THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES
ELUCIDATED

Edward Madeley

A KEY TO
THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICATION OF NUMBERS.

<< CHAPTER XXV >>

INTRODUCTION, NUMBERS 1 TO 12, INCLUSIVE ONE - TWO - THREE
FOUR - FIVE - SIX - SEVEN - EIGHT - NINE - TEN - ELEVEN - TWELVE
A RULE FOR DISCOVERING THE SIGNIFICATION OF OTHER NUMBERS.

by Robert Hindmarsh, 1820


Introduction.

THE most ancient men who were of a celestial character and had communication with angels, derived from them the spiritual signification of numbers, both simple and compound ; and were in the habit of describing spiritual and moral subjects by the mere arrangement of them in a longer or a shorter series. This knowledge, together with the science of correspondences in general which teaches the relation subsisting between things natural and things spiritual, constituted the wisdom of the sages of antiquity, and was transmitted by them to their posterity as the basis of all their ecclesiastical computations and historical descriptions. But in process of time the signification of compound numbers was first lost, and at length even that of the simple numbers ; so that in the present day few suspect that anything more is implied by the various numbers contained in the Sacred Scriptures, than what they purport to be according to the common natural idea attached to them.

Thw Word of the Lord, however, being altogether spiritual in its origin, and written in strict conformity to the above-mentioned science, treats of heavenly and divine things under natural images ; and consequently, when it introduces numbers as well as names, it is for the sole purpose of expressing the qualities of things, and the various states of the church, either in a genuine or in an opposite sense. Hence the several stages of man s regeneration are described, in the first chapter of Genesis, by the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth days of creation, terminating in the seventh day or sabbath of rest, when, the power of evil being subdued, man enters into a state of heavenly tranquillity and peace.

In commemoration of this latter state, and to keep it perpetually in view as the end to be obtained after the labors of repentance, reformation and regeneration, the seventh day was appointed to be kept holy, and is generally used to denote all states of sanctity in the church. In the supreme sense the number seven, and the seventh day, denotes the glorification of the Lord s Humanity, or its full and perfect union with his Divinity. In the same sense the number three denotes his resurrection, because on the third day after his crucifixion He rose from the dead. It also on many occasions denotes a complete state from beginning to end. The number eight signifies the beginning or commencement of a new state, on which account circumcision was appointed to be performed on the eighth day. The number ten signifies remains, and therefore tithes were instituted in the Jewish church, and given to the priests as an acknowledgment that every mercy and blessing was derived solely from the Lord. So again the number twelve denotes all the truths and goods of the church : hence the Jewish or Israelitish people were arranged into twelve tribes ; and hence the Lord chose twelve apostles who were his more immediate followers; and hence also the city New Jerusalem is described as having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the wall of the city as having twelve foundations.

That numbers signify the qualities of things, is further evident from Apoc. xiii. 18, where it is written, " Here is wisdom : Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast : for it is the number of a man ; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." Man, in respect to his affections, good or evil, is in the Word frequently compared to a beast : hence the members of the church in general are called sheep, or a flock of sheep ; and their teachers are called shepherds. Again, so far as they are receptive of divine truths, and acquire therefrom states of intelligence and wisdom, they are also properly denominated men. Now as numbers are expressive of qualities, it is plain that by counting the number of the beast, is signified to investigate, scrutinize, examine and ascertain the quality of the doctrine or faith alluded to. It follows, therefore, that the number of the beast, or the number of a man, denotes the quality of the church described in the above chapter, particularly as to its affection for truth, or as to the doctrine and faith which it professes. And this quality is represented by the number 666, to signify that every truth and every good of the Word has been falsified, perverted and destroyed.

This number, 666, is the sum or result of 6 x 100 phis 6 X 10 phis 6 ; and it denotes the character or quality of faith separate from charity or a good life, as comprehending all falsities and evils in one complex, or the falsification of every divine truth of the Word, and the profanation of what is most holy. The number 6 from which the number of the beast arises by triplication, signifies the same as 3 X 2, also the same as 12, of which it is the half, viz., all the truths and goods of the church ; and in an opposite sense, in reference to the beast, all falsities and evils collectively. The triplication of this number extends its signification, involving not only a state of profanation, but also the full consummation or end of the church whose leading doctrines are here characterized in symbolic language. A. R. 610. Ap. Ex. 847. A. C. 4495, 10217.

Other numbers in like manner have their peculiar significations, without a knowledge of which it is impossible to form a correct judgment of the many extraordinary things contained in the Word : and even the plainest historical descriptions, which to the generality of readers appear to have no other sense than what is usually understood by the terms employed, have yet a latent internal signification, which can only be unfolded by the science of correspondences and of numbers.

To elucidate, therefore, the elements of this science, more particularly in respect to numbers, and to enable the reader in some measure to comprehend that wisdom which distinguishes the Divine Records from every human production, we shall give briefly the spiritual signification of the numbers 1 to 12 inclusive, together with a rule for discovering the signification of any other number as far as 1,000,000, or even 100,000,000, mentioned in Dan. vii. 10.

Examples showing the application of the different numbers, and in confirmation of the various significations belonging to those of each class, simple and compound, will then be given from the Word both of the Old and the New Testament. From all which will be seen the great importance of the science of numbers in deciphering the language of Holy Writ ; a science, indeed, little known at the present day, having been lost to the world for many ages, but which, nevertheless, in conjunction with that of correspondences in general, is the only true key to the internal, genuine and spiritual sense of Divine Revelation. The authorities from the different works of EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, who is to be considered as the reviver of this science, will also be given in their proper places, for the satisfaction of the reader. It may be observed as a general rule, that, when numbers are doubled or multiplied, they involve the same signification as the simple or radical numbers, from which they arise, but more fully ; and that numbers divided involve the same also as their integral numbers, but not in so full a degree. A. C. 3239, 3960, 5291, 5335, 5708 10255.

The multiplication likewise of any number signifying a few, and of fractional numbers, as 1/2, 1/4, 1/16 etc., diminishes their value, and causes them to signify still less than the whole numbers, of which they are parts, until their power is nearly extinguished. Hence their signification becomes so reduced that the expressions necessarily denote an end or last term ; as for example, the end of a church, or of my particular state belonging to the church, when that is the subject more immediately under consideration. A. C. 813.

It may be proper further to observe, that in cases where mention is made, in the Word, of numbering, telling, or counting, yet without specifying any particular number, by such expression is signified knowing or ascertaining the quality of the persons, things or subjects treated of; also arranging and disposing into order according to their respective qualities. Thus Jehovah is said " to tell the number of the stars, and to call them by their names," Ps. cxlvii. 4 ; "to muster the host of the battle," Isa. xiii. 4 ; and " to bring out the host of heaven by number" Isa. xl. 26 ; by which is spiritually understood, that the Lord alone arranges and disposes into order the things signified by the host of heaven and by the stars, viz., the truths and goods of faith and love. The seed of Abram is said to be innumerable, " as the dust of the earth, and as the stars of heaven," Gen. xiii. 16 ; xv. 5 ; not because his descendants were, or were to be, more numerous than other nations, (Deut. vii. 7,) but on account of the spiritual things represented and signified by them, viz., the truths and goods of heaven and the church, which are innumerable.

In like manner, and with reference to the same spiritual blessings. Jehovah promises by the prophet " to multiply the seed of David as the host of heaven, which cannot be numbered, and as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured" Jer. xxxiii. 22. And in another place, "The number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered" Hos. i. 10. The same is also understood by the words of Balaam, when he took up his parable, and said, " Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?" Num. xxiii. 10; where it is plain that counting or numbering, inasmuch as the passage forms a part of a parable, is not to be taken literally but spiritually. Again, mention is made of " telling or counting the towers of Zion," Ps. xlviii. 12; Isa. xxxiii. 18; of "numbering the houses of Jerusalem," Isa. xxii. 10 ; of " taking the sum of the children of Israel, after their number," Ex. xxx. 12; Num. i. 2; of "passing flocks under the hands of him that telleth them," Jer. xxxiii. 13; and of "numbering our days," Ps. xc. 12; where by counting, telling and numbering, is signified examining, considering and marking the quality of truths and goods in the church, and in our own minds; also arranging and disposing into order, by divine assistance, the various states of life as we enter upon them. In like manner Job says, that "his steps are numbered or counted," Chap. xiv. 16 ; xxxi. 4. And our Lord in the Gospel assures us, that "the very hairs of our head are all numbered" Matt. x. 30. In an opposite sense, to number is to wind up, to finish and condemn : thus it is written of Belshazzar and his king dom, " Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin; thou art numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided, that is, finished and condemned," Dan. v. 25 to 28. And again, " Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter," Isa. Ixv. 12. In the same sense the Lord is said to have been "numbered with the transgressors," Isa. liii. 12. David also was condemned for "numbering the people of Israel and Judah ;" and in consequence thereof " a pestilence was sent among them, which carried off seventy thousand men," 2 Sam. xxiv. 1 to 15. The reason why so severe a punishment followed the act of numbering the people was, not because there was any evil or crime in the thing itself, abstractly considered, but because it represented and spiritually implied the presumption of man's will and his own self-derived intelligence, in attempting to arrange and dispose into order the things of heaven and the church, together with the destruction inevitably attending the same ; when yet the Lord alone is possessed of such power, and He alone claims the preroga tive of exercising it according to the dictates of his own divine wis dom. A. C. 10217, 10218. A. R. 364. Ap. Ex. 453.

As in the explanation to be given in the following pages, of the spiritual signification of certain numbers, mention will frequently be made of remains, and also of fulness, or a full state terms well understood by those who are already acquainted with the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, but perhaps obscure and unintelligible to others it may be expedient to state the sense intended to be conveyed by each expression.

By remains are meant all states of the affection of good and truth, with which man is gifted by the Lord, from infancy to the end of life; thus all states of innocence, charity, mercy and faith, whereby the evils of human nature may be counteracted, softened and subdued, in order that the principles of a new and heavenly life may be implanted and established within him. It is by remains that man has communication with heaven ; that he is capable of overcoming in spiritual temptations, and entering into actual conjunction with the Lord ; that he is afterwards preserved from falling into evil ; and that after death he is rendered blessed and happy forever in heaven.

By fulness, or a full state, is signified an entire period from beginning to end ; thus when man is fully prepared to receive the influx of innocence from the Lord, or when the truths of faith are in conjunction with the good of charity. The state is therefore said to be full, when spiritual good has received its quality from truth, and consequently when man, being regenerated, regards truth from a principle of good, and no longer regards good from a principle of truth, as he did before regeneration, or during the process of its accomplishment. Fulness of state or fulness of time, is also an expression used to denote the consummation or end of the church, when there is no longer to be found in it either faith or charity, in the true sense of those words. It is in reference to such a state of the church, that the Lord is said to come in the fulness of times, in order to establish a new church in the room of the former.

Having made these preliminary observations, we now proceed to explain the numbers from one to twelve inclusive ; adding also a rule for determining the signification of numbers above twelve.

One.

Oneness or unity is constituted of several various things so arranged as to be in concord or harmony with each other ; which concord or harmony of several things arises from their all having respect to one origin, that is, to one Lord who is the life of all. Hence heaven, though consisting of innumerable societies, is nevertheless one ; and man, though consisting of a great variety of powers, faculties, mem bers and organs, is yet one. There is no such thing as one absolutely, or one simply, but one harmonically, consisting of many various things collected together into one form, and tending to one end or use, and on that account called one. A. C. 457, 1285, 3035, 3241, 3986, 4149, 5962, 7836, 8003, 9828. H. & H. 56, 405.

In the Divine Unity itself there are infinite things appertaining to divine love and divine wisdom, which, though distinct, or capable of distinct contemplation, are yet perfectly and pre-eminently one. D. L. 14, 17 to 22.

We are therefore instructed by the Sacred Scriptures, that God, the creator and preserver of heaven and earth, is One in essence and in person : and though He is designated by many names and characters, especially by the terms Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet these are not to be regarded as evidences of a plurality of divine persons, but solely as characteristic denominations of the three great essentials belonging to the Divine Being. For as the human soul, body and operation are three essential constituents of one man, so in like man ner, but infinitely above the comparison, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three essentials of one God, who is no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. A. C. 14, 15, 2149, 3704, 10816. H. & H. 2 to 6. D. L. 45, 46, 60. T. C. R. 2, 3, 164 to 170.

One has various significations, according to the subject treated of, and in each case includes many particulars. Sometimes it more immediately refers to the divine good, as in Matt. xix. 17 ; xxiii. 9 ; sometimes to the divine truth, as in Matt. xiii. 45, 46 ; xxiii. 8 ; Luke xv. 8 ; John viii. 18 ; and at other times to both in union or conjunction, as in Gen. ii. 24 ; Matt. xix. 5 ; John x. 30. A. C. 3241, 3986, 4149.

Like other numbers, one also is capable of an opposite signification ; and hence one talent denotes faith in a state of separation from charity, or the knowledge of good and truth committed to the memory only, and not to the life, as in Matt. xxv. 14 to 30 ; Luke xix. 20. Ap. Ex. 193, 675.

The Lord calls himself the First and the Last, to signify that He is the One Only God of heaven and earth, the sole fountain of love, wisdom and life, from whom are derived all things in heaven and the church, from first principles to ultimate or last effects. A. R. 29, 38. Ap. Ex. 41, 56.

One, understood as the half of two, denotes some degree of conjunction. A. C. 9530. One is predicated of good, and indicates what is perfect. Ap. Ex. 374
The first-begotten or primary essential of the church, in appearance, or as to time, is truth or faith ; but in reality, or as to essence and value, is good or charity. C. L. 126. A. C. 2435, 3325, 4925, 9223, 9224.

The Lord is called the first-begotten, because from Him are derived love and faith in the church. A. C. 352. He is also called the first-begotten from the dead, because He is, even as to his Humanity, the very or essential truth united with the divine good, from whom all men, in themselves dead, continually derive their life. A. R. 17. Ap. Ex. 28. The first-begotten of Egypt represented faith separate from charity. A. C. 1063.The first-begotten among clean beasts and the first-fruits of the earth were dedicated to Jehovah, to denote that all things of good and truth, with every spiritual and natural blessing, are derived from Him alone. A. C. 9223.

The first day and the eighth day, as well as the seventh, are called a sabbath, Lev. xxiii. 39, because they denote the beginning of a new state, in which the conjunction of good and truth takes place. A. C. 9296.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xxxviii. 27 to 30. "And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass when she travailed, that the one put out his hand ; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out ; and she said, How hast thou broken forth ? this breach be upon thee : therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterwards came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand ; and his name was called Zarah." The subject treated of in this passage, in the spiritual sense, is that of primogeniture, or priority in the church ; it having been a disputed point from the most ancient times, whether the good which is of charity or the truth which is of faith, is the first-begotten. For as good, when man is re-born, does not evidently appear, but is concealed in his interiors, and only manifests itself in a certain affection unnoticed by the external or natural man, until regeneration is completed ; while truth, which enters by the senses and lodges in the memory, plainly discovers itself; therefore many have adopted the erroneous supposition that truth is the first-begotten, or most essential principle of the church ; and indeed so essential, that, under the name of faith it is capable of effecting salvation without the good which is of charity : when nevertheless the Word in its genuine sense teaches that good is actually the first-begotten, and truth only apparently such. This is described by the various circumstances attending the birth of the twins Zarah and Pharez. The first who put out his hand on which the midwife bound the scarlet thread, represented spiritual good or charity ; and therefore the primogeniture, priority, or superiority, was actually his, because he first opened the womb ; which was confirmed by the midwife s binding a scarlet thread on his hand, and saying, This came out first. The scarlet-colored thread also signifies spiritual good, and the hand denotes the power thereof; which being first manifested, is therefore actually entitled to the right of primogeniture; see Ex. xiii. 2, 12; but being afterwards drawn back or concealed, it leaves to spiritual truth or faith the apparent right of superiority. The birth of Pharez, brother of the former, is called by the midwife a breach, because she supposed him to be the same child, ou whose hand she had tied the scarlet thread, and it appeared to her that he had broken or torn it asunder ; by which circumstance also is spiritually signified, that truth represented by Pharez, is at first apparently separate from good, though in reality it is not ; for this child had not broken the thread, having never worn it, and consequently having never been entitled to the right of primogeniture, except in the estimation of the midwife, who repre sented the natural mind on its first reception of divine truth. By the complete birth afterwards of Zarah, with the scarlet thread on his hand, is represented and signified that good is at length acknowl edged to be actually the first-begotten in the church, because Zarah who represented good or charity, first opened the womb by putting
forth his hand, though he afterwards drew it back, and thereby per mitted his brother to take the birthright or precedence, at least for a season. In like manner, during the first stages of regeneration, man is apparently under the influence and dominion of truth or faith ; but when his regeneration is effected, he is then manifestly under the influence and dominion of good or charity. The same things are represented by Esau and Jacob struggling together in the womb of Rebekah, and by Jacob s taking hold on Esau s heel at the time of their birth, Gen. xxv. 22 to 26: also by Jacob s laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim the younger son of Joseph, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh the elder son, when he blessed them both, Gen. xlviii. 13 to 20. See A. C. 4916 to 4930.

