that they may tremble every moment for their soul (Ezekiel 32:10-12).
And in the same:
Prophesy and say, a sword, it is sharpened and also furbished, that it may have luster, that the heart may melt. Ah! It is made into lightning (Ezekiel 21:9-10, 15).
The sword causes so great terror because "iron," of which a sword is made, signifies truth in ultimates, and the brightness and flashing are from the light of heaven and from vibration of this light upon the sword. The light of heaven is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. Divine truth thus falling upon those who are in falsities strikes terror.
[20] This also makes clear what is signified by this, that:
Cherubim, after Adam had been driven out, were made to dwell at the east of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning and vibrating every way, to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).
By the "tree of life" is signified celestial love, which is love to the Lord; by "cherubim" a guard; by the "flame of a sword turning every way" the terrific driving off and rejecting of all who are in falsities; the "east of Eden" is where the Lord's presence is in celestial love; by these words, therefore, is signified that every approach to the acknowledgement of the Lord alone is closed to him who does not live a life of love. That "sword" signifies falsity is clearly evident in Ezekiel, where it is said of the prince of Tyre:
They shall unsheathe the swords upon the beauty of thy wisdom (Ezekiel 28:7).
"The prince of Tyre" signifies intelligence from the knowledges of truth; because that is extinguished by falsities it is said that they should unsheathe their swords "upon wisdom," which could not have been said unless by "swords" falsities were meant.
131. "Haec dicit habens romphaeam ancipitem acutam." - Quod significet Dominum qui solus in tentationibus pugnat, constat ex significatione "romphaeae" seu "gladii", quod sit verum pugnans contra falsum, et in opposito sensu falsum pugnans contra verum; "anceps acuta" dicitur quia penetrat utrinque: hoc quia per "romphaeam" significatur, ideo per illam etiam significatur dispersio falsorum, et quoque tentatio. Quod dispersio falsorum, videatur supra (n. 73 1
); quod tentatio, est quia in scriptis ad Angelum hujus Ecclesiae agitur de tentationibus; quod etiam significetur tentatio per "romphaeam", est quia tentatio est pugna veri contra falsum et falsi contra verum. (Quod tentatio spiritualis sit talis pugna, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 187-201.) Quod per "Haec dicit habens romphaeam ancipitem acutam" intelligatur Dominus quod solus in tentationibus pugnet, est quia in capite praecedente (vers. 16) dictum est quod visum quod ex ore Filii hominis ambulantis inter septem candelabra romphaea anceps acuta exiret ((cap. 1 vers. 16)); et per "Filium hominis" intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Verum (videatur supra, n. 63).
(Quod Dominus solus in tentationibus pugnet, et nihil homo, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, n. 195-200.)
Quod per "romphaeam" seu "gladium" significetur pugna veri contra falsum, et falsi contra verum, est quia per "bella" in Verbo significantur bella spiritualia, ac bella spiritualia sunt verorum contra falsa ac falsorum contra vera; et quia "bella" in Verbo talia significant, ideo etiam omnia arma belli, sicut "gladius", "hasta", "arcus", "tela", "clipeus", et plura, significant aliqua specialia pugnae spiritualis; "gladius" imprimis, quia in bellis pugnatur gladiis.
(Quod "bella" significent pugnas spirituales, videatur n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; et quod inde singula arma belli significant aliquid pugnae spiritualis, n. 1788, 2686.)
[2] Quod "gladius" in Verbo significet Verum pugnans contra falsum, ac 2
falsum contra verum, ac inde dispersionem falsorum, et quoque tentationem spiritualem, constare potest a plurimis locis ibi, quorum aliqua hic confirmationis causa in medium afferre volo:
- Ut apud Matthaeum,
Jesus dixit se non venisse mittere pacem super terram, sed gladium (10:34);
per "gladium" ibi intelligitur tentationis pugna; causa, quod ita dictum sit, erat, quia homines eo tempore in falsis erant, et Dominus detexit vera interiora, et falsa non nisi quam per pugnas ex his veris possunt ejici.
[3] Apud Lucam,
Jesus dixit discipulis, "Nunc qui habet crumenam tollat, similiter peram; qui vero non habet, vendat Vestimenta sua, et emat gladium" (22:35-38);
per "crumenam" et "peram" significantur cognitiones spirituales, ita vera; per "vestimenta" significantur propria; et per "gladium" pugna.
