joined by Moses on Mount Sinai, may appear from Ex. v. 3; x. 25, 26; xviii. 12; xxiv. 4, 5; and especially from their idolatrous worship of the golden calf, xxxii. 5, 6. This was done before the command was brought to them concerning the altar and sacrifices; which command therefore was given because sacrificial worship with them, as with the gentiles, had become idolatrous; from which worship they could not be withdrawn, because they esteemed it to be of especial sanctity; and because what is once implanted from infancy with an idea of sanctity, particularly if it be implanted into children by their fathers, and thereby rooted in them, the Lord never breaks, but bends, unless it be contrary to essential order; hence appears the reason why it was prescribed that sacrifices should be under such particular rules and regulations, as written in the law of Moses. That sacrifices were never acceptable to Jehovah, but were only permitted and tolerated, for the reason just mentioned, plainly appears in the prophets, as Jer. vii. 21-23, &c. A. C. 922, 2180. Verses 3, 5. Unless ye repent.-See Exposition, chap. iii. 3. Ye shall all likewise perish.-To perish denotes to be cast down into hell, from whence there is no escape. Perishing, in like manner as dying or death, denotes condemnation and hell. A. C. 7655. Verses 6-10. And He spake this parable; A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none, &c.-By the vineyard in which was a fig-tree, is signified the church, consisting of those who are in things external, for the church of the Lord is both internal and external; the internal of the church is charity and the faith thence derived, but the external of the church is the good of life. Inasmuch as works of charity and of faith, which are the good of life, are of the natural man, and charity itself and the faith derived from it are of the spiritual man, hence by vineyard, is signified the internal of the church, and by fig-tree its external. To the Jewish nation there pertained only the external of the church, because they were in external representative worship, wherefore by fig-tree in this parable is meant the church pertaining to that nation. But whereas they were in external worship, and in no internal, for they were inwardly wicked; and whereas external worship without internal is no worship, and with the wicked is evil worship; therefore to them there did not appertain any natural good. On this account it is said, That for "three years he did not find fruit on the fig-tree," and that he bid the dresser of the vineyard to "cut it down," by which is signi fied, that from beginning to end no natural good appertained to that nation; for by "three years" is signified a whole period, or the time from the beginning to the end, and by the "fruit of the fig-tree" is signified natural good; by natural good is meant spiritual-natural good, or good in the natural principle derived from a spiritual origin; and whereas the church, consisting of such as are not in natural good, as was the case with the Jewish nation, is not a church, therefore also it is said, "Why cumbereth it the ground," where ground denotes the church by the dresser of the vineyard saying, that it should "still be left," and that he would "dig about it," is signified that it should be left, and that they of that church should be instructed afterwards by the Christians, in the midst of whom they were; but whereas no reply was made to this, it is to be understood that the fig-tree would still produce no fruit, that is, that that nation would do no good which proceeds from any spiritual principle. This is signified by the fig-tree "dried up," by reason that the Lord found no fruit upon it, Matt. xxi. 18, 19. A. E. 403. In the Word, throughout, man is likened to a tree, and in this case, the truths of his faith are signified by leaves, and the good things of his love by fruits; hence it is evident not only that to be fruitful denotes an increase of good, but also that good is the primary principle of man, as fruit is the chief thing belonging to a tree. The leaves indeed are born first, but they are for the sake of the fruit as the end; that which is the end, is not only the last, but also the first, inasmuch as it is the one single thing which is regarded in the means, thus it is the all. The case is similar as to the good of love in respect to the truths of faith. This is what is signified by the fig-tree, concerning which it is written in Luke, "A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said unto the dresser of the vineyard, Behold, three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree and do not find; cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?" From these considerations it is evident, that the fruit of faith, as it is called, is the pri mary thing of faith, and that faith without fruit, that is, without the good of life, is only a leaf, and thus that the man, who is the tree luxuriant in leaves without fruit, is the fig-tree which withereth and is cut down. A. C. 9337. See also Exposition, chap. iii. 8, 9; vi. 43, 44. Verses 10-14. Synagogues.-See Exposition, chap. iv. 15. On the sabbath-day. See Exposition, chap. iv. 16; vi. 1, 5-9. Verse 11. There was a woman.-See Exposition, chap. viii. 2; ix. 17. Verses 12, 13. Thou art loosed.-"Loosing" denotes to make free. Without freedom there is never any production of truth in the natural man; nor any calling forth of truth thence into the rational principle, nor any conjunction of truth with good therein; for it is the affection of truth grounded in good which constitutes freedom. Unless truth be learnt from affection, and thus in freedom, it is not implanted, still less is it exalted towards the interiors, and there made faith. A. C. 3145. Laid His hands on her, &c.-By the Lord's laying His hands upon her, and also by touching, is signified the communication and reception of His Divine virtue, as is manifest in Mark v. 27-30. This signification of touching, which is effected by the hands, originates in representatives in the other life, where they who are in a dissimilar state of life, appear removed at a distance; but they who are in a similar state, appear consociated, and they in that life, who mutually touch each other, communicate the state of their life with each other. If this is done by the hands, the all of the life is communicated, because by the hands, from correspondence, is signified power, which is the active principle of life, thus whatsoever appertains to any one. Such representatives exist in the world of spirits, but they are effected by influx from heaven, where alone are perceived consociations as to the affection of good and truth. A. C. 10,023. See also Exposition, chap. iv. 40; v. 20; vii. 3, 14, 15, 21; viii. 43. Verse 13. Glorified God.