(2.) Deut. vi. 4. " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is One Jehovah." The divine love and the divine wisdom, or the divine good and the divine truth, which are denoted by the two terms Jehovah and God, are here expressly said to be one. See A. C. 2921. T. C. R. 6, 37 to 47.

(3.) Ps. xxvii. 4. " One thing have I desired of Jehovah, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and to inquire in his temple." The one thing to be desired is here described as in volving at least three things, vizv dwelling in the house of Jehovah, beholding his beauty, and inquiring in his temple ; that is, abiding in the good of love to the Lord, and in the delight of learning and perceiving the truths appertaining to that good. But as they nil tend to one end or use, which is conjunction with the Lord and final happiness, they may in this sense be regarded as one. See Ap. Ex. 799. A. C. 414, 3384.

(4.) Zech. xiv. 9. " In that day Jehovah shall be one, and his name one." Here the divine essence called Jehovah, and the divine form which is his name, are both declared to be one. The first is the pure Divinity, the second is the Divine Humanity ; which, though in some respects distinguishable as two before the Lord's in carnation, by reason of his then manifesting himself in the person of an angel, who was also at times called Jehovah, as in Gen. xix. 24 ; Ex. xxiii. 20 to 23, are now perfectly one, in consequence of his glorification, or union of the human essence with the Divine. See A. C. 6000.

(5.) Matt. vi. 33. " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The kingdom of God is the Lord himself, and his church : his righteous ness (or justice) denotes good proceeding from Him : and to seek this first, is to desire with the chief affections of the heart to perform use ful service to mankind, from pure, disinterested love to the Lord and to our neighbor. When the Lord, and the good proceeding from Him, are thus made the objects of a man s affections and life, then all other things, whether spiritual or natural, that are conducive to his eternal welfare and happiness, will be added unto him. See Ap. Ex. 1193, A. C. 5449, 9184. H. & H. 64.

(6.) Matt. xix. 5. " For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh." The union or conjunction of two minds is here called one flesh : from which it plainly appears that oneness or unity is not to be regarded as one thing simply, but as arising from two or more in a state of harmony and concord. See A. C. 10169. Ap. Ex. 725. H. &H. 372. C. L. 215.

(7.) Matt. xix. 17. " There is none good but one, that is God." The divine unity is here clearly set forth, particularly in reference to the attribute of goodness or love. See A. C. 10154, 10336, 10619. Ap. Ex. 254.

(8.) Matt, xxiii. 8, 9. " Be not ye called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your Father upon the earth : for one is your Father who is in heaven." The terms Rabbi, Master, and Christ, have respect to divine wisdom or divine truth, while the term Father is intended to distinguish divine love or divine good, each belonging to one and the same God, and each expressive of his divine unity. See A. C. 3703. Ap. Ex. 746.

(9.) Matt. xxv. 14, 15. "The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his several ability ; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents, went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one, went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money." The man travelling into a far country is the Lord, who on his departure from the world, and his apparent absence or distance after that time, is described as taking a long journey. The talents given to the different servants denote all the knowledges of truth and good derived from the Word, together with the faculty of perceiving and understanding their nature and use. To trade with the talents is to acquire intelligence, wisdom and true spiritual life by means of those knowledges. They who, from some or a few knowledges acquire much intelligence and wisdom, are represented by the servant who increased his five talents to ten ; the number five denoting little or few, and the number ten much. And they who are continually endeavoring to form in themselves the conjunction of good and truth, or of charity and faith, are represented by the ser vant who of two talents made other two ; the number two denoting a state of spiritual conjunction, and other two, making together four, the same thing in greater fulness and perfection. But they who receive the knowledges of truth and good in the memory only, and make not the proper use of them, by acquiring through their means states of intelligence, wisdom and spiritual life, are represented by the servant who received one talent, and who went and digged in the earth and hid his lord s money : the earth here denoting the memory of the natural man, and digging and hiding money therein the unjust application of his faculties to those external pursuits which are grounded in self-love and the love of the world. See Ap. Ex. 193, 675. A. C.2967, 5291.

(10.) Mark x. 21. " Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said unto him : One thing thou lackest : go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor ; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come, take up the cross and follow me." The one thing here spoken of as lacking, consisted in the following particulars, viz., 1. That he had not withdrawn his heart from the love of riches: 2. That he had not endured temptations, and so resisted or fought against the concupiscences of evil : and 3. That he did not as yet acknowledge the Lord as God incarnate. The Lord therefore exhorted him to sell what he had and give to the poor, that is, to remove from his mind the inordinate love of riches, to renounce his proprium, together with the false traditions of the Jewish church, and at the same time to do the works of charity ; also to take up his cross, that is, to resist the evil propensities of his nature by enduring temptations ; and lastly to follow the Lord, that is, to acknowledge and worship Him as the only God of heaven and earth. See D. Life, 66. Ap. Ex. 122, 893, 934.

(11 .) Luke x. 41, 42. " Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful : and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." The one thing needful is love to the Lord, which involves every other good. It was this love, accompanied with close attention to the words of Jesus, for which Mary was distinguished, (see ver. 39,) and which is called that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.

(12.) John viii. 17, 18. " It is written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am [one] that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." In this passage one (though not literally expressed in the original) is yet understood, and predicated of divine truth, which being the same thing as spiritual light, and Jesus being himself that light or truth, it is therefore said that He bears witness of himself; for light is its own evidence. And as divine good is inseparable from divine truth, being within it as its very life, it is also said that the Father, by which expression is meant divine good or divine love, beareth witness of Jesus :"for," says He, " I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me," ver.16. And again " He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone" ver. 29. It is observable that, though Jesus, in the above passage, makes a comparison between the testimony of two men, and that of himself and the Father, yet He does not give us to understand that the Father and He are two different and distinct persons, like two men, but states, first, that He himself is one that bears witness, and then fnot that the Father is another that bears witness also, as might perhaps be expected by those who regard the Father and Son as two distinct persons, but simply) that the Father who sent Him likewise bears witness of Him ; by which is meant, as already explained, the united testimony of divine good and divine truth to the high character which our Lord had just before given of himself. Nothing is more common in the Word, than for two or more distinct individuals to represent the different essentials, attributes and offices belonging to the one God ; as for example, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, etc. : yet who would, on that account, infer that there are as many divine persons in the Godhead represented, as there were individual men, patriarchs, prophets, priests, and kings, representing ? Surely no one can thus mistake the Sacred Writings. The testimony of two men, therefore, which is cited by our Lord in the way of comparison with the testimony of himself and the Father, or what is the same thing, with the testimony of his own divine truth and divine good, ought never to be regarded as any proof of there being two Divine Persons in the Godhead, more especially as He is careful in the comparison to omit all mention of any other Divine Person but himself alone, who is expressly called the Everlasting Father, as well as the Son, in Isa. ix. 6. See A. C. 3704, 9503. Ap. Ex. 635.

(13.) John x. 30. " I and my Father are one"- Jesus, who speaks, is the Humanity ; his Father is the Divinity ; and these are said to be one, comparatively as the body and soul of a man are one : that is, one in life, one in action, consequently one in essence and one in person. The same may be said of divine wisdom and divine love, or divine truth and divine good : though they are distinguishable the one from the other, and capable of being separately contemplated, yet in operation, end, and use, they are perfectly one. See A C 3704, 9315, 9818, 10053, 10125, 10579. A. R. 21. D. Love 14 to 16. C. L. 82, 118. D. Wis. 1.

(14.) John xvii. 11, 21, 22. "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. . . . That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee ; that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe, that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them ; that they may be one, even as we are one" -Two kinds of union or oneness are here spoken of; that subsisting between the Father and the Son, and that between the Lord and man. The former is, in the strictest sense of the word, what it imports to be, a union of the Divine and Human essence in one person or form. The latter may properly be termed conjunction, because it is a relation opened and afterwards subsisting between the Creator and the creature, or between what is infinite and what is finite, which can never be identified as absolutely one : whereas in the former case the union is most perfect; there being nothing of the Divinity but what is at the same time Human, and nothing of the Humanity but what is at the same time Divine, each infinite, and both one See A. C. 1013, 2034, 2803, 10067.

Two.

The number two belongs to the celestial class of expressions, being predicated of goods or evils, and denotes all good or evil in the complex. A. C. 10624. Ap. Ex. 430. A. R. 322. It also signifies union, conjunction, or the heavenly marriage of good and truth, or of charity and faith. A. C. 5194, 5291 5893 8423 Ap. Ex. 430. A. R. 322. Conjunction in general, proved from all parts of the human frame C. L. 316. All and singular things in conjunction, consequently what is full A. C. 9037, 9166, 9529. What is perfect. A. C. 9861. - What is successive, or another in succession. A. C. 5623. All things as to good. A. R. 322. Good and truth from the Lord, also from self. A. C. 9942. The same in relation to three, as six are to seven, viz., labor, combat, and dispersion of what is evil and false ; sometimes also what is profane. A. C. 720, 900. But when contrasted with three or seven as a holy number, it denotes what is relatively profane. Ib. 720. Duplication, or a number doubled, has the same signification as the simple number from which it arises. A. C. 5291. It also denotes extension, communication, and influx. A. C. 9622. Likewise much. A. R. 762. Two and two or pairs. A. C. 747.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. vii. 2. "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female : and of beasts that are not clean by twos, the male and his female."- By every clean beast are sig nified the aifections of good in man : and their being taken into the ark by sevens, denotes a state of holiness, such being the signification of the number seven. The male and his female denote the conjunc tion of truths with goods. By the unclean beasts are signified evil affections : and their going by pairs or by twos into the ark, denotes a state of relative profanation : for the number two, when the subject treated of is the state before regeneration, bears the same relation to three, as six days of labor do to the seventh of rest, and consequently signifies a state respectively unholy or profane. The male and female of unclean beasts denote the conjunction of falsities with evils. See A. C. 713 to 721.

(2.) Ex. xxxiv. 1. "And Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first ; and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest." The reason why the ten commandments were written on two tables was, because the number two denotes conjunction in general, and the two tables of the law denoted conjunction with the Lord. Hence they are called tables of the covenant between the Lord and man, Deut. ix. 9 ; hence also the ark, into which the tables were put, is called the ark of the covenant, Josh. iii. 11. See T. C. R. 285, 287.

(3.) 2 Kings ii. 23, 24. " And he went up from thence to Bethel :and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald-head, go up, thou bald-head. And he turned back and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah : and there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." The reason why the children were cursed by Elisha, and afterwards torn in pieces by two she-bears merely on account of their calling him bald-head, cannot be understood without first know ing what Elisha represented, and what is signified by baldness, and what by bears. That it could not be the wish of Elisha that such an immoderate punishment should be inflicted on a number of little children for so trifling a cause as that of calling him bald-head, must be plain to every intelligent reader ; for who that has the least spark of humanity in his breast, could be so cruel and unjust? The conduct of the children in taunting and reproaching the prophet, was indeed a crime, but surely not of so atrocious a character as to require the punishment of death, and in a manner the most revolting to our feelings. But the church being at that time a representative church, it was permitted by the Divine Providence that such an event should take place, for the purpose of holding up to view the dangerous consequences of vilifying, reprobating or despising the Lord and his Word. For Elisha as a prophet represented the Lord as to the Word, and consequently the Word itself. By calling him bald-head, was signified to deprive the Word of its natural or literal sense, as they do who reject it as a thing of no account, who also de spise its plain style, and think, if it contain divine truth, that it might have been expressed in more elegant and intelligible language. By bears out of the wood was signified the power of the Word arising out of its literal sense ; also they who exercise such power, whether they be good or evil, especially such as separate the external from its internal sense : the bears are said to be she-bears, because the female among animals denotes affection; hence the she-bear denotes the affection of natural truth, as well as its power. And by the fortytwo children or boys who were torn by the bears, were signified all who blaspheme or despise the Word on account of its natural sense being such as it is, together with the punishment which they unavoidably bring upon themselves in another life. The reason why two bears were concerned in the destruction of the children was, because that number involves a full state either of good or evil according to the nature of the subject, in the present case a full state of evil, or what is the same thing, the conjunction of evil and falsehood, and the full punishment thereof. See Ap. Ex. 781, 1086. A. C. 3301. A. R. 47, 575.

(4.) Isa. xvii. 6. "Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith Jehovah the God of Israel." The prophet here treats of the vastation of the church, and speaks of the few remaining who are in good and truth. A comparison is made with the shaking of an olive-tree, be cause by an olive-tree is signified the church in respect to the good of love, and by its branches the truths thence derived. Two three signify a few who are in good and thence in truths ; two denote good, and three truths. Four five signify a few who are in good ; four good, and five a few. The olive-tree is described as being fruitful, to denote those in the church who are in the good of life. Such be ing the signification of the different numbers here mentioned, they are therefore said to be two three, and four five, not two or three, and four or five. See Ap. Ex. 532. A. C. 649.

(5.) Amos iv. 8. " So two three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water ; but they were not satisfied."- The subject treated of in this passage is the defect of genuine truth at the end of the church, when they who desire to obtain it from spiritual affection, cannot discover it in the various systems of doctrine, which are then generally taught. Two three cities denote all who are in the affec tion or love of truth from good : a city is the truth of doctrine : to drink water, is to learn truths ; to wander from one city to another, is to make inquiry concerning the different doctrines : and to receive no satisfaction, is to be unable to discover genuine truth in any of them. See Ap. Ex. 532.

(6.) Zech. iv. 2, 3, 11, 12, 14. "And the angel said unto me, What seest thou ? And I said, I have looked, and behold, a candle stick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which were upon the top thereof: and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. Then I said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candle stick, and upon the left side thereof? And I again said unto him, What be these two olive-branches which through th&amp;lt; two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves ? Then said he, These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." The golden candlestick, with the seven lamps, etc., denotes the New Church, which will be in illustration by virtue of truth derived from the good of love. The two olive-trees, the two olive-branches, and the two golden pipes, denote the good of love to the Lord and of charity to the neighbor, together with the truths derived therefrom ; the olive-tree on the right being love to the Lord ; and that on the left, charity to the neighbor : and as these are wholly derived from the Lord, who is the only God of the church, they are therefore described as " the tivo anointed ones that stand by or before the Lord of the whole earth." See A. R. 43. Ap. Ex. 375, 638. A. C. 9780.

(7.) Matt. ii. 16. " Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise-men."- According to the natural sense of the historical transaction related in this chapter, it appears that wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem about the time of the birth of our Lord, inquiring, " Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Herod, the reigning king, being informed of this circumstance, and entertaining no other idea of a King than that of an earthly prince or ruler, feared lest himself and his family might be superseded in the government of Judea by the newly-born child. To make sure, therefore, of his destruction, he issued an order that all the children under his jurisdiction of two years old and under, should be immediately put to death. But the design of Herod being previously known to Infinite Wisdom, the new-born King of the Jews was by divine appointment removed to the land of Egypt, where he continued till the death of the tyrant. Thus the jealousy and cruelty of Herod on the one part, and the divine providence and protection on the other, are fully exemplified in the facts his
torically described. But if the same transactions and circumstances be viewed according to their spiritual purport, it will then be seen that when the Lord came into the world, all spiritual truth, all innocence, charity and heavenly affection, represented by the children, were extinguished and destroyed in the church, as well as in the world at large ; for this is what was spiritually signified by Herod's destroying the children of two years old and under. And as, not withstanding all the efforts of Herod, or the powers of darkness reperesented by him, the young child Jesus was still, by the divine interposition, miraculously preserved, so we are instructed by this example of a wise and merciful Providence, that a new church on earth was to be established by the Lord, now incarnate, who is himself the sole Fountain of all spiritual truth, innocence, charity and heavenly affec tion. Hence it is written in the prophecy of Jeremiah, in reference to this very event : " Thus saith Jehovah, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping ; Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith Jehovah, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith Jehovah, that thy children shall come again to their own border" Jer. xxxi. 15 to 17. By Rachel was represented the spiritual internal church, and by her children truths derived from a spiritual origin.