[4] Apud Jeremiam,
"Gladie contra Chaldaeos, ... et contra habitatores Babelis, et contra principes ejus et contra sapientes ejus; gladie contra mendaces ut stultescant; gladie contra fortes ejus ut consternentur; gladie contra equos ejus, et contra currus ejus gladie contra thesauros ejus ut diripiantur; siccitas super aquas ejus ut exarescant" (50:35-38);
per "gladium" ibi significatur dispersio et vastatio veri; per singulos illos apud quos erit, ut per "Chaldaeos", "habitatores Babelis", "principes et sapientes ejus", "mendaces", "fortes", "equos", "currus", "thesauros", significantur illi aut illa quae vastabuntur; ut per "equos intellectualia, per "currus" doctrinalia, et per "thesauros" cognitiones: inde dicitur "Siccitas super aquas ejus ut exarescant" "aquae" enim sunt vera ecclesiae, "et siccitas ut exarescant" est vastatio.
(Quod "siccitas" et "exarescentia" sit ubi non verum, videatur n. 8185:
quod "aquae" sint vera ecclesiae, supra. n. 71:
quod "thesauri" sint cognitiones, n. 1694, 4508, 102272-5.)
[5] Apud Esaiam,
"Jehovah disceptabit, et in gladio suo cum omni carne, et multiplicabuntur confossi Jehovae" (66:16);
apud Jeremiam,
"Super omnes colles in deserto venerunt vastatores, quia gladius Jehovae devorans a fine terrae usque ad finem terrae" (12:12);
apud Ezechielem,
Propheta et dic, ... Gladius exacutus, etiamque expolitus, ut mactet mactationem exacutus est, ut sit ei splendor expolitus est;... Iteretur gladius tertio, gladius confossorum, gladius confossionis magnae penetralia penetrans, ut colliquescat cor, et multiplicentur offendicula; contra omnes portas eorum dabo aciem gladii; ab, factus est in fulgur" (Ezechiel 21:14-20, 33 [B.A. 9, 10, 14, 15, 18]);
apud Esaiam,
Obviam sitienti adferte aquas, ... cum pane praevenite vagabundum; nam coram gladio vagabuntur, coram gladio extenso et coram arcu tenso, et propter gravitatem belli" (21:14, 15);
apud Ezechielem,
"Cohorrescent... cum volare fecero gladium meum praeter faces eorum, ut trepident ad momenta vir propter animam suam, ... per gladius potentium dejiciens multitudinem eorum" (32:10-12);
apud Davidem,
"Exultabunt sancti in gloria, cantabunt super cubilibus suis; celsitudines Dei in gutture eorum, et gladius orium in manu eorum" (Psalms 149:5, 6);
apud eundem,
Accinge gladium tuum super femur tuum, O Potens;... in honore tuo conscende currum, equita super verbo veritatis, ... docebit Te mirabilia dextra tua; tela tua acuta" (Psalms 45:4-6 [B.A. 3-5]);
in Apocalypsi,
Data est machaera magna sedenti super equo rufo (6:4);
et alibi,
Ex ore sedentis super equo albo exibat "romphaea acuta, ut per eam percutiat gentes:... reliqui occisi sunt romphaea sedentis super equo" (19:15, 21 3
);
per "gladium" in illis locis significatur verum pugnans et destruens. Haec destructio apparet imprimis in mundo spirituali; illi ibi qui in falsis sunt non sustinent verum; anguntur sicut qui luctantur cum morte cum veniunt in sphaeram lucis, hoc est, ubi Divinum Verum est, et quoque sic deprivantur veris et vastantur.
[6] Sicut pleraque in Verbo etiam sensum oppositum habent, ita quoque "gladius"; et in eo sensu significat falsum pugnans contra verum, ac destruens illud. Vastationes ecclesiae, quae sunt quando ibi non amplius vera sed modo falsa, describuntur in Verbo per "gladium", ut in sequentibus his locis: -
"Cadent ore gladii, et captivabuntur inter omnes gentes; tandem Hierosolyma erit conculcata ab "omnibus" gentibus usque dum implebuntur tempora gentium" (Luca 21:24).