-See Exposition, chap. ii. 14, 32; v. 25. Verse 14. Jesus healed.-See Expostion, chap. iv. 40; v. 20; vii. 3, 21. Six days on which you ought to work, &c.-As regards the number six, as signifying combat, it appears from the first chapter of Genesis, where mention is made of six days, in which man is regenerated, before he becomes celestial; within which days there is continual combat, but on the seventh day comes rest; hence it is that there are six days of labour, and the seventh a sabbath, which signifies rest. A. C. 737. Verse 15. His ox, or his ass.—An ox, denotes natural good; an ass, natural truth. A. C. 2180, 2781. Verse 16. But ought not this woman whom Satan hath bound, &c.-That captivity, or being bound, when mentioned in the Word, signifies being shut out from divine truths, that is, from the understanding of them in the Word, and that it also means the destruction of truths, by the falses of evil, and by the evils of the false, is evident from many passages, as in Luke xxi. 24; xiii. 16. A. E. 811. Verses 18, 19. Then He said, To what is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I liken it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew, and became a great tree, and the fowls of heaven lodged in its branches.-No one, unless he knows what the quality of the Word is, can by any idea conceive, that in all the minute particulars contained in it, there is infinity; that is, that it contains innumerable things, the source of which is inexhaustible, even to the angels. Every thing therein may be likened to a seed, which, from the ground, can grow up into a great tree, and produce abundance of seeds, from which again similar trees may be produced, which together make a garden, and from the seeds of this garden, other gardens again, and so on, ad infinitum. Such is the Word of the Lord in all its parts, and particularly, such is the decalogue; for this, inasmuch as it teaches love to God, and love towards the neighbour, is a short compendium of the whole Word. That such is the quality of the Word, the Lord also explains by this similitude, "The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed," &c. Compare also Ezekiel, chap. xvii. 2-8. That such is the infinity of spiritual seeds, or of truths in the Word, may be manifest from angelic wisdom, which is all from the Word, and which increases with them to eternity, so that the wiser they are, the more clearly they see that wisdom is without end, and that they themselves are only in its outer court, and that they cannot in the smallest particular attain to the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, which they call an abyss. Now whereas the Word is derived from this abyss, because it comes from the Lord, it is evident that there is a kind of infinity in all its contents. T. C. R. 290. If man by combat against evils as sins, has procured to himself, in the world, anything spiritual, although it be small, he is saved; and, afterwards, his uses grow, like a grain of mustard seed, into a tree, according to the Lord's words, Luke xiii. 18, 19. D. L. A. xvii. All things in the Word are correspondences. Birds signify thoughts which are derived from truths, as may appear from Psalm cxlviii. 10; Hosea ii. 18; Psalm viii. 7-9. Tree signifies the church, or a man who is of the church, as in Ezek. xvii. 23; xxxi. 5, 6; Dan. iv. 7—18. Also in the evangelists, as in Luke xiii. 19, where by the tree from a grain of mustard seed, is signified a man who is of the church, and likewise the church itself, commencing from a little spiritual good by truth, for if only a little spiritual good has taken root with man, it grows like seed in good ground; and whereas by a tree thence derived, is signified a man who is of the church, it follows that by "the fowls of heaven, which lodged in its branches," are signified the knowledges of truth, and the thoughts thence derived. That it is not a mere comparison every one may see, for what need is there of such comparisons in the Word? Such things also would never have been mentioned in the Divine Word, unless they were correspondences of things spiritual and celestial, and thence were holy. A. E. 1100. By birds or fowl [avis] according to their species is signified every spiritual truth; by what flies [volucram], natural truth; by what is winged [alatum], sensual truth. The most ancient people likened the thoughts of man to birds or fowls, because the things of the understanding, in respect to things of the will, are as birds in respect to beasts; as in Ezek. xxxviii. 20; Jer. ix. 10. In like manner, where the Lord, in the parable of the grain of mustard seed, speaks of the fowls of heaven dwelling in its branches. A. Č. 776. See also Exposition, chap. viii. 5. Verses 20, 21. And again He said, To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. The conjunction of good and truth is provided of the Lord by temptations and by fermentations. Spiritual temptations are combats against evils and falses, which exhale from hell, and affect, or act upon, man; by those combats man is purified from evils and falses, and good is conjoined to truth, and truth to good, within him. Spiritual fermentations are effected by many methods, both in the heavens and on the earth; but in the world it is unknown what they are, and how they are effected. For there are evils, and together with them falses, which, being let into societies, produce effects similar to what are produced by fermenting substances put into meal and new wine, by which heterogeneous things are separated, and things homogeneous are conjoined and become pure and clear. These spiritual fermentations are what are meant by the above words of the Lord. D. P. 25. The kingdom of heaven.-See Exposition, chap. iv. 43; viii. 1; xvii. 20, 21. Verse 21. Leaven.-See Exposition, chap. xii. 1. |