By her weeping, and refusing to be comfortedfor her children, because they were not, is signified that no spiritual truth was left remaining. By the exhortation to refrain from weeping, and from tears, and the promise that her work should be rewarded, is signified that there would be no more grief on that account, because the Lord was born, from whom would be derived a new church, which would be in truths from spiritual affection : her work or labor alludes to the combat of the Lord against the infernal powers, and his victory over them, for the purpose of establishing his church : and her reward is heavenly happiness. By the children coming again from the land of the enemy to their own border, and by hope in the end, is signified the establishment of a new church in the room of that which had perished : to come again from the land of the enemy, is to be led out of an infernal state : hope in the end, denotes the commencement of a new church at the expiration of the old : and the return of the children to their own border, is the reception of spiritual truths by those who shall become members of that new church. From this view of the subject, it appears that the num ber two is predicated of the conjunction of truth with good, or of faith with charity ; and that two years and under, being the age of the children destroyed, imply a want of conjunction in those things which are constituent of a church, and their consequent extinction in the human mind. See Ap. Ex. 695. T. C. R. 205.

(8.) Matt. x. 9, 10. "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses ; nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves : for the workman is worthy of his meat."- When the Lord sent forth his twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God, He gave them this command, thereby instructing them that they ought not to possess or cherish any good and truth derived from themselves, but solely that which is derived from the Lord. By gold, silver, brass in the purse, and a scrip, are signified various kinds of good and truth derived from self, and not from the Lord. By two coats, two pair of shoes, and two staves, are signified truths of different orders, internal and external, and their powers both from the Lord and from self; which mixture of things from the Lord and of things from man, being a species of profanation, and destructive of spiritual life, was therefore prohibited by him. But the disciples were allowed to take one coat, one pair of shoes, and one staff, as appears from Mark vi. 8, 9 ; Luke ix. 3 ; by which was signified, that all must be derived from the Lord alone, who would bestow every necessary blessing upon them gratuitously. See A. C. 4677, 9942. Ap. Ex. 242.

(9.) Matt, xviii. 19, 20. " I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."- In this passage two is predicated of good, and three of truth, not in relation to two or three persons only, but abstractly and universally : hence by the two first mentioned are denoted all who
are in good, and by the two or three afterwards mentioned, all who are in truth derived from good. By two or three being gathered to gether is signified the conjunction of good and truth, or of charity and faith, in one mind : and as all good and truth are derived from the Lord, and may be considered as manifestations of his presence, it is therefore said of these two principles of the heavenly life, that the Lord is " in the midst of them." See Ap. Ex. 411, 532.

(10.) Luke x. 35. "And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him : Take care of him ; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee."- The whole parable of the man who fell among thieves, is a description, first, of those who profess to be of the church, like the priest and Levite, and yet neglect to perform works of charity ; and, secondly, of those who make no such profession, like the Samaritan, and yet love the truth, and are desirous of helping and benefiting their neighbor to the utmost of their ability. The man who had been stripped and wounded and nearly killed by thieves, represents all such as had been deprived of truths and infested with false doctrines by the different teachers in the Jewish or perverted church, so that their spiritual life was nearly extinguished. By the Samaritan s binding up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, setting him on his own beast, bringing him to an inn, and taking care of him, is signified an endeavor on the part of those who are in states of charity to their neighbor, to relieve him in every possible way, by kindness, instruction, or otherwise. And by his giving two pence to the master of the inn, on his departure, and recommending him to his care, as to one better instructed, and more able to supply his wants, than himself, are signified all things belong ing to charity in general, which are in the power of those represented by the Samaritan. From this brief explanation of the above parable, it appears that the number two is predicated of the good of love and charity ; and that two pence, being a sum of small value, and characteristic of the scanty knowledge of the gentiles, further imply that such charity was exercised according to the best of their judgment, knowledge or understanding. See Ap. Ex. 375, 376, 444. A. C. 9057.

(11.) Luke xxi. 1 to 4. "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he also saw a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God : but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. In this passage the two mites evidently denote all things of charity and faith in conjunction, and consequently in their fulness: for it is said of the poor widow, who made an offering of them, that she gave more than all the rich men had given, even all the living thai the had. See T. C. R. 459.

(12.) Apoc. xi. 3, 4. "And I will give power unto my two wit nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive-trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."- The two witnesses here spoken of are the two essentials of the New Church ; the first of which is, that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that his Humanity is Divine; the second is, that conjunction with the Lord is effected by a life according to the precepts of the decalogue : and these two witnesses are said to be clothed in sackcloth, because heretofore these two great essentials of love and wisdom, good and truth, charity and faith, have not been received and ac knowledged in the church. The same are also described as two olivetrees and tivo candlesticks standing before the God of the earth ; the two olive-trees being love and wisdom, and the tivo candlesticks being charity and faith, both derived from the Lord. The reason why the two witnesses are called two olive-trees and two candlesticks, which yet are four in number, is because two, as well as four, signify conjunc tion, and hence one thing in the church. This conjunction of good and truth into one is called the heavenly marriage, which constitutes the very essence, life and perfection both of heaven and the church. See A. R. 490 to 493. Ap. Ex. 375, 635 to 639. A. C. 9780.

Three.

The number three belongs to the spiritual class of expressions, being predicated of truths or falsities, and denotes all truth or falsity in the complex. A. C. 10624. A. R. 315, 348, 400. Ap. Ex. 194 430, 532. It also signifies fulness in regard to any subject. A. C. 10127 Ap Ex. 430. An entire period from first to last, consequently what is continuous or successive. A. C. 2788, 5122, 5144. Ap. Ex. 532. What is full and complete from beginning to end. A. C. 4010, 5122, 4495. T. C. R. 210, 211, 387. A. R. 505. Ap. Ex. 430, 532. What is perfect because in all nature and in man himself there prevails a successive order, as end, cause and effect. A. C. 9864 9825. D. L. W. 296, 297.

What is holy and inviolable, like the number seven. A. C. 482.- But is frequently predicated of things not holy. A. R. 505. The resurrection of the Lord. A. C. 901. A full state of the church from beginning to end, also the last state. A. C. 1825.

A new state after the end. A. C. 5123. The last and at the same time the first, or the end and at the same time the beginning. A. C. 4901. A third part, in like manner as the number three, denotes all, especially in reference to truth. A. R. 322, 400, 541. Sometimes what is not yet full and complete. A. C. 2788, 5159. The third day, like the seventh, involves what is holy, and this by reason of the resurrection of the Lord on the third day : it denotes also the coming of the Lord into the world, and to glory, likewise every coming of the Lord to man. A. C. 720, 728, 901, 2788. Triangular forms represent things true and right, as four-square forms represent things good and just, and round forms, things good in general, especially of the external man, or in the lowest degree.
A. C. 8458, 9717, 9861. A. R. 905.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xviii. 6. "And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said : Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth."- By the three men or three angels, who came unto Abraham, were represented the three essentials belonging to the Lord, viz., the Essential Divine, the Divine Human and the Holy Proceeding. By making ready three measures of fine meal, is signified preparation for conjunction : fine meal sig nifies the celestial and spiritual principles of love : and three measures thereof denote not only a full state, but also what is holy. See A. C. 2170 to 2177.

(2.) Ex. xix. 11, 12. "And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day ; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people, upon mount Sinai." The descent of Jehovah in an external appearance before the eyes of the Israelites, signified the coming of the Lord, and illumination of the understanding by an influx of divine wisdom from Him : hence by their sanctifying themselves, washing their clothes, and making ready against the third day, is evidently denoted a full state of preparation to receive Him. With the Israelites who only represented a church, and were not a real church, this preparation consisted in putting on an extraordinary appearance of sanctity and purity in externals, while their internals were closed against the influences of heaven. But with a member of the real church, it is effected by deep repentance and humiliation both of heart and life. See A. C. 8788 to 8793.

(3.) Ex. xxiii. 14, 17; Deut. xvi. 16. "Tliree times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord Jehovah."- Feasts in ancient times were instituted in commemoration of man s deliverance from his spiritual enemies, and his consequent regeneration, which was effected by the coming of the Lord into the world. They therefore signified worship from a cheerful and grateful heart. In the Israelitish church they were appointed to be held three times in a year, to denote the continual and perpetual worship of the Lord ; a year being expressive of an entire period, and the number three signifying what is full or complete from beginning to end, thus full and perfect deliverance from a state of damnation, and at the same time purification from falsities, the implantation of truth and good, and finally regeneration. The first feast, which was the feast of unleavened bread, called also the feast of the passover, signified purification from falsities : the second, which was the feast of harvest or of the first-fruits of labor, called also the feast of weeks, signified the implantation of truth in good : and the third, which was the feast of ingathering, called also the feast of tabernacles, signified the implantation of good itself, when man no longer acts from a dictate of truth, but from the pure affection and delight of love, that is, of charity. This latter is the new heavenly life communicated by the Lord toman through the previous process of regeneration. By every male appearing three times in the year before the Lord Jehovah, is signified the continual presence of the Lord with man in the truths of faith : and this presence of the Lord is effected, in proportion as man lives according to the precepts of divine truth, under the influence of love, charity and the good of innocence, these constituting the habitation of the Lord in the human mind. See A. C. 7093, 9286 to 9297.

(4.) Hosea vi. 2. "After two days will He revive us, in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." The third day, in allusion to the coming of the Lord and his resurrection from the dead, denotes an entire period from beginning to end, also the communication of spiritual life to man by regeneration, and at the same time a state of holiness, while the two preceding days denote a previous state of impurity. See A. C. 720, 2788, 4495, 5890. Ap. Ex. 532.

(5.) Amos i. 3, 6, 9, 11, 13. "Thus saith Jehovah, For tlvree transgressions, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof." By three and four transgressions are not meant so many in number, according to the natural or obvious signification of the terms, but by three is meant every transgression of the divine law from a principle of falsity, and by four every transgression from a principle of evil. The number three, in a good sense, is predicated of truth, and in an opposite sense, of what is false, in each case involving an idea of what is full and complete. In like manner the number four is predicated either of what is good or of what is evil, and at the same time involves the conjunction of good with truth, or of evil with falsity. See Ap. Ex. 532.

(6.) Zech. xiii. 8, 9. " And it shall come to pass that in all the . saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried." By all the land, or the whole earth, is meant the whole church : by two parts therein being cut off, is meant that all good would perish : by a third part being left, is meant that something of truth would remain, but scarce any thing of a genuine character : and by bringing a third part through the fire, refining and trying them as silver and gold, is meant purification from falsities and evils, for the purpose of implanting in their stead genuine good and truth. Two parts are predicated of good, and a third part of truth. See Ap. Ex. 242, 532.

(7.) Matt. xiii. 33. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." By the woman here mentioned is signified the church as to its affection or love of divine truth, whether existing in a society or in an individual. By leaven is meant the false principle opposing the truth, (called also by our Lord the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees, Matt. xvi. 6, 11, 12,) which produces a kind of spiritual fermentation in the mind, and is permitted to take place for the sake of man s purification. Of this nature are temptations, without which man s regeneration cannot be advanced : it is therefore saidthat the kingdom of heaven is like unto such leaven. By the three measures of meal are meant all the principles of truth and good hith erto received by man from the Lord : and by the woman s hiding the leaven therein, until the whole was leavened, is signified that man's whole spiritual life is affected, renovated and purified, by means of the various temptations through which he passes. See A. C. 7906.
Ap. Ex. 532.

(8.) Matt. xvi. 21. " From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." The third day, especially in reference to the Lord, signifies what is full and complete : hence his resurrection on the third day denotes the perfect glorification of hisHumanity, or its full union with his Divinity, all that is written of Him in Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, having been accom plished in and by Him. See A. C. 2788, 4495.

(9.) Luke xiii. 7. " Then said He unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none : cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground ?" By the fig-tree is here meant the Jewish church, which was a church only in externals, and therefore, properly speaking, the mere representative of a church. By its bearing no fruit, is signified that they were destitute even of natural good, or good in the lowest degree, from a
spiritual origin. By seeking fruit on that tree for three years, and finding none, is signified that the Jewish people were, from first to last, or from the very beginning of their history to the end, a depraved and rebellious race, without either internal or external good, and having nothing of the character of a true church among them : on which account it is said of the tree, " Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground ? " That the Jewish nation would also continue in this unfruitful state, even after their dispersion and intermixture among Christians, from whom they might receive much useful instruction concerning the Lord as the true Messiah, and concerning his spiritual kingdom, is foreseen and plainly described in the following verses, where the vine-dresser says : "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it : and if it bear fruit, ; and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." The English translators have inserted the word well after fruit, in order to complete the literal sense : but in the original the passage is left in suspense, or in the form of an ellipsis, without any term expressive of a favorable result ; which very circumstance, in the internal sense, tacitly announces a prediction, that the Jewish nation, under the symbolical character of a fig-tree, would never produce fruit, that is, would never become a true church, notwithstanding the opportunities afforded them of hearing the gospel from Christians, in addition to their possessing the law of Moses and the prophets. The same is signified by the Lord's words to the fig-tree, when He found nothing thereon, but leaves only : "Let no fruit grow on thee Jience/orward forever." Matt. xxi. 19; Mark xi. 13, 14. See Ap. Ex. 403.

(10.) Apoc. xii. 4. "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth."- By the tail of the dragon is signified the falsification and adulteration of the truths of the Word, by those who reason in favor of a trinity of persons in the Godhead, and who teach that faith separate from charity is sufficient for salvation. By the stars of heaven are meant the spiritual knowledges of good and truth derived from the Word. By drawing the third part of the stars of heaven, and casting them to the earth, is signified the perversion, extinction, and destruction of all those spiritual knowledges or heavenly truths. See A. K. 541. Ap. Ex. 718 to 720.

(11.) Apoc. xvi. 13. "And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." By the dragon is signified the doctrine of three divine persons and of justification by faith alone, together with all such persons in the church, particularly in the Protestant or Reformed church, as acknowledge this doctrine and live accordingly, that is, in evil. By the beast, which in this case is the beast rising up out of the sea (chap. xiii. 1) are signified the men of the external church, or the laity, who confirm themselves in the same acknowledgment and faith. And by the false prophet, or beast rising up out of the earth (chap. xiii. 11), are signified the men of the internal church, or the clergy, who teach and maintain the doctrines above alluded to. The mouth of the dragon, beast and false prophet, evidently denotes their doctrine, preaching and discourse. By unclean spirits are signified lusts, or impure desires, in this case the lusts of falsifying truths ; and by frogs, to which they are compared, are meant reasonings from such lusts. The number three denotes all, likewise altogether and merely ; thus when applied to unclean spirits resembling frogs, it denotes mere reasoning from an evil and disorderly state of mind. See A. R. 701, 702. Ap. Ex. 998 to 100.

(12.) Apoc. xxi. 13. The wall of the holy city, New Jerusalem, had " on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates." By the New Jerusalem as a city, is meant the New Church as to doctrine. By the wall thereof is meant the Word in its literal sense, from which doctrine is derived : for as a wall is a defence to a city and its inhabitants, so the literal sense of the Word is a defence to its spiritual or internal sense. By the gates of the city is meant introduction into the New Church by means of the knowledges of truth and good derived from the Word. And by there being three gates on each quarter of the city, is signified that a full and free entrance is granted to all who are in a higher or lower degree of love and wisdom from the Lord : for by the east is signified the love and affection of good in a superior degree, and by the west the same in an inferior degree ; by the south is signified wisdom and the affection of truth in a superior degree, and by the north the same in an inferior degree. The whole number of gates is said to be twelve, because, like the number three, they are predicated of truths from good, and involve what is full, complete and universal. See A. R. 899 to 901. Besides the preceding examples, many others are to be found in the Word wherein the number three is particularly conspicuous, and claims an interpretation far beyond that of the literal and obvious meaning usually attached to it. Among them are the following, where it is written, That the Israelites should go three days journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to their God, Ex. iii. 18. That there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days, so that they did not see one another for three days, Ex. x. 22, 23. That the fruit of the trees planted in the land of Canaan should be accounted as uncircumcised for three years, Lev. xix. 23. That the third year was to be the year of tithing, Deut. xxvi. 12.

That Joshua commanded the people to prepare themselves for passing over Jordan within three days, Josh. i. 11. That Jehovah called Samuel three times ; that Samuel ran to Eli three times ; and that Eli perceived the third time, that Jehovah had called Samuel, 1 Sam. iii. 1 to 8. That three things were proposed to David, that he might choose one of them, viz., seven years of famine, three months flight before his enemies, or three days pestilence in the land, 2 Sam. xxiv. 12, 13, That Elijah stretched himself upon the widow s child three times. 1 Kings xvii. 21. That Elijah ordered water to be poured on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood, three times, 1 Kings xviii. 33. That Isaiah walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder, Isa. xx. 3. That Ezekiel was commanded to take a razor, to pass it over his head and his beard, to weigh and divide the hair, and to burn a third part with fire, to smite a third part with a knife, and to scatter a third part in the wind, as a sign of judgments about to fall on Jerusalem, Ezek. v. 1, 2, 12. That Daniel, having the windows of his chamber open towards Jerusalem, kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, Dan. vi. 10.