Consummatio saeculi, de qua ibi agitur, est ultimum tempus ecclesiae, quando regnatura falsa; "cadere ore gladii" est quod verum destruetur per falsum; "gentes" ibi sunt mala; "Hierosolyma" est ecclesia.
[7] Apud Esaiam,
"Rarum reddam hominem prae auro puro;... inventus confodietur; et omnis congregatus cadet gladio" (13:12, 15);
"homo" qui rarus, pro illis qui in veris; "confodi" et "cadere gladio" pro consumi falso.
[8] Apud eundem,
"In die illo rejicient vir idola argenti sui et idola auri sui, quae fecerunt vobis manus Vestrae... Tunc cadet Aschur gladio non viri, et gladius non hominis comedet eum; qui vero fugit sibi coram gladio juvenes ejus in tributum erunt" (31:7, 8);
"idola quae fecerunt manus" sunt falsa ex propria intelligentia; "Aschur" est rationale per quod; "cadere gladio non viri" et "non hominis", est non destrui per aliquam pugnam veri contra falsum; "qui fugit sibi coram gladio, juvenes ejus in tributum erunt", est verum quod non destruitur hoc serviet falsis: quod hic sensus istorum verborum sit, non apparet in sensu litterae; inde patet quantum distat sensus spiritualis a sensu litterae.
[9] Apud Jeremiam,
"In vanum percussi filios Vestros, et disciplinam non acceperunt; Comedit gladius vester prophetas Vestros" (2:30);
apud eundem,
"Ecce prophetae dicentes, Non videbitis gladium, et fames non erit vobis... gladio et fame consumentur prophetae;... si egredior in agrum, ecce confossi gladio; et si intro urbem, ecce aegritudines famis" (14:13-18);
agitur hic et ibi de ecclesiae vastatione quoad verum; "prophetae" sunt qui docent vera, et "gladius" qui consumit eos est falsum pugnans et destruens; "ager" est ecclesia, "urbs" est doctrina, "confossi gladio in agro" sunt apud quos in ecclesia destructa sunt vera, "fames" quae intra urbem est defectus omnis veri in doctrina.
[10] Apud eundem,
"Abnegarunt Jehovam quando dixerunt, Non Ille; non veniet super nos malum, ac gladium famemque non videbimus" (5:12);
apud eundem,
"Juvenes morientur gladio, ac filii filiaeque eorum morientur fame" (11:22);
"juvenes" sunt qui in veris, et abstracte ipsa vera; - "mori gladio" est destrui per falsa; "filii filiaeque" sunt cognitiones veri et boni; "fames" est defectus earum.
[11] In Threnis,
"Cum periculo animarum nostrarum adducimus panem nostrum propter gladium deserti" (5:9);
"desertum" est ubi non bonum quia non verum; "gladius" ejus est destructio veri; "panis" est bonum quod "cum periculo animarum" recipitur, quia omne bonum implantatur homini per verum.
[12] Apud Ezechielem,
"Gladius foris, ac pestis et fames intus; qui in agro gladio morietur; qui in urbe pestis et fames comedent" (7:15);
"gladius" est destructio veri; "pestis" est inde consumptio; "fames" est plenarius defectus: similiter alibi (Ut Jeremias 21:7; 29:17, 18; 34:17).
[13] Apud Sachariam,
"Vae pastori nihili deserenti gregem; gladius super brachio ejus, et super oculo dextro ejus; brachium ejus arescendo exarescet, et oculus dexter ejus caligando caligabit" (11:17);
"gladius super brachio" est destructio voluntarii quoad bonum, "gladius super oculo dextro" est destructio intellectualis quoad verum; quod periturum omne bonum et omne verum significatur per quod "brachium arescendo exarescet et oculus dexter caligando caligabit."
[14] Apud Esaiam,
"Sic dicetis ad dominum vestrum, ... Ne time propter verba quae audivisti, quibus blasphemarunt pueri regis Aschuris Jehovam"... ecce cadere faciam eum gladio in terra sua. Et Sancheribus rex Aschuris reversus est;... et factum est cum incurvaret se in domo 4
Nisroch Dei sui, "... duo "filii percusserunt eum gladio" (37:6, 7, [37,] 38);
quia rationale est quod agnoscit et quod negat Divinum, et cum negat arripit omne falsum loco veri et sic perit, ideo hoc repraesentativum exstitit, nempe quod rex Aschuris, quia blasphemavit Jehovam, a filiis in domo "Nisroch Dei sui percuteretur gladio; "Aschur" significat rationale in utroque sensu (n. 119, 1186); "filii" regis illius significant falsa; et "gladius" destructionem per illa.