That Daniel mourned three full weeks, Dan. x. 2, 3. That Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, as an emblem of the Son of Man being three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Jonah i. 17, Matt. xii. 40. That the man, who planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, sent servants to them three times, and afterwards his son, Luke xx. 9 to 13. That Peter denied the Lord three times, Matt. xxvi. 34, 69 to 75. That the Lord distinguished the times of his life into three, saying, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected : nevertheless I must walk to-day and to-morrow, and the day folloiving, Luke xiii. 32, 33. That the Lord three times said to Peter, Lovest thou me ? and that Peter was grieved thereat the third time, John xxi. 15 to 17. That the marriage in Cana of Galilee was on the third day, John ii. 1. That the Lord said to the Jews, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But he spake of the temple of his body, John ii. 19 to 21. That he prayed in Gethsemane three times, Matt. xxvi. 36 to 44. That he was crucified the third hour, Mark xv. 25. That there was darkness over the whole land for three hours, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, Mark xv. 33. That the superscription on the cross was written in three languages, in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin, John xix. 20. That the Lord rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, being the first day of the week, Matt, xxviii. 1 to 7.

Four.

The number four belongs to the celestial class of expressions, being predicated of goods or evils, and denotes all good or evil in the complex. A. C. 10624. Ap. Ex. 430. It also signifies conjunction to the full, in like manner as the number two. A. C. 8877, 9103, 9864. All good, also the conjunction of good and truth. A. R. 322, 348.

Union, as consisting of pairs, in like manner as the number two, when it regards marriage. A. C. 1686, 8872, 9601. Things conjoined, like good and truth. A. C. 6157. When considered in relation to five, by which are signified remains, then the number four denotes goods and truths not yet become remains, that is, not yet appropriated by man. A. C. 6157. A fourth part, as well as the number four, denotes all good. A. R. 322.

Anything quadrated, or four-square, denotes what is just, or what bears an equal respect to the different states of good and truth. In general, round forms represent things good ; four-square forms, things just, that is, things good in the external man ; and linear or tri angular forms, things true and right, also in the external man. A. C. 8458, 9717, 9861. A. R. 905.

The four quarters or corners of the world, called the east, the south, the west, and the north ; the four winds ; the four seasons of the year, called spring, summer, autumn, and winter ; and the four times of the day, called morning, mid-day, evening, and night ; signify all states of good and truth ; the east, spring and morning, denoting good in its rising, also superior or interior degrees of love from the Lord ; the south, summer and mid-day, denoting truth in its light, also superior or interior degrees of wisdom and intelligence; the west, autumn and evening, denoting good in its decline, also inferior or exterior degrees of love ; and the north, winter and night, denoting truth in obscurity, also inferior or exterior degrees of wisdom and intelligence; and frequently the total privation of them, which is ignorance, error and folly. A. C. 3708, 9642, 9648. H. & H. 141 to 153. D. Love, 121. A. R. 342, 343.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xiv. 8, 9. " And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, (the same is Zoar,) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim ; with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar : four kings with five." By the five kings first mentioned are signified evils and falsities in general, together with the lusts and persuasions thence arising : and by the four kings, against whom they fought, are meant truths and goods in the external man, which before regeneration are only apparent truths and goods. The number four, as applied to these last kings, denotes union or conjunction, in like manner as the number two : while the number five, as applied to the former kings, denotes dis union. The whole history of Abraham being a description of the process of man s regeneration, and of the Lord s glorification while on earth, the particulars contained in this chapter concerning the battle of the four kings against five, the victory of the former over the latter, their capture of Lot, and his recovery by Abram, are to be understood, spiritually, as follows. The five kings, as already observed, denote evils and falsities belonging to the natural or external man, who is represented by Lot dwelling in Sodom: the four kings are apparent truths and goods, by means of which gross evils and falsities are overcome or removed in the first stage of man s regen eration, and by which also the Lord in his childhood conducted the early process of his glorification. But Abram, who is the interior rational man, being informed that Lot is captured by the four kings, that is, perceiving that the external man is as yet under the influence and dominion of such truths and goods as are merely apparent and not genuine, hastens to the relief of his brother Lot, in other words, purifies the external man, dissipates not only the evils and falsities therein, but also the mere appearances of truth and good, and intro duces in their stead the celestial and spiritual things of love and faith, so that the external and the internal are conjoined, and in the case of the Lord, united as one. See A. C. 1681 to 1719.

(2.) Ex. xx. 5. " I am Jehovah thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the thirds and upon the fourths, to them that hate me ; and showing mercy unto thou sands, to them that love me and keep my commandments."- By visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, is not meant that the children shall suffer the punishment due to the crimes of the parents ; for this is expressly contrary to the divine law, Deut. xxiv. 16 ; but that evil is transmitted hereditarily from one generation to another, and that without repentance it successively increases. In the true spiritual sense, the term thirds, usually but not necessarily understood of children of the third generation, denotes falsities in a state of fulness from beginning to end, consequently in a long continued series : and the term fourths, usually but not necessarily understood of children of the fourth generation, denotes falsities conjoined with evils in a long series. Hence by visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the thirds and fourths, is signified the prolification of the false principle from evil, and that continually. This is said to be the case with those who hate Jehovah, that is, who wholly deny the divinity of the Lord and give themselves up to an evil life : whereas of those who love Jehovah, or who worship the Lord, and live in conformity to his commandments, it is said that He showeth mercy unto thousands, in other words, that He perpetually communicates to them, by an influx of good and truth from himself, the blessings of heaven and eternal life See A. C. 8875 to 8881.

(3.) Ex. xxvii. 1, 2, 4. "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim-wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad : the altar shall befour-square, and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same : and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of net-work of brass : and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof." By the altar was represented the Lord as to divine love, also worship directed to Him from pure love : by shittim-wood, of which it was to be made, is signified the good of merit and justice of the Lord ; for wood in general signifies good, and shittim-wood, being an excellent kind of cedar, signifies spiritual good ; and in reference to the Lord, his merit and justice. The length and breadth of the altar being the same, denotes equality with respect to good and truth, and consequently the marriage or conjunction of both. Thus it was ordered to be four-square, because this kind of dimension signifies what is just in the Lord, and in the worship directed to Him : and the worship is said to be just, when the good and truth contained in it are from the Lord and not from man. The height thereof also was to be three cubits, to denote that the degrees of good must be full and complete : for height has respect to the degrees of good, and three cubits to their fulness. By the horns upon the four corners of the altar is signified the power of truth derived from good in every way : horns denote power, four denote conjunction, and corners denote firmness and strength ; hence by horns on the four corners is signified power in every way and direction. By the four brazen rings on the four corners of the net-work of brass, is signified the sphere of good, by which conjunction is effected : the net-work denotes the extreme or outermost principles of life corresponding to the interior : the rings denote the sphere of divine good ; their number four, conjunction ; and their quality brass, natural good, or good in the external. From all which and other particulars, when spiritually understood, it plainly appears that the altar of burnt-offering with its various appendages, was built for the purpose of representing, in visible forms, the true worship of the Lord, which is that of the heart, the understanding and the life. See A. C. 9714 to 9729.

(4.) Ex. xxviii. 16. " Four-square it shall be, being doubled ; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth there of."- By the breast-plate of judgment is signified the divine truth shining forth from the divine good in an external or visible form.It was called the breast-plate of judgment, because thereby responses were given from heaven, and divine truth was revealed. By its form being four-square, when doubled, is signified what is just and perfect ; the term four-square denoting what is just, as being derived from the Lord \vho is the Fountain of justice ; and the term doubled, like the number two, implying perfection, conjunction and fulness. There were in the breast-plate four rows of precious stones, two on the right side and two on the left : those on the right represented things celestial, and those on the left things spiritual ; while their inclosure in one square represented the perfect conjunction of good and truth, as proceeding from the Lord, both generally and particularly. See A. C. 9857 to 9874.

(5.) Ezek. xxxvii. 9. " Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."- By wind or breath in the Sacred Scriptures, is signified the influx of divine truth from the Lord through the angelic heaven, whereby new life is inspired into man by regeneration : hence by the four winds, in allusion to the four quarters of the spiritual world, are signified all the goods of love and all the truths of faith in conjunction ; the eastern and southern quarters denoting good and truth in the highest or most perfect state ; and the western and north ern quarters, good and truth in a lower and more obscure state. The same is signified by the four winds in Matt. xxiv. 31 ; also by the four winds blowing from the four corners of the earth in Apoc. vii. 1 ; and in various other passages. See Ap. Ex. 417, 418, 665. A. R. 342, 343.

(6.) Dan. vii. 2, 3. " Daniel spake, and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." By the four winds are here signified falsities conjoined with evils ; by winds falsities from evils, and by four their conjunction. The subject treated of in this passage being different from that in the prophet Ezekiel above adduced, the signification of the four winds accordingly changes to an opposite sense, as is usual in the Word : and instead of denoting an influx from heaven for the regeneration of man, they here announce an influx from hell gener ating evils and falsities of every description. It therefore follows that jour great beasts immediately came up from the sea, by which are signified all kinds of evil and false principles in conjunction, originating in the love of dominion, and after successive accumulations at length destroying the whole church. On this account the fourth or last beast is described as being " dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, devouring the whole earth, treading it down, and breaking it in pieces," ver. 7, 23. See Ap. Ex. 418, 556, 650.

(7.) Zech. i. 18 to 21. " Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. And Jehovah showed me four smiths. Then said I, What come these to do ? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah. so that no man did lift up his head : but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the gentiles, which lift up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it."- In this passage the vastation of the church is described, and then its restoration. By Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, is signified the church, and its doctrine. The four horns which scattered them, signify the falsities of evil which have vastated the church : horns denote power ; and the number four shows that the effect was complete, by reason of the conjunction of evils and falsities. The four smiths have the same signification as the iron on which they work, namely, truth in the ultimates, which is powerful and strong, consequently the same as a horn of iron. It is therefore said of them, " These are come to cast out the horns of the gentiles, which lift up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it : " the horns of the gentiles are the falsities of evil, which have vastated and destroyed the church. As the four horns which scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, do, on the one part, signify the power of false principles when in conjunction with evil ; so the four smiths do, on the other part, signify the power of truth when in conjunction with good ; and it is by this power that the church is restored. See Ap. Ex. 316.

(8.) Zech. vi. 1 to 5. " And I turned and lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot grizzled robust horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord ? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth." The subject treated of in this passage is the propagation of the church among those who as yet are not in the light of divine truth, because they are not yet in possession of the Word. Four chariots are first seen to come out from between two mountains, by wrhich are signified the doctrinals of good : chariots denote doctrinals ; and their number being four, denotes the conjunction of good and truth therein : a mountain denotes love, consequently two mountains denote the two kinds of love, which constitute the essentials of the church, viz., love to the Lord and love to our neighbor, these being the true principles of all union and conjunction ; and the mountains are said to be of brass, because brass denotes external or natural good, which is first manifested at the commencement of a church. By the red, black, white and grizzled robust horses, are understood the various qualities of the understanding of divine good and truth at the beginning and in the future progress of the church : by the red horses the quality of the understanding with respect to good, and by the white horses the quality of the understanding with respect to truth, both in the beginning of the church : by the white horses are denoted the quality of the understanding as to truth, and by the grizzled horses the same as to truth and good united, both in the succeeding states of the church : and by their being called also robust or strong horses is denoted the quality of the understanding with respect to its power of resisting falsities and evils.

These horses and chariots are called the four spirits (or four winds) of the heavens, to denote the influx of divine good and divine truth into the church, in all its fulness and power of conjunction: and they are said to go forth from standing before the Lord of the whole earth, to denote that such influx proceeds solely from the Lord, who is the God of the church. In the succeeding verses, it is stated that the black horses went forth into the north country, and that the white followed after them, in consequence of which the spirit of Jehovah was quieted ; by which is signified, that the understanding of divine truth was at first obscure, but afterwards more clear and perfect, with those who had heretofore been in ignorance, and thus conjunction was effected between the Lord and his church. The north country denotes a state of ignorance and obscurity. By the grizzled horses going forth towards the south country, and the robust horses walking to and fro through the earth, is signified that they who from the good of life are in the affection or desire of knowing the truths of the church, at length come into genuine spiritual light, and have the power of resisting evils and falsities, and thereby become the true church of the Lord. The south country denotes a state of intelligence, or the clear perception of divine truth. See A. C. 3708. Ap. Ex. 355, 364, 418.

(9.) Matt. xiv. 25. "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."- By the sea are here signi fied the ultimate or lowest principles of heaven and the church. By the Lord s walking upon the sea, is signified his presence in those principles, and an influx of life from Him into such as are still in externals, enabling them to keep in subjection the disorderly and turbulent affections of the natural man. But as it too often happens that man s faith in the Lord is weak and wavering, therefore this state of mind is also represented in the succeeding verses by Peter s beginning to sink through fear, while he was walking on the water to go to Jesus, who, on his crying out for help, immediately stretched out his hand and saved him. By the fourth watch in which this transaction occurred, is signified the first state of the church, when good begins to act by truth : for the fourth watch, being the last watch of the night, and ushering in the dawning of the day or morn ing, involves the end of a preceding state, and the commencement of a new one, when good is in conjunction with truth, thus when the Lord makes his advent to man. See Ap. Ex. 514.

(10.) John iv. 35. "Say not ye, There are -yet four months, and then cometh harvest ? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes. and look on the fields ; for they are white already to harvest." By the harvest are signified all things conducive to man s spiritual nourishment, namely, truths of doctrine and goods.of life, the full implantation of which in him, together with their approaching conjunction by regeneration, is denoted by four months yet to come. The fields which signify the church, are said to be white to har vest when the truths of faith derived from charity are pure and genuine, or when the understanding and affections are under the influence of heavenly light and heat. See Ap. Ex. 911.

(11.) Apoc. iv. 6. "And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. By the throne is meant the universal heaven in which the Lord is present by his Word. By the four beasts which were seen in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, is signified the Word with respect to first and last principles, or with respect to divine love and divine wisdom in union. They are said to be full of eyes before and behind, to denote not only the divine wisdom contained both internally and externally in the Word, but also the divine care, circumspection and providence, lest the interior heavens should be approached in any other spirit than that of the good of love and charity. These four beasts are the same as the four animals, living creatures, or cherubim, mentioned in the first and tenth chapters of Ezekiel, having the faces of a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle ; by each of which is signified something properly characteristic of the Word ; as for example, by the lion is meant the divine truth of the Word in respect to its power ; by the ox or calf, the same as to affec tion ; by the man, the same as to wisdom ; and by the eagle, the same again as to knowledges whereby the understanding is formed See A. E. 239 to 246. Ap. Ex. 277 to 281.

(12.) Apoc. xxi. 16. "And the city lieth four-square, and the length is as large as the breadth."- By the city New Jerusalem is signified the New Church in regard to its doctrine. By its being four-square, is signified what is just, having an equal respect to the different degrees of good and truth, in like manner as the four sides of a square bear reference to the/oiw quarters of the heavens. And hence it is said that the length, by which is meant the good, is equal to the breadth, by which is meant the truth ; thus that good and truth in the New Church constitute one, like essence and its form. In general it may be observed, that quadrangular forms signify what is just and good, and triangular forms what is right and true, each in the external or lowest degree. See A. R. 905, 906.

Five.

When the number five has relation to such numbers as signify much, it then denotes a little or a few. A. C. 649, 798, 5291. Ap. Ex. 548. It also signifies disunion, because a little. A. C. 1686. Any thing small, or a short time. A. R. 427. Likewise much, as well as a little, and something, according to the nature of the subject treated of. A. C. 5291 : fully illustrated, 5708, 5956. Ap. Ex. 430.

The same as 10, 100, and 1000, viz., much, all, what is full, and in the supreme sense, in reference to the Lord, what is infinite. A. C. 9716. Remains, but not in so full a degree as the number ten implies. A. C. 5291, 5894.

What is equal of good and truth. A. C. 9716. As much as is sufficient or necessary. A. C. 9689. All the remainder. A. R. 738. When contrasted with four, denotes disunion. A. C. 1686. All of one part, when ten denotes all of good and truth. A. C. 9604, 9665.

When ten signifies all, then the half of that number, or five, signifies some; when ten signifies fulness, then five signifies as much as is sufficient, or what is correspondent ; and when ten signifies much, then five signifies something. A. C. 10255. A fifth part, in like manner as the number five, signifies remains, etc. A. C. 6156.

To quintate signifies the same as to decimate, that is, to make re mains, or to collect goods and truths, also to preserve. A. C. 5291.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xlv. 22. " To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment : but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment."- Benjamin, as the medium of reconciliation or conjunction between Joseph and his ten brethren, represents that new principle of divine truth from the Lord, which equally partakes of internal good, represented by Joseph, and of natural or external truths, represented by the other ten sons of Jacob : for the design of regeneration being to unite the internal and the external of man, that process is described in this chapter ; and Benjamin represents the medium or point of conjunction between those two states or degrees of life. By the changes of raiment given to each man, is signified that new truths were communicated to the natural principle on this occasion : for raiment denotes truths, and a change of them new truths, or such as are more holy than the former, in consequence of their conjunction with good. And by Benjamin s receiving a greater portion than the rest, viz., three hundred pieces of silver, and
five changes of raiment, is signified, that the medium itself of conjunction, as being nearer the source of internal good represented by Joseph, is more fully receptive of truth from such good ; and as having also an immediate influence or power over truths in the natural principle, represented by his ten brethren, is gifted at the same time with an abundance of truth from that principle now in a state of regeneration. Three hundred pieces of silver denote fulness of truth derived from good : for the number three hundred, like three, from which it arises by multiplication with a hundred, denotes fulness, and a hundred much. Five changes of raiment also denote much, or an abundance of truths from the natural or external principle. See A. C. 5822, 5954 to 5956.

(2.) Ex. xxii. 1. "If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it ; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep." By an ox is signified the affection of good in the exterior man, or exterior good ; and by a sheep, the affection of good in the interior man, or interior good. By stealing them is signified to deprive another of such goods ; by killing them is signified to extinguish them ; and by selling them is signified to alienate them, so that they are no longer in one s possession. The correspondent punishment and restitution for the commission of such evils, are signified by the law which enjoins that five oxen shall be restored for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. Punishment to a great degree, and at the same time amendment with respect to exterior good, are signified by the restoration of five oxen, the number five here denoting much, or to a great degree, or what is sufficient : and punishment to the full, and at the same time amendment with respect to interior good, are signified by the restoration of four sheep, the number four here de noting to the full. The reason why interior good is to be restored to the fall, that is, this good constitutes the spiritual life of man ; and unless spiritual life be restored to the full, exterior good which con stitutes the natural life, cannot be restored ; for this latter life is restored by the former, just as the external man is regenerated by the internal. But exterior good, or good in the natural principle, cannot be restored to the full, because the stroke or wound inflicted upon it by evil of life, remains as a perpetual scar : nevertheless it may be restored to "a great degree, or to a degree sufficient to make it harmonize with interior good in the spiritual principle.

That these circumstances belonging to man's spiritual life might be expressed in language con sistent with the rest of divine revelation, that is to say, by correspondences, it was therefore laid down as a law in the Jewish representative church, that five oxen should be restored as the penalty for one ox, and four sheep as the penalty for one sheep, that should be either stolen, killed, or sold. On any other ground of interpretation than the spiritual one here given, what reason can be assigned why five oxen, and only four sheep, should be restored ? especially when it is considered, that the value of a single ox far exceeds that of a sheep, and consequently that the penalty offive oxen must press much more heavily on the ability of the criminal to make restitution, than the penalty of four sheep, though the guilt in each case is the same ? This difficulty or apparent inequality in the divine law, which arises from the letter only when separated from its spiritual sense, is however not merely removed by a knowledge of the science of correspondences, and of the spiritual signification of numbers, according to which this and every other part of the Word is written, but is absolutely converted into a beauty ; because the whole passage is now seen to be a manifest proof of the divine goodness, wisdom and justice, and no longer detains the mind with images drawn in shadow, but displays to an enlightened understanding all the brilliancy and perfection of truth. See A. C. 9098 to 9103. Ap. Ex. 548.

(3.) Lev. xxvi. 8. " And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight."- When the number five is contrasted with a higher number, it then denotes some thing small, or a few, or indeed all of one part ; while the greater number denotes much, or all of the other part. So in the present passage by five is meant a small portion of spiritual good and truth received from the Lord, in comparison with the great multitude of evils and falsities in man by nature, signified by a hundred of the enemy, which small portion is nevertheless made available to the removal of those evils and falsities during the process of regeneration. The same explanation will apply to a hundred, when contrasted with ten thousand. See A. R. 427. Ap. Ex. 548.

(4.) Isa. xix. 18. "In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts : each one shall be called the city of the sun."- By this passage is signified, that at the coming of the Lord into the world, many of the gentiles who, in consequence of their ignorance of the Word, were but natural men, would, on hearing the gospel preached to them, become spiritual men, embrace the genuine doctrine of the church, and worship the Lord from a principle of pure love and charity. The period alluded to by the words, " in that day," is the coming of the Lord, when the state of those who are in natural or external scientifics, will be changed by their reception of the divine truths of the Word. Five cities in the land of Egypt, speaking the language of Canaan, denote the genuine truths of the doctrine of the church communicated to, and received by them in abundance : five denotes many, or in abundance : cities denote the truths of doctrine : the language or lip of Canaan denotes the genuine doctrinals of the church : to
swear to Jehovah, is to make confession of the Lord : each one being called the city of the sun, signifies that the doctrine, even in its external form, will be that of love and charity from a spiritual origin, and will shine with heavenly light, as with the radiance of the sun.

The translators of the English Bible appear to have mistaken the sense of the last clause in the verse, and have rendered it thus :" One shall be called the city of destruction." But the context, as well as the original expression (ir hacheres), which is literally the city of the sun, plainly implies something good, not evil a blessing, and not a curse as the result of the Lord s advent, and the establishment of a new church among the gentiles. See Ap. Ex. 223, 391, 548, 654.

(5.) Matt. xxv. 1, 2. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish." By the kingdom of heaven is signified the church : the same also is signified by a virgin in respect to the affection or love of divine truth. Ten virgins, therefore, signify all who are of the church, and who have an affection for the truth, either internal or  xternal,
either for the sake of truth, or for the sake of some worldly and natural advantage. By the five wise virgins are meant all of the former description, and by the five foolish virgins all of the latter : for as the number of each class cannot be supposed to be determined by the precise number expressed, it is plain that by five are meant some, or some part of the whole, and indeed all of a similar character, whether it be that of wisdom or of folly. By their lamps are sig
nified the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, also the truths of doctrine and of faith. By oil is signified the good of love and charity: and by the bridegroom is understood the Lord. All the virgins had lamps, by which is understood, that all were in the possession of knowledges from the Word. But some of them had no oil in their vessels with their lamps ; that is to say, they were destitute of the good of love in their hearts, though possessed of light in their understanding : hence the latter are called foolish virgins, while the former are called wise. From this parable therefore it is evident, that the number ten signifies all the professing members of the church in general, and that the number five signifies some, or a certain part of them. See Ap. Ex. 252, 548, 675.

(6.) Matt. xxv. 14, 15. " The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey."- By the man travelling into a far country is meant the Lord, who, since his personal departure from the world, appears to be absent, or is generally thought to be so ; though in reality He is equally present with men, as He was when in the flesh ; nay, more so, for being now in a body altogether Divine, and bearing no relation whatever to either time or space, He is omnipresent. By his servants are signified all mankind, but especially those who belong to the church. By delivering unto them his goods, is signified that He communicates to all, though in different degrees, according to their capacity of reception, the knowledges of good and truth, which constitute the wealth of heaven ; to those who are of the church in a direct manner by his Word, and to others, viz., to gentiles who are out of the church, in an indirect manner by those laws of religion which they regard as divine. By the servant who received jive talents, are signified all those who have admitted some goods and truths from the Lord into their minds, and who thus have received some though comparatively but a few remains. Of this servant it is said in the succeeding part of the parable, that by trading he gained other five talents, so that they became ten; by which is signified, that by diligence, and a proper use of the few knowledges at first received, he at length acquired much wisdom : for as the number five denotes somewhat, or a few, so the number ten denotes much,or all ; each number being predicated of remains, which consist of the various knowledges of truth and good, together with affections for the same, received from the Lord and treasured up in the mind from infancy.

By the servant who received two talents, are signified all such as in advanced or mature age have adjoined charity to faith ; the number two here, as in other parts of the Word, denoting conjunction. By the servant, who received only one talent, are signified all those who admitted into their minds faith separate from charity. These are said to hide their lord s money in the earth, when their knowledge of heavenly things is confined to the memory, without application to the life, and when at the same time they give them selves up to earthly and sensual pleasures. From the preceding explanation it may be seen, that the number of talents given to the different servants by their lord, as Jive, two, and one, have reference not merely to the original gift, but likewise- to the use afterwards made of the gift by the receivers. To the servant who is said to have received only one talent, by which is understood faith alone, the offer of charity in conjunction with faith is ever made by his lord, as well as to him who is said to have received tivo talents : but in the one case faith or mere knowledge is received, and charity rejected, while in the other case both faith and charity are received and conjoined by actual life. And hence by the application of different numbers to the talents received by different persons, according to their true spiritual signification, we are enabled to discover what is the kind of life, which will hereafter meet with the divine approbation, and what that, which will inevitably prove our ruin. See A. C. 2967, 5291. Ap. Ex. 193, 675.

(7.) Mark vi. 38 to 44. " He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them ; and the two fishes divided He among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves, were about Jive thousand men."- By the Lord s feeding the multitude with jive loaves and two fishes, is signified the communication of good and truth to the members of his church, according to their capacity of reception, which as yet was but little. Loaves denote goods ; and their number being five, denotes that as yet they were but few, because the church was then only in its commencement among men of an external character. Fishes denote natural truths, or those truths which the natural man is first receptive of; and their number being two, denotes that still there was a principle of good in conjunction with the truth received by the people. By their sitting down on the green grass in ranks of hundreds and fifties, is signified the disposition or arrangement of all things in the newly-formed church according to divine order : green grass denotes the first or lowest state of spiritual life in man : and ranks of hundreds and fifties denote orderly arrangement according to the various states of reception. By their eating, and being filled, is understood spiritual nourishment or instruction as they could bear it. By twelve baskets full of fragments and of fishes remaining, are signified the knowledges of good and truth proceeding from the Lord in all abundance and fulness, consequently full instruction and fullblessing. The number of men, who did eat being five thousand, denotes all of the church who are in truths derived from good : men denote those who are in truths ; and women and children, mentioned by the Evangelist Matthew (xiv. 21), denote those who are in goods.

This miracle was wrought by the Lord in a similar manner to that of the production of manna in the wilderness, namely, by the extraordinary and sudden conversion of spiritual food into natural food, the multitude who were present not being at all aware of the circumstance during the time of their repast, but astonished beyond measure when they came to reflect upon it afterwards. By miracles of this description the Lord has made it fully manifest that He is both the Creator and Preserver of man. See A. C. 5291. Ap. Ex. 430, 548, 017.

(8.) Luke xii. 6. "Are not Jive sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" Five sparrows here evidently denote what is of little value or estimation in comparison with man. Birds in general denote things intellectual, or things relating to the understanding in man, such as thoughts, ideas, reasonings, principles, intentions, truths, or falsities, according to the nature of the subject treated of. Birds of a higher order, as eagles, represent thoughts formed on rational principles, and consequently of an interior quality; but birds of an inferior order, such as sparrows, etc., represent thoughts of a trifling and external character, or such as occupy the lower region of the mind. Hence the Lord, when speaking of his divine providence over everything relating to man, assures his disciples, that the least as wrell as the greatest things in and about Him are under his immediate notice and regard. This is expressed as usual by such objects in nature as correspond to, and are significative of, those things in man which are of the lowest consideration, namely, sparrows, which are said not to be forgotten by God, and in ver. 7, the very hairs of the head, which are said to be all numbered. See A. C. 5096, 5149. A. R. 757, 837. Ap. Ex. 453, 548. T. C. R. 42.

(9.) Luke xii. 52. " From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three."- The signification of the number jive varies according to its relation to other numbers: thus when it is preceded or followed by ten, twenty, or higher numbers, it signifies some, a few, or a little ; but when preceded or followed by lower numbers, as two and three, it then signifies all or many. In the present passage, by five in one house are meant all or many in the church at large, or all or many things in one individual mind. By their being divided, three against two and two against three, is signified that truths will be opposed to evils, and evils to truths ; also that falsities will be opposed to goods, and goods to falsities : for such is the double signification of the numbers three and two, three being predicated either of truths or falsities, and two either of goods or evils. This opposition, which is expressive of a state of temptation into which the members of- the church are permitted to fall when the Lord comes to establish his church among men, is the means whereby the process of regeneration is effected; for hereby man is led to see and acknowledge the impurities and corruptions of his nature, and seeing them, to renounce, resist and overcome them by the aid of divine truth and good received from the Lord. It is in reference to this state of trial and spiritual temptation, that the Lord says in ver. 51, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you, Nay ; but rather division." And in another place, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth : I came not to send peace, but a sivord" Matt. x. 34 ; that is, not a false peace, or heedless and fatal security, but the power of divine truth, whereby all spiritual enemies may be subdued, and true heavenly peace established in the mind, agreeably to these his divine words, " Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ; not as the world giveth, give I unto you," John xiv. 27 ; thus proving him self to be what the prophet of old declared He would be, "the Prince of peace," Isa. ix. 6. See A. C. 4843, 5023, 5291. Ap. Ex. 504, 532, 548, 724.

(10.) Luke xiv. 16 to 20. "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them : I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come."- By the great supper to which many were invited, is signified heaven and the church, where spiritual nourishment or instruction is communicated by the Lord to man. It is called a supper or evening repast, in reference to the end of a former church and the commencement of a new one. The persons invited were the Jews, who yet excused themselves from attending the supper, urging reasons which were all grounded in the love of external, worldly and corporeal things, separate from those of an internal and heavenly nature. By the first stating that he had bought a piece of ground and must needs go and see it, is signified that he had procured to himself such religious principles as were congenial with his love, and that his attention and thoughts would henceforth be directed to them in preference to any other : a piece of ground or a field, being that which is fitted to receive seeds, denotes in the genuine sense a state of spiritual good in the mind qualifying it for the reception of heavenly truths ; but in the opposite sense, a state of evil in the mind which will admit only of falsities or gross errors : and the desire of going to see it, implies that the powers of the understanding would be willingly employed in confirmation of the same. By the second excusing himself on the ground of his having bought five yoke of oxen, which he was desirous of proving, is signified that all his natural affections, lusts and pleasures arising from his intercourse with the world, were too dear and captivating to be renounced, and therefore he was still disposed to indulge them: oxen denote natural affections, either good or evil, but in the present case evil affections or lusts which withdraw the mind from heaven ; and five yoke of oxen denote all such affections and lusts : to prove them, is to live in the indulgence of them. By the answer which the third made to the invitation, viz., that he had married a wife and therefore could not come, is signified that evils and falsities arising from self-love and the love of the world, were so united or conjoined in him, as in a kind of infernal marriage, and had likewise gained such an ascendancy over him, that all his affections were already engaged, and consequently that he had no desire to change his life : marriage in a good sense denotes the conjunction of goods and truths, but in an opposite sense, as here, the conjunction of evils and falsities. See A. C. 5291. Ap. Ex. 252, 548, 1162. H. & H. 377.

(11.) Luke xvi. 27, 28. " The rich man in hell said unto Abraham, I pray thee, father, that thou wouldst send Lazarus to my father s house ; for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."- By the rich man are meant the Jews, who are said to be rich, because they were in possession of the Word, or the divine truths of revelation which constitute the riches of heaven : by Lazarus are meant the gentiles, who are said to be poor because they were then destitute of the Word: and by Abraham in whose bosom Lazarus was seen, is signified the Lord. Hence by the five brethren of the rich man are signified all of a similar quality and description with himself. The torment which he experienced in hell, did not consist in any pain or punishment inflicted upon him by natural fire, as is generally sup posed ; for a spirit cannot possibly be injured or tormented by such fire. Neither did his prayer to Abraham spring from any love or kindness to his brethren, who were still in the body ; for an infernal spirit is not susceptible of affection or tenderness to either friend or foe. But by the pain or torment of which he complained, is signified the restraint he was under, and the pungent distress he experienced, in no longer having the opportunity of perverting the divine truths of the Word, and consequently of doing mischief to others thereby ; it being the chief delight of every infernal spirit to infest the good, and if possible to destroy them without mercy ; which delight, on being prohibited from rushing into action, is converted into wretchedness and unspeakable misery. The ardent desire on the part of the rich man to pervert the Word and to destroy souls, together with the punishment attending it, is thus expressed in ver. 24: " Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame." By the water into which he wished Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger, is signified the divine truth of the Word : and by his tongue which was heated and tormented by flame, is signified his ardent desire and lust of perverting such truth, with the punishment annexed to it. To cool the tongue, is to assuage the thirst or desire of perverting truth by indulging the inclination : but as he was denied this gratification, he therefore complained that he was tormented by the flame, that is, by the lust within him, which is described as a burning flame. And the only reason why he expressed a desire that his five brethren might not come into a similar state of torment with himself, was, that, if he could not by his own malicious exertions accomplish the above purpose, he hoped that all others who were in spirit like himself, might, while they had the opportunity, still continue to act as he had done, that is, pervert the divine truths of the Word with a view to the destruction and final ruin of the innocent. See A. R. 282, 725. Ap. Ex. 455, 548.