[15] Apud Mosen,
Urbs quae colit alios deos, percuteretur gladio et combureretur igne (Deuteronomius 13:13, (14, 16,) 17 [B.A. 12, 13, 15, 16]);
hoc statutum erat, quia eo tempore omnia repraesentativa erant; "colere alios deos" est colere ex falsis; "percuti gladio" est perire falso; et "comburi igne" est perire malo falsi.
[16] Apud eundem,
Quisquis tetigerit in agro confossum gladio, immundus erit (Numeri 19:16, 18, 19);
"in agro confossus gladio" repraesentabat illos intra ecclesiam qui destruxerunt vera apud se; "ager" ibi est ecclesia.
[17] Quod "gladius" significet falsum destruens verum, patet apud Davidem:
"Inflammantur filii hominis, dentes eorum hasta et tela, et lingua eorum gladius acutus" (Psalms 57:5 [B.A. 4]);
"Ecce eructant ore suo, gladii in labiis eorum" (Psalms 59:8 [B.A. 7]);
Operantes iniquitatem "acuunt sicut gladium linguam suam, tendunt telum suum verbo amaro" (Psalms 64:4 [B.A. 3]).
Ex his patet quid significatur per Domini verba ad Petrum,
"Omnes accipientes gladium, per gladium peribunt" (Matthaeus 26:51, 52);
nempe, quod qui credunt falsa perituri sint per falsa.
[18] Ex his nunc patet quid per "romphaeam", "machaeram", seu "gladium" in Verbo in utroque sensu significatur. Quod talia per "gladium" significentur, est quoque ex apparentia in mundo spirituali. Quando ibi pugnae spirituales sunt, quae sunt pugnae veri contra falsum, et falsi contra verum, tunc apparent varia arma belli, sicut enses, hastae, clipei, et similia; non quod per talia illis pugnae sint, sed sunt modo apparentiae repraesentativae pugnarum spiritualium. Quando falsa acriter pugnant contra vera, tunc quandoque e caelo apparet splendor aut fulgur ensis utrinque se vibrantis, ex quo magnus terror; quo dissipantur illi qui ex falsis pugnant.
[19] Ex eo patet quid intelligitur per haec apud Ezechielem,
"Exhorrescent cum volare fecero gladium meum praeter facies eorum, ut trepident ad momenta propter animam suam" (32:10-12);
et apud eundem,
"Propheta et dic, ... gladius exacutus est, etiamque expolitus, ... ut sit ei splendor ut colliquescat cor ah, factus est in fulgur" (Ezech. 21:14-20, 33 [B.A. 9, 10, 15]).
Quod inde tantus terror sit, est quia ferrum, ex quo ensis, significat verum in ultimis, ac splendor et fulgur est ex luce caeli et ejus vibratione super eum: lux caeli est Divinum Verum procedens a Domino; Divinum Verum ita incidens in illos qui in falsis sunt terrorem incutit.
[20] Exinde quoque patet quid significatur per quod, ejecto Adamo,
"Ab oriente Edenis habitare facti sint cherubi, et flamma gladii hinc inde vertentis et vibrantis se ad custodiendum vitam ad arborem vitae" (Genesis 3:24);
per "arborem vitae" significatur amor caelestis, qui est amor in Dominum; per "cherubos" custodia; per "flammam gladii hinc inde vertentis se" terrifica abactio et rejectio omnium qui in falsis sunt; "oriens Edenis" est ubi praesentia Domini est in illo amore: significatur itaque per illa, quod omnis aditus clausus sit ad agnoscendum solum Dominum (ei) qui non vitam amoris vivit. Quod per "gladium significetur falsum, patet manifeste apud Ezechielem, ubi de principe Tyri hoc dicitur,
"Evaginabunt gladios super pulchritudinem sapientiae tuae" (28:7);
per "principem Tyri" significatur intelligentia quae ex cognitionibus veri; quia illa exstinguitur per falsa, ideo dicitur "super sapientiam", quod non dici posset nisi per "gladios" intelligerentur falsa.
Footnotes:
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