(12.) Apoc. ix. 5. "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months."- By the locusts which came forth out of the smoke, that ascended from the bottomless pit, mentioned in the preceding verses, are signified the ultimate or sensual principles in man, which receive the influx of infernal falsities. By their being commanded not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads, is signified the divine providence of the Lord in preserving the literal or external sense of the Word from being openly denied, and thereby destroyed, at the end of the church, though the true sense of it is perverted by those who are not in truths derived from good : the grass of the earth is scientific truth grounded in the literal sense of the Word : the green thing is the good of faith, or the life thereof: trees are the knowledges or perceptions of truth and good : and the men, who have not the seal of God in their foreheads, are those who are not in truths derived from good. By their not being permitted to kill such men, but only to torment them five months, is signified that the faculty or capacity of understanding what is true and of choosing what is good, is not absolutely taken away from them, but only a state of stupefaction or insensibility to truth is induced upon them for a short time, that is, so long as they suffer themselves to be seduced by fallacious reasonings : to kill men, is to deprive them of the faculty or capacity of understanding, perceiving and choosing what is true and good ; for man is man by virtue of such faculty, which always remains with him, though the actual understanding of truth and perception of good may be suspended, and for a time extinguished : to torment them five months, is to induce a degree of stupor and insensibility as to the understanding of truth for a short time, or so long as they are in the state above described ; for a month, like all other times, is expressive of state, and the number five denotes something, a little, a short time, and consequently so long as the state alluded to continues. See A. R. 424 to 427. Ap. Ex. 543 to 548.

Six.

The number six belongs to the spiritual class of expressions, being predicated of truths or falsities, and denotes all truth or falsity in the complex. A. C. 10624. A. R. 322. Ap. Ex. 194, 430, 532. It also signifies all things of truth from good. A. C. 9555. All things of faith and charity, or of truth and good, like the number twelve A. C. 3960, 7973. A. R. 245. All states of labor, combat and temptation before rest and peace arising from the conjunction of good and truth. A. C. 737, 1903T 4178, 8494, 8975, 10360. Man's proprium. A. R. 519.

First states of instruction and regeneration, when man is in combat, and is led by truth to good. A. C. 9272, 10667, 10729. All states of labor, combat and temptation preceding full regeneration. A. C. 6 to 13, 737, 900, illustrated.

The dispersion of what is false in temptations, also the holy principle of faith which is implied in temptations. A. C. 737. Preparation for celestial marriage. A. C. 10637.

Reception of truth before conjunction with good. A. C. 8506. The end of a preceding state. A. C. 8421. What is complete from the beginning to the end. A. R. 489. The end of the former church, and commencement of the new. A. C. 9741.

When the number six has relation to twelve, or to three, being considered as the half of one, and double the other, it then signifies the holy principle of faith ; because twelve signifies all things belonging to faith, and three signifies what is holy. A. C. 737, 3239, 3960, 8148.

When considered as compounded of three multiplied by two, it then signifies all things relating to truth and good ; for the number three signifies fulness, or the all of truth, and the number two signifies the marriage or conjunction of truth with good. A. R. 245, 610.

The sixth part, sixth day, and sixth hour, have the same signification as the number six itself, viz., what is full, complete and perfect from beginning to end. A. R. 610. A. C. 8421.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. i. 31. "And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."- By the six days of creation are meant all states of labor, combat and temptation during the process of man's regeneration, until, by repeated advances from lower to higher degrees of the spiritual life called evening and morning, he enters into a state of heavenly rest and peace, signified by the seventh day. And as this cannot be effected by any power belonging to man, but only by a divine agency operating through the medium of truth received into the understanding and affections, it is therefore said that God created, that is regenerated man, and then ceased from all his labor. Thus the sixth day denotes the completion or end of the states above described, whereby man first becomes an image, and afterwards a likeness of the Lord. The former states or stages are declared to be good, but this last very good, by reason of the end which is now attained, namely, the conjunction of good and truth, or the heavenly marriage. See A. C. 6 to 13, 60 to 63.

(2. ) Ex. xvi. 26. " Six days ye shall gather it (manna) ; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none."- By manna is signified the good which is acquired by means of truth, or by living according to the dictates of truth. By the Israelites gathering manna six days, but not on the seventh, is signified that such good may, according to divine order, be acquired in states of labor, combat and temptation, or before the actual conjunction of truth with good takes place, but not afterwards : six days denote states of labor, combat and temptation, during which truth leads or introduces to good : the seventh day denotes the conjunction of good and truth, consequently a state of rest and tranquillity when man is led by the Lord without labor and combat, because he is led from affection and delight, and because his labor or earnest endeavor to procure good is superseded by the actual possession of it. The state of man before regeneration and his state after it, are widely different the one from the other; in the former he acts from truth, and there by acquires good ; in the latter he acts from good, and thence perceives truth. When arrived at this latter state, it would be disorderly in him to return to the former : on which account the Lord says in the Gospel, " In that day, he who shall be on the house-top, (in the principle of good,) and his vessels (or truths) in the house, let him not come down to take them away : and he that is in the field, (in the good acquired by truth,) let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot s wife," Luke xvii. 31, 32. See A. C. 8462 to 8510.

(3.) Ex. xx. 9 to 11. "Six days sjialt thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of Jehovah thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it." By the six days of labor are signified the various states of combat, which precede and prepare for the celestial marriage, or the conjunction of good and truth in man. The seventh day denotes that holy marriage or conjunction, with all the felicities arising from it, and in the supreme sense the union of the Lord s Divinity and his Divine Humanity. By the son, daughter, man-servant, maid-servant, cattle and stranger ceasing from labor, is signified that all things belonging to the internal and external man ought to partake of that rest and peace which is represented and typified by the seventh day. And by the heaven, the earth, the sea and all that is in them, which Jehovah made, are signified in general those internal and external principles of spiritual and celestial life, which man receives by regeneration from the Lord. See A. C. 8888 to 8895.

(4.) Ex. xxi. 2. " If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve ; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing." By a Hebrew servant are signified all those members of the church who are in the truths of doctrine, but not in the good of life corresponding with such truths, and abstractly the truths themselves: hence to buy a Hebrew servant, is to procure those truths. They are called servants, because the truth which they profess is itself a servant in respect to good, being subservient thereto : and they are called Hebrews, because a Hebrew signifies one who belongs to the church, and who therefore can perform service or use in the church. By his serving six years is signified that such persons undergo a state of labor and some degree of combat, during which the truth of faith is confirmed in them by the Lord : six years denote labor and combat, the result of which is confirmation in the truth. By his going out free for nothing in the seventh, year, is signified a state of confirmed truth without any labor of his own. The seventh year in general bears the same signification as the seventh day or sabbath, namely, the conjunction of good and truth, or the celestial marriage, thus a state of peace and freedom, which succeeds a state of servitude : but in the present case, as the subject treats of those external men in the church who are in ^truth and not in the corresponding good of life, the seventh day merely denotes the confirmation of truth with them, which is effected by the Lord gratuitously, that is, with out any labor of their own. See A. C. 8974 to 8976.

(5.) Lev. xxv. 3, 4. "Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for Jehovah : thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard." The two states of the regenerate life are here alluded to ; the first being a state of instruction in the truths and goods of faith, and appropriation of the same, signified by sowing the field, and pruning the vineyard for six years, and gathering in the fruit thereof; the second being a state of rest, tranquillity and peace signified by the seventh year, when all labor should cease. See A. C. 9272 to 9274.

(6.) Num. xxxv. 14, 15. " Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them ; that every one who killeth any person unawares, may flee thither."- By those persons who killed another without design, or, as it is usually expressed, by accident, were represented all those in the church, who by their false reasonings and persuasions on the subject of faith do a serious injury to another, and even extinguish his spiritual life, yet without any such intention or purpose, as is the case with some zealous but well-meaning and conscientious professors. Such man-slayers were exempt from punishment, on betaking them selves to one of the cities of refuge which were expressly appointed for their benefit ; by which circumstance was signified that, whatever errors of judgment may mislead a man, yet if he act uprightly, sincerely and conscientiously, bearing no malice or enmity against hisneighbor, a merciful providence is made in his behalf, by protecting him from the punishment that would otherwise have fallen upon him. Six cities of refuge were appointed, three on the one side, and three on the other side of Jordan, because the number six, like the number three, denotes what is holy, and at the same time what is full and complete. See A. C. 9011. A. R. 610.

(7.) Isa. vi. 2. " Above it stood the seraphim ; each one had six wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly."- By the seraphim is signified the Word, properly doctrine from the Word, also the divine providence of the Lord in guarding and defending the superior or interior heavens from being approached in any other spirit than that of love and charity. By wings, in like manner as by arms or hands, is signified the power of divine truth ; also circumspection, presence and defence : and by there being six in number to each seraph is signified the fulness and perfection of such power, which is the same thing as the divine omnipotence and omnipresence. By the twain with which he covered his face, is signified the protection of the interior things of the Word, of heaven, and the church, from violation and profanation : by the twain with which he covered his feet, is signified the protection also of the exterior things "belonging to the same : and by the twain with which he did fly, is signified the power of instruction, communication and perception of the divine things contained in the Word. The cherubim seen by the prophet Ezekiel have a similar signification ; and of them it is said that " their wings touched each other, and covered their bodies on this side and on that side ; that the noise of their wings was like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty when he speaketh ; and that the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings," Ezek. i. 23, 24 ; iii. 13 ; x. 5, 8, 21 See A. R. 245. Ap. Ex. 282 to 285. A. C. 8764.

(8.) Ezek. ix. 2. "And behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toAvard the north, and every man with a slaughter-weapon in his hand."- By a man with a slaughter-weapon coming from the gate towards the north, is signified the false princi ple derived from evil entering into the church, and vastating or destroying it. The same is also understood by six men; but this number is added, to show that the destruction is total and complete. See A. K. 440. A. C. 737, 2242.

(9.) Ezek. xxxix. 2. "And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee."- By Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, of whom these words are spoken, is signified external worship separate from what is internal ; or the perverted church, which places all worship in the observance of its external rites and ceremonies, without any legard to a life of charity. By sextating, or leaving but a sixth part of Gog, is signified the total destruction of every truth derived from good in such a church : the sixth part denotes the same as the number six itself, being predicated of truths, and in the opposite sense, of falsities. See A. K. 610, 859. A. C. 737, 1151.

(10.) Ezek. xlv. 13. " This is the oblation that ye shall offer, the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat ; and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley."- The ephah, the homer and the omer, being dry measures, have in the Word the same signification as the things contained in them, and are predicated of good ; while the hin, the cor and the bath, being measures for liquids, are in general predicated of truth. The oblation to be offered was ordered to be the sixth part of an ephah of wheat and barley, to denote that the worship of the Lord must be wholly and entirely directed to Him from those pure affections of the heart which are represented in the Word by wheat and barley. See A. R. 610. A. C. 8468, 8540, 10262.

(11.) Mark xv. 33. "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour."- By the darkness which overspread the whole earth at the time of the Lord's crucifixion, for three hours, viz., from the sixth unto the ninth hour, was signified and represented the total defect of love and faith throughout the church, or the actual presence of evils and falsities of the grossest description. The sun denotes love, and the light thereof faith or truth, wThich being totally extinguished by the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord who is himself the " sun of righteousness," and the " true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world," gross darkness or mere falsities necessarily succeeded. This darkness is described by the Evangelists as continuing for three hours, that is, from the sixth to the ninth hour, in order to show that the prevalence of false principles derived from evil was total and universal ; for such is the spiritual purport of the numbers three, six, and nine. See A. C. 1839. Ap. Ex. 526.

(12.) John ii. 6. "And there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece."- By the marriage in Cana of Galilee, to which both Jesus and his disciples were called, is signified the establishment of a new church among the gentiles. By the water which was converted into wine, is signified the truth of the external or literal sense of the Word, such as it was with the Jews, opened and explained according to the internal and spiritual sense, such as it was to be among Christians. By the six water-pots of stone, which were placed there, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, are signified all those things in the Word, and in the Jewish worship, which were representative and significative of divine spiritual things in the Lord and from the Lord. The water-pots are said to be of stone, because a stone signifies truth in the natural principle : and their number was six, because six denotes all, and is predicated of truths. The external purification or washing of the Jews also repre sented and signified the internal purification of the heart, whereby regeneration is advanced, and the church established. See Ap. Ex. 376. A. R. 610.

Seven.

The number seven and all septenary numbers in general refer to what is holy, but in an opposite sense to what is profane. A. R. 10. A. C. 5265. It signifies what is holy and inviolable, like the number three. A. C. 395, 433, 482, 813. Ap. Ex. 430. What is most holy, as being of the Lord alone ; in the supreme sense the essential divine principle, and in a representative sense the celestial principle of love. It always adds a degree of holiness to the subject treated of, which holiness is from the celestial principle, or charity. A. C. 716, 717, 5265.

Fulness in regard to what is holy. A. C. 10127. A state of peace and rest. A. C. 85, 87, 395. The union or conjunction of good and truth, after six days of labor. A. C. 10360. An entire period from beginning to end, thus a full state. A. C. 5265, 6508, 9228, 10127.

All things, and all persons, and hence what is full and perfect. A. R. 10, 65. Ap. Ex. 257. The last state of regeneration, when man is in good, and at the
same time in peace, and in heaven with the Lord. A. C. 10367, 10668.

The coming of the Lord, the end of a former state, and the beginning of a new state with those who are about to be regenerated. A. C. 728, 9296. The celestial marriage, or state of heavenly peace. A. C. 8976. The celestial man, the celestial church, the celestial kingdom, and The Lord himself. A. C. 433, 1988.

The kingdom of the Lord in heaven and on earth. A. C. 85. Seven days, or a week, whether of days, months, or years, denote an entire period, great or small, from beginning to end, including every state of reformation, regeneration and temptation, both in general and in particular. A. C. 2044, 3845. In the opposite sense seven denotes what is profane. A. C. 433, 5268.

The seventh day, or sabbath of rest, signifies the union of the Divinity called the Father, with the Divine Humanity called the Son, thus the Divine Humanity itself, in which that union has taken place. A. C. 851, 10360.

Also the conjunction of the Lord with heaven, with the church, with an angel of heaven, and with a man of the church. A. C. 10360. Also the conjunction of good and truth. A. C. 8504, 8507-9, or the state when man is in good. A. C. 9274. See also as to opposite states of mind, A. R. 672, 676. The seventh mouth, what is holy. A. C. 852. The seventh or sabbatic year, also the year of jubilee, after a period of seven times seven years, represented the marriage of good and truth in the inmost heaven, and a state of celestial peace and tranquillity. A. C. 8802, 9974.

Seven-fold denotes what is holy and inviolable. A. C. 395, 433.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. ii. 2. "And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had made : and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which He had made." By the six days of labor in which God is said to work, are signified all preceding states of regeneration, when man is chiefly led by truth to good : and hence by the seventh day is denoted the end of those states of truth, and the commence ment of a new state, which is a state of good, when there is no longer any labor or combat, but rest and peace. And as the process of regeneration from first to last is conducted by the Lord alone, therefore it is said that God rested on the seventh day from all his work. See A. C. 84 to 88.

(2.) Gen. xli. 1 to 7. "And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. And behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored kine. and fat-fleshed ; and they fed in a meadow. And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed ; and they stood by the other kine, upon the brink of the river. And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept, and dreamed the second time : and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, fat and good. And behold, seven thin ears, and blasted with the eastwind, sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven fat and full cars : and Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream."- The two dreams here related, the one concerning the seven kine, and the other concerning the seven ears of corn, refer to the regeneration of the interior and the exterior of the natural prin ciple. By the seven well-favored and fat-fleshed kine, which fed in a meadow, are signified the truths of the interior natural principle, which have respect to faith and charity, and multiply in man through the medium of scientifics. The kine or cows denote those truths : they are said to be well-favored, or beautiful in aspect, because spiritual beauty is derived from the affection of the truth of faith : they are also said to be fat-fleshed, because fat is predicated of the good of love and charity, and flesh of the will-principle vivified by the Lord : and they are further described as feeding in a meadow, or rather in the sedge or long and large grass at the side of the river, to denote instruction in scientifics. By the seven other kine, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, which ate up the seven well-favored and fatfleshed kine, are signified the falsities of the natural principle, which are opposed to faith and charity, and apparently exterminate the truths at the commencement of regeneration, though in reality these latter are not exterminated, but stored up in the interior, to be there filled with good, and afterwards brought forth in the external.

The reason why there were seven well-favored and seven ill-favored kine, is, that in the former case the number seven signifies what is holy, and adds sanctity to the subject treated of; but in the latter case it signi fies what is unholy and profane, being taken in the opposite sense, as is usual in many parts of the Word. So again, in the second dream by the seven ears of corn on one stalk, fat and good, are signified the scient fics of the exterior natural principle, which are of use, as being subservient to faith and charity. They are said to be fat, because of their fitness to receive the good of faith ; and good, because of their fitness to receive the things of charity. And by the seven thin ears, blasted with the east-wind, which devoured the seven fat and good ears, are signified the scientifics which are of no use, because they are filled with lusts, and apparently exterminate the good scientifics, in the same manner as falsities apparently exterminate truths, The ears are said to be thin, because they are of no spiritual use or advantage ; and blasted with the east-wind, because the fire of lusts in the end consumes them. Both the fat ears and the thin ears were in number seven, as were the fat and lean kine, to denote in the one case what is holy, and in the other case what is unholy and profane. See A. C. 5193 to 5219, 5265 to 5270.

(3.) Ex. xxxiv. 18. " The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep : seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread." By the feast of unleavened bread is signified worship and thanksgiving to the Lord for deliverance from evil, and from the falsities of evil. The feast itself denoted the commemoration of that event, and especially the glorification of the Lord's Humanity : and unleavened bread denotes good purified from evils and falsities. By eating thereof seven days is signified the reception and appropriation of divine good and truth, in a state of sanctity from beginning to end. See A. C. 9287 to 9289, 10655, 10656.

(4.) Ps. cxix. 164. "Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments." Seven times a day denotes always, or perpetually, also with the whole heart. See Ap. Ex. 257. A. C. 395, 9228.

(5.) Isa. xxx. 26. " The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound."- By the light of the moon is signified a state of intelligence and wisdom arising from faith in the Lord, in the spiritual kingdom ; and by the light of the sun is signified a state of wisdom and intelligence arising from love to the Lord in the celestial kingdom : for by the moon is denoted faith, and by the sun love. By the light of the former becoming as the light of the latter, and by the latter being seven-fold as the light of seven days, is signified that the splendor of divine truth among the angels of the inferior heavens will, after the coming of the Lord, be similar to that which before existed in the superior heavens, and the splendor of divine truth in these will be abundantly increased, and in the highest possible degree of purity and perfection. Seven and seven-fold denote what is holy, pure, full and perfect. The breach of the people denotes falsities of doctrine in the church, and the stroke of their wound denotes evil of life. To bind up and to heal these, is to produce reformation both of doctrine and of life by means of divine truth. The day in which this was to be effected, denotes the coming of the Lord into the world for the redemption and salvation of mankind. See Ap. Ex. 257, 401, 962. A. C. 719, 9228.

(6.) Dan. ix. 25. " Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks." From the going forth of the commandment, denotes from the period when the Word of the Old Testament was completed : unto the Messiah the Prince, is until the coming of 4he Lord : and seven weeks denote a full and entire period from beginning to end, the completion of which is called the fulness of times. See Ap. Ex. 684. A. C. 6508, 9228.

(7.) Matt. xii. 43 to 45. " When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out ; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state of that man is worse than the first." The conversion of man is here described by the unclean spirit going out of him. Dry places, or places without water, denote where there are no truths. His relapse into evils of life, and in consequence thereof a state of profanation, are signified by the return of the unclean spirit, together with seven others more wicked than himself. The house empty, swept and garnished, is the mind deprived of truths and goods, and therefore full of falsities and evils, which are spiritual uncleanness. Hence it is plain that the number seven, when applied in an opposite sense, that is, in relation to evils and falsities, signifies a full state of spirit ual depravity, or the destruction of all good and truth. See Ap. Ex. 257, 1160. A. C. 3142, 4744, 9228.

(8.) Matt. xv. 34 to 37. " Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye ? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He ook the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat and were filled : and they took up of the broken meat that was left, seven baskets full."- By the Lord's feeding the multitude with seven loaves and a few little fishes, is signified instruction relative to things good and true, and at the same time reception on the part of the people. The loaves denote good, and were seven in number to denote fulness, as well as a state of sanctity : the fishes denote truth, and are said to be few and small, because the people as yet were ignorant of those divine truths, which distinguish between the Christian and the Jewish dispensation. The surplus of broken meat consisting of seven baskets full, confirms the signification of the number seven, as implying fulness and abundance. See Ap. Ex. 257.

(9.) Matt, xviii. 21, 22. "Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother -sin against me, and I forgive him ? till seven times ? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but until seventy times seven."- The number seven first mentioned signifies much, or many times; but when increased to seventy times seven, it denotes perpetually, or without end. And such is the nature of Christian charity, that it requires man to be constantly in the spirit of love, always disposed to forgive injuries, and to do good to others. See A. C. 433. Ap. Ex. 527, 820.

(10.) Apoc. i. 4. " John to the seven churches, which are in Asia : Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come ; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne." By the seven churches in Asia are not meant seven churches, but all who are of the church throughout the Christian world, where the Word is received, and the Lord thereby known. And again by the seven spirits before his throne are meant all who are in divine truth, and abstractly divine truth itself; the number seven here, as in other places, denoting all things and all persons, and consequently what is full and perfect, at the same time that it in volves a state of sanctity. See A. R. 10, 14.

(11.) Apoc. i. 20. "The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches ; and the seven candlesticks, which thou sawest, are the seven churches."- By the seven stars is signified the New Church in the heavens, which is also called the New Heaven : for as the Word is in the heavens* as well as on the earth, and the church is such by virtue of the Word and the knowledges of good and truth thence derived, hence the universal church in the heavens is described by seven stars, each society therein shining as a star, by reason of the light which it receives from the Lord through the medium of his Word. The heavenly societies, as well as the individuals thereof, are also called angels. By the seven candlesticks is signified the New Church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem descending from the Lord out of the New Heaven. The candlesticks, stars and churches are said to be seven, not in reference to their number, but to the things signified by that number, which are all the states of good, truth and holiness communicated by the Lord to the church, which in itself is one, both in the spiritual and in the natural world. See A. R. 64 to 66.

(12.) Apoc. v. i. " And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals." By the book written within and on the backside, is signified the Word as to its particular and general contents, or as to its internal and external sense. By its being sealed with seven seals is signified that its contents were altogether hidden from the under standing or perception of men, until revealed by the Lord, who as to his Divinity is described by Him that sat on the throne, and as to his Humanity by the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and by the Lamb. See A. R. 256, 257.

(13.) Apoc. xii. 3. "And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." By the great red dragon are signified all those in the Protestant or Reformed churches, who make three persons of God, and two of the Lord, and who separate charity from faith, supposing that this latter, and not the former, has a saving power. The professors of this faith generally address the Father as one God, for the sake of the Son as another God, praying that He would send the Holy Spirit, as a third God, to sanctify and regenerate them ; thus forming in their imaginations three distinct Gods, though with their lips they make confession of only one God. The same professors, in their doctrine concerning the Lord, separate his Humanity from his Divinity, and thereby make two persons of Him, one of which they consider as having existed from eternitv, and therefore in several respects equal to the divine person of the Father, while the other is regarded by them as little, if at all, different from the person of another man. It is further insisted upon by the professors of this doctrine, that faith in the merits of the Saviour, without any regard to charity or a good life, is all that is necessary tosecure man s salvation. Thus in every part of their doctrine they are opposed to the New Church, which teaches that there is only one God in one divine person, in whom is a trinity of essentials, like soul, body and operation in man ; and that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is that God ; and further, that if man would be saved, charity and faith must be united in him as one, and together bring forth the fruits of a good and useful life, yet under the continual acknowledg ment that all the good he does and all the truth he thinks, are derived solely from the Lord. But, as before observed, the dragon denotes all those who hold to a trinity of divine persons, and justification by faith alone both in doctrine and in life. By his having seven heads is signified a state of spiritual insanity arising from a false interpretation and profane application of the truths of the Word. In a genuine sense the head denotes wisdom and intelligence, because it is the seat thereof: but in an opposite sense it denotes folly and in sanity. The number seven in a good sense, is predicated of things holy ; but in an opposite sense, of things profane ; and also signifies what is full, total and complete. By the ten horns of the dragon is signified much power : the horns of an animal, like the arms or hands of a man, denote power ; and the number ten signifies much ; implying that the false doctrine above described was universally prevalent in the Reformed or Protestant churches which was actually the case at the consummation of the Age, or end of the first Christian church (1757). By the seven crowns or diadems upon his heads, is also signified the falsification and profanation of all the truths of the Word: for the precious stones in a crown or diadem, denote the truths of the Word, particularly in its literal sense ; but in the pres ent case, the same truths perverted and destroyed. See A. R 537 to 540.

(14.) Apoc. xvii. 3. "I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." By a woman is meant the church, but in the present case the Roman Catholic religious persuasion, founded upon a false, perverted and profane interpretation of the Word. By the beast is signified the AYord which, in reference to its power of communicating life to man, is elsewhere described by four animals or living creatures, as in Ezek. i. 5 to 25 ; x. 1 to 22 ; and by four beasts in the midst of the throne of heaven, and round about the throne, full of eyes before and behind, Apoc. vi, 6. But when the Word is falsified and profaned, as it is by the Roman Catholic hierarchy, it is then represented by a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy. The scarlet color denotes truth from a celestial origin, but in the opposite sense the same truth falsified and perverted : and to be full of names of blasphemy, is to be altogether adulterated and profaned. By the seven heads is signified a state of spiritual insanity, arising from a perverted and profane interpretation of the Word ; and by the ten horns is denoted much power, and the prevalence of the abuses and delusions practised by the church of Rome. The number seven is predicated of things holy or profane, according to the nature of the subject treated of; and also signifies what is full, total and complete. It is therefore equally applied to the dragon in chap, xii., and to the scarlet-colored beast in this chapter, to denote the total perversion of divine truth, and the profanation of things holy, both by Protestants and by Roman Catholics. See A. R. 723, 724, 737.

Eight.

The number eight belongs to the celestial class of expressions, being predicated of goods or evils, and denotes all good or evil in the complex. A. C. 10624. Ap. Ex. 430. A. R. 739. In general, it bears the same signification as the numbers two and four, from which it arises by multiplication. Ap. Ex. 430. A. C. 9659. It denotes conjunction to the full, also fulness itself, and what is entire, in every mode or respect, and at the same time the commencement of a new state. A. C. 9659.

The beginning of a following or new state, when man lives from good or charity, and no longer from truth or faith as before. A. C. 9227. It therefore has reference to purification, which ought to be always going on as from a new beginning ; hence the rite of circumcision on the eighth day. A. C. 2044.

Something distinct from what preceded. A. C. 2866. The beginning of a second state in regeneration, when the life is formed from, and the man is led by, good. A. C. 9227, 9296. Every beginning, or every new state, with its continuation. A. C. 2044, 2633.

Something different from what has preceded. A. C. 2866. The eighth day is also called a sabbath, Lev. xxiii. 39, because it denotes the beginning of a new state, in which the conjunction of good and truth takes place. A. C. 9296.
 

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xvii. 12. "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man-child in your generations."- As a week, consisting of seven days, signifies an entire period of state as well as of time, being predicated of reformation, regeneration, temptation, etc., and this in reference alike to an individual man, and to the church in general ; so the eighth day, being the first day of a following week, signifies every beginning or commencement of a new state. On this account, in the Israelitish representative church, males of eight days old were ordered to be circumcised, in token of man's future purification from the unclean lusts originating in self-love and the love of the world. The reason also why the command extended to males only, was, because a male, as distinguished from a female, signifies the truth of faith ; and no one can be purified from the unclean loves above-mentioned, unless he be in possession of truth, at least in some degree. It is by virtue of truth that man knows what is pure and what impure, what is holy and what profane ; and without such knowledge as a medium whereby celestial love from the Lord may commence its operations on the external man, his purification and regeneration cannot be effected. See A. C. 2044 to 2046.

(2.) Ex. xxvi. 25 ; xxxvi. 30. " And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets : two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another." By the tabernacle was represented heaven in general ; by the ark, containing the testimony, the inmost or third heaven ; by the habitation, containing the table for the show-bread, and the candlestick, the middle or second heaven ; and by the court about the tabernacle, the lowest or first heaven. Among the various things appointed to be in that part of the tabernacle called the habitation, were eight boards or planks on the western side, each having two sockets or bases of silver, making sixteen in the whole, by which is signified every mode of support from good, and by truth grounded in good. The boards or planks signify good yielding support ; for Avood in general denotes good : their number eight bears the same signification in this place as the numbers two and four, from which it arises by multiplication, and denotes what is full and perfect in every respect, as also the conjunction of good with truth : their sockets or bases signify support : the silver of which they consisted, denotes truth derived from good : the number sixteen denotes the same as eight, viz., what is full and complete : and the number two denotes conjunction. See A. C. 9659 to 9661.

(3.) Lev. xiv. 10. " And on the eighth day he shall take two helambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth-deals of fine flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil." The eighth day here denotes the beginning of a new state with him who had been a leper, and who had passed through a process of purification for seven preceding days. The lambs without blemish which were then to be offered, together with the fine flour mingled with oil, signify innocence and good, in conjunction with genuine truth. The previous state is that in which man, while regenerating, is led by truth to good ; the latter state, which is also called a full state, is that in which, being regenerated, he regards truth from good. Similar things are understood, in Lev. xv. 29, by the seven days purification of a woman, and by her bringing an offering of two turtles, or two young pigeons, on the eighth day. See A. C. 2906, 7839.

(4.) Lev. xxiii. 39. " Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye haVe gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath." Three annual feasts were instituted among the Israelites, to denote the deliverance from hell and introduction into heaven, of all those of the human race who are willing to receive new life from the Lord, and thus take the benefit of his advent into the world. The first feast called the feast of unleavened bread, and also the feast of the passover signifies purification from falsities, and deliverance from the power of spiritual enemies : the second, called the feast of harvest, and also the feast of weeks, signifies the implantation of truth in good : the third, called the feast of in-gathering, and also the feast of tabernacles, signifies the implantation of good, which is full deliverance from hell, and introduction into heaven. By the fifteenth day of the seventh month is signified the end of a former state, and the beginning of a new one; the fifteenth day having the same respect to fourteen preceding days, as eight days have to seven. By the first day being a sabbath, and the eighth day a sabbath, is signified the conjunction of truth with good, and reciprocally the conjunction of good with truth ; which conjunction, when it first takes place, is also the beginning of a new state. Hence it appears that the first, the eighth, and the fifteenth days, in the passage above quoted, have similar significations. See A. C. 9286, 9296. A. R. 585.

(5.) Lev. xxv. 22. "And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year : until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store." By sowing in the eighth year is signified instruction, and the reception of truth in a new state : and by eating of old fruit until the ninth year, is signified the appropriation of external good and truth until more interior truth be received, and conjoined with a corresponding good. To sow signifies both to teach and to learn the truths and goods of faith : the eighth year denotes the commencement of a new state : old fruit denotes external goods and truths, these being first acquired, and afterwards those which are internal : the ninth year denotes full reception, and also conjunction. See A. C. 9272, 9274.

(6.) Num. vi. 10. "And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Here again the eighth day signifies the commencement of a new state : and by the two turtles, and two young pigeons, are signified innocence and charity, also the truths and goods of faith in conjunction. See A. C. 870, 10210.

(7.) Ezek. xl. 9. " Then measured he the porch of the gate eight cubits, and the posts thereof two cubits, and the porch of the gate was inward." By the various parts in and about the new temple described by Ezekiel, and their dimensions and numbers, are signified the various kinds and qualities of good and truth, internal and external. The porch leading inward, denotes introduction by truth to good : its dimensions, eight cubits, denotes that such introduction is ample, full and complete for those who have commenced the work of regeneration ; and the posts, being two cubits, denote the goods and truths of the natural principle in a state of conjunction, whereby also man is introduced into the interior things of the church and heaven. See A. C. 7847, 9659.

(8.) Ezek. xl. 31. "And the arches thereof were toward the outer court, and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof; and the going up to it had eight steps." By the arches or upper parts of the porches, are signified external goods ; by the palm-trees, interior truths ; and by the eight steps of the ascent, full introduction to spiritual good. See A. C. 7847, 9296, 9659.

(9.) Ezek. xl. 41. " Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate ; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices." By tables are signified the same as by the things placed upon them : hence by the eight tables on which they sacrificed their sacrifices, four on this side and four on that, is signified worship in general from every affection of good and truth ; the number eight denoting fulness, conjunction and newness of life.
See A. C. 9296, 9659.

(10.) Micah v. 5. "And this shall be the peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men." The Assyrian here denotes reasonings concerning the goods and truths of the church from self-derived intelligence : and full deliverance from them is signified by seven shepherds and eight principal men being raised against him. Seven shepherds, abstractly from persons, denote the celestial things of the internal man ; and eight principal men are the primary truths of good. The number eight, especially when preceded by seven, signifies what is full, perfect and complete. Hence it is, that the effect produced either in the church or in an individual of the church, on the removal of false reasonings and disputations, is said to be peace. See A. C. 1186, 1572, 9659.

(11.) Luke ix. 28, 29. "And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter, and John, and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering." The transfiguration of the Lord upon a mountain was an exhi bition of the glory both of his divine Person and of his Word. And the reason why of all his disciples He took only Peter, James and John, was, that they represented faith, charity, and the works of charity ; and that no others but such as are principled therein, can possibly discern either the divinity of the Lord s Humanity, or the divinity, sanctity and interior glory of his Word. This manifestation of his glory is said by the Evangelist Luke to have been about eight days after a discourse with his disciples, related in the preceding verses, and by Matthew and Mark after six days. By both numbers are signified nearly the same things in effect ; for six days denote the first stage of regeneration, when man is led by truth to good through many trials, temptations and spiritual labors ; after which he enter upon a new state, which is that of his actual regeneration, being then in the possession and enjoyment of heavenly good. The same is also signified by the words, about an eight days after ; the number eight denoting a new state of the spiritual life, in which the conjunction of good and truth takes place, and is manifested in the external by works of charity, piety, and general usefulness. See Ap. Ex. 64, 821, 1070.

(12.) Apoc. xvii. 11. "And the beast that was. and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." By the beast is signified the Word, as already explained in the 14th example under the number SEVEN ; ofwhich it is said, that it was, and is not, meaning that it was once received in the Romish church, and read by the people, but afterwards taken away from them, and not read. By its being called the eighth, that is, the eighth mountain and the eighth king, is signified that it is essential divine good, and at the same time essential divine truth : for by the seven mountains are signified the divine goods of the AVord, and by the seven kings its divine truths; and that these might be all comprehended in one general view, it is therefore said that the beast which was, and is not, is itself the eighth, and of the seven. The number eight signifies good ; and the number seven is predicated of what is holy. By the beast going into perdition is signified, that the Word is rejected and made of none effect, by being taken from the laity who are thereby prevented from seeing the profanations, adulterations and gross abuses practised by the Romish clergy, lest they should altogether recede
from the papal yoke and dominion. See Ap. Ex. 1054, 1067. A. R. 733, 737.

Nine.

The number nine belongs to the spiritual class of expressions, and, like the numbers three and six, is predicated of truths or falsities. Ap. Ex. 194, 430, 532. A. R. 322. A. C. 10624.

It signifies what is full and complete. A. C. 2788. Ap. Ex. 194 Also conjunction. A. C. 2075, 2269. When the number nine bears the same relation to ten as ninety nine to a hundred, by which latter number is signified conjunction by remains, it then denotes a state just preceding conjunction. A. C. 1988, 2106.
For the opposite signification want of conjunction on account of the defect of faith and charity see A. C. 2075.

The ninth hour, day, week, month, year, or age, signifies a full and complete state, thus the end of a former state, and the beginning of a new one. A. C. 2788. Ap. Ex. 194.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xvli. 1. "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the God Shaddai ; walk before me, and be thou perfect."- By Abram was represented the Lord while in the world, and by the different years of his age are denoted the different states and degrees of conjunction between his human and his divine essence. The number one hundred signifies the same in the Word as the number ten, being compounded of ten multiplied by ten; and by ten are signified remains, which in the case of the Lord are divine goods, whereby conjunction was effected. Hence by ninety and nine years, not quite reaching to a hundred, also by nine years, being short of ten, is signified the state just preceding or entering* upon full conjunction. The same is signified by ninety and nine years in ver. 24. To the above may be added the reason why Jehovah here calls himself the God Shaddai, though this was originally the name of the false god worshipped by Abram when he lived in a land of idolatry : it was because Abram was still inclined to worship the god of his fathers, having been educated and to a certain degree confirmed in such worship ; and because the Lord does not suddenly break, but gradually bends, those principles of religion which a man has imbibed from infancy, and conscientiously believes to be true. See Josh. xxiv. 2, 14, 15.

Jehovah therefore announces himself to Abram by a name which he had hitherto esteemed most sacred : for as yet he was not acquainted with the name Jehovah, as appears from Ex. vi. 3 ; " I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, in the god Shaddai; but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them." The name Jehovah, though revealed to Abram, was yet lost by his posterity in Egypt ; for when Moses saw the angel of Jehovah in the bush, he inquired his name, and being told, he communicated it to the Israelites, who ever after retained it, but esteemed it too holy to be pronounced by them. See Ex. iii. 13 to 15. The word Shaddai, translated by some Almighty, or All-sufficient, and by others a Thunderer, properly signifies a Vastator, and hence also a Tempter, and after temptation a Benefactor. It is adopted as one of the names of Jehovah in various parts of the Word, as in Gen. xxviii. 3 ; xliii. 14; xlix. 25. Ezek. i. 24 ; x. 5. Joel i. 15 ; and is often found in the book of Job. See A. C. 1988 to 1992, 2106.

(2.) Lev. xxiii. 32. " It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at even : from even unto even shall ye celebrate your sabbath."- By the affliction here spoken of is signified the humiliation of the external man in the presence of the internal, which is effected by self-compulsion in a state of temptation, until the worship of the Lord becomes an act of freedom and delight. By doing this on the ninth day of
the seventh month, previous to the tenth day, which was to be a day of atonement, and a sabbath of rest, is signified that it would be productive of conjunction between the internal and the external man. The ninth day, as well as the number nine itself, here signifies such conjunction. See A. C. 1947, 2075.

(3.) Lev. xxv. 22. " And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit, until the ninth year ; until her fruits come in, ye shall eat of the old store." By sowing is signified teaching and learning the truth of faith, and by the fruit or produce of the land is signified the good which is acquired by means of truth. The seed is the truth of the Word, and the land or field is the church, or an individual mind, which receives the truth. By the ninth year is signified the conjunction of truth with good. A further explanation of this verse is given in the fifth example under the number EIGHT. See A. C. 9272, 9274.

(4.) 2 Kings xxv. 1 to 3. "And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, And on the ninth day of the month the famine pre vailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land." As many expressions in the Word have an opposite signification, according to the nature of the subject treated of, so in this place the numbers nine, ten, etc., are to be understood as implying that there was a defect of those spiritual principles at other times signified by them. Thus the number nine, which in its genuine sense denotes a state of conjunction, or a state immediately preceding conjunction, in the present passage signifies that there was no conjunction, in consequence of there being neither faith nor charity with those who thenconstituted the church. This is understood by the famine which prevailed in the city, and by the want of bread for the people of the land. See A. C. 2075.

(5.) Matt. xx. 3 to 5. "And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place ; and he said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and Avhatsoever is right, I will give you. And they went their way. Again, he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise."- By the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours mentioned in this parable, are signified the vari ous states of life of those who die in old age, in manhood, in youth, and in childhood, and who have all procured to themselves a degree of spiritual life. To labor in the vineyard, is to procure the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and to apply them to uses of life. The third, sixth, and ninth hours alike signify a full state, or what is complete even to the end, being such as takes place with old men, young men, and those entering upon mature age : but the eleventh hour denotes a state not yet full, but capable of reception and of being perfected hereafter, being such as belongs to well-disposed boys and young people. The design of the parable is to show, that all men have a capacity for the reception of spiritual life from the Lord, and that each one will be rewarded hereafter according to the degree of his reception, and the use which he is qualified to perform in the Lord s kingdom. See Ap. Ex. 194. A. C. 2788.

(6.) Matt, xxvii. 45. " Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." By the darkness, which was over all the land from the sixth to the ninth hour, that is, for the space of three hours, at the time of the Lord s crucifixion, was represented and signified the universal prevalence of falsities derived from evil in the Jewish church. The sun signifies love to the Lord, and the light thereof faith in Him, the total absence of which is described by darkness. The ninth hour, the sixth hour, and three hours, signify what is full, total and universal. See A. C. 1839, 2788. Ap. Ex. 526.

Ten.

The number ten in general signifies remains, which are all states of the affection of good and truth, with which man is gifted by the Lord, from the first stage of infancy to the end of his life ; these being treasured up from time to time in his interiors for future use. A. C. 576, 1906, 2141, 2284, 5291, 5894, 6156. It also signifies all things, and all persons. A. C. 4638, 9416, 10221. D. Life, 61. A. R. 101, 515. Ap. Ex. 124, 675.

All who are in the church, as well those who are in good and truth, as those who are in evil and falsity. A. C. 4638. What is full and complete. A. C. 1988, 3107, 3176. Much, or many, also some. A. C. 4077, 5291. A. R. 101, 515. Ap. Ex. 124, 675.

As much as is sufficient for use. A. C. 9757, 8468. Also with respect to other numbers. Ap. Ex. 124.  The same as 100, and 1000, viz., much, all, what is full, and in the supreme sense, in reference to the Lord, what is infinite. A. C. 9716. Ap. Ex. 548.

A tenth part, tithes, or tenths, signify the same as ten, but in a less degree, a sufficiency, viz., remains, or all states of love and charity, also of innocence and peace. A. C. 576, 1738, 5291, 8468, 8540. One tenth, or one tenth-deal, signifies celestial good, or good of the highest degree, represented by a lamb, with which it was to be of fered. Num. xv. 4, 5; xxviii. 13, 21, 29; xxix. 4, 10, 15. A. C. 2180, 2276.

An age in the Word is ten years. A. C. 433.

Two tenths, or two tenth-deals, signify spiritual good, or good of the middle degree, represented by a ram. Num. xv. 6; xxviii. 12, 20, 28 ; xxix. 3, 9, 14. A. C. 2180, 2276, 2280.

Three tenths, or three tenth-deals, signify natural good, or good of the lowest degree, represented by a bullock. Num. xv. 9 ; xxviii. 12, 20, 28 ; xxix. 3, 9, 14. A. C. 2180, 2276.

In cases where the number ten signifies much, the tenth part denotes little or a few. A. C. 8468. When ten is used in connection with five. Ap. Ex. 600.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xiv. 20. "Blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."- The various states of the Lord while in the world, especially in his infancy or childhood, are described in this chapter. His inter nal man which was Jehovah, is understood by the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth ; his interior man, as to spiritual things, by Abram the Hebrew ; and his external man by Lot. When the interior man was purified by the internal man, or Jehovah, then both together were to be regarded as Jehovah, because the internal and the interior were united as one, each nevertheless retaining its proper distinction : and when, lastly, the external man was also purified, or in perfect union with the internal and the interior man, then all together constituted a Divine Man, that is, Jehovah in the Humanity. This was his full glorification, on the completion of which He rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. But during this process many things were transacted, and many states passed through, which are all described in the history of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

By Melchizedek, king of Salem, are represented the celestial things of the Lord s interior man, whereby this latter was purified ; on which account he was called the priest of the Most High God, ver. 18. By his blessing Abram, and also the Most High God, is signified that the Lord s interior man was in the enjoyment of all celestial and spiritual things from his internal man which was Jehovah, consequently in a state of conjunction or union therewith. By Abram s giving Melchizedek tithes of all, is signified that the Lord acquired to himself, that is, to his Humanity, all the celestial things of love called remains, by his continual combats with, and victories over, the powers of hell, represented by the king of Sodom and the other kings his associates whom Abram had overthrown. See A. C. 1702, 1707, 1725 to 1738.

(2.) Gen. xviii. 32. " And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once : Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake."- By Abraham s pleading in behalf of the inhabitants of Sodom, that they might be preserved from destruction on condition that a certain number of righteous men should be found among them, is signified the Lord s mercy towards the human race, and his intercession for them while in his state of humiliation in the world, when He prayed to the Father as to another Being distinct from himself. And by Jehovah s saying to Abraham, I will not destroy the city for ten's sake, is signified, that every man in whom the remains of good and truth shall be found, without being choked or destroyed, will be saved. Ten denotes remains, or those states of good and truth which man has received from the Lord, and whereby his salvation is effected. See A. C. 2282 to 2285.

(3.) Gen. xxxi. 7. "And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times: but God suffered him not to hurt me." By changing the wages ten times, or in ten manners, is signified a great change of state, during the process of the Lord s glorification, which is here described in the internal sense, particularly as to the good represented by Laban : the number ten denotes much. That this change of state, however, did no real injury to Jacob ; in other
words, that it did not prevent the continual influx of the Divinity into the Humanity represented by Jacob, but was rather made to contribute to the perfect union of both, is signified by the last clause of the verse, " But God suffered him not to hurt me." See A. C. 4077, 4078, 4179.

(4.) Ex. xxvi. 1. "Moreover, thou shalt make the tabernacle (habitation) with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet : with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them." By the tabernacle properly so called, with the things in it and about it, were represented the three heavens, the inmost, the middle, and the lowest ; also the three degrees of life in man : by the ark particularly, which contained the testimony, was represented the inmost or third heaven ; by the habitation where the table for the show-bread and the candlestick were, the middle or second heaven ; and by the court, the lowest or first heaven. The ten curtains of the habitation signified all the interior truths of faith, which constitute the second or middle heaven, or what amounts to the same, all the interior truths appertaining to the new intellectual principle of the regenerate man. Their number, ten, signifies all : their substance being of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, signifies their celestial origin and quality, together with the good thence derived : and the cherubim of cunning work denote the divine providence and care of the Lord, in the protection of heaven from the assaults of infernal spirits. See A. C. 9593 to 9597.

(5.) Lev. xxvi. 26. "And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight : and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied." By breaking the staff of bread is signified to deprive man of spiritual food or spiritual nutrition : bread denotes everything that nourishes the spirit or soul, especially the good of love. By ten women baking bread in one oven, is signified that in all things relative to the church in man there would be scarce anything of good and truth ; in other words, that there would be a general defect in the reception of good and truth: wromen denote the affection of truth, which is constituent of the church in man ; the number ten denotes all ; bread denotes good and truth which nourish the soul ; and the oven where that spiritual food is prepared, denotes the human mind. By delivering bread by weight is signified the scarcity and want of such things as are conducive to spiritual nourishment : wherefore it follows, " Ye shall eat, and not be satisfied." See Ap. Ex. 555, 675. A. R. 101.

(6.) Deut. iv. 13. "And He declared unto you his covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments, and He wrote them upon two tables of stone."- The ten commandments, or, as it is expressed in the original, the ten words, which were given by Jehovah to Moses, as the first-fruits of the Word, signify all divine truths, because they contain the whole law in a compendious form. See A. R. 101. Ap. Ex. 675. (7.) Dan. i. 20. "And in all matters of wisdom and understand ing that the king inquired of them, (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,) he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm."- By magicians and probably astrologers or diviners, in ancient times, were meant persons who cultivated the science of spiritual things, and their analogies or harmonies with natural things. But after those very remote times alluded to, the same terms were applied to those who perverted such knowledge, and made it subservient to worldly and interested ends. Daniel and his companions, who were of the tribe of Judah then in a state of captivity, represented what remained of the church, with whom the knowledge of spiritual things was still preserved ; and therefore they were said to be ten times more excellent in all matters of wisdom and understanding, whereof the king inquired of them, than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. Here the number ten evidently signifies much, being the same sense which it bears in many other parts of the Word. See A. R. 101, 515. Ap. Ex. 124, 675. A. C. 5223.

(8.) Dan. vii. 7. " After this I saw in the night-visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly : and it had great iron teeth : it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it, and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." By the four beasts which Daniel sawr come up out of the sea, are described the successive states of the church from its commencement to its end, when every good and truth of the Word were destroyed. The first state of the church is described by the first beast, which was a lion with eagle s wings : the second state is described by a bear, which signifies that the Word was indeed read, but not understood : the third state is described by a leopard, which denotes the falsification of the truths of the Word : and the fourth or last state is described by the fourth beast dreadful and terrible and exceedingly strong, which signifies the total destruction of all truth and good in the church. Its ten horns signify falsities of every kind, and their universal prevalence: horns denote falsities, and the number ten much and all. See A. R. 101, 574. Ap. Ex. 316, 556, 675. A. C. 2832.

(9.) Zech. viii. 23. " Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all lan guages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you ; for we have heard that God is with you." By this prophecy is not meant, as generally supposed, the restoration of the Jews, and their introduction into the land of Canaan, with a number of others from every nation who may wish to accompany them, but the convocation and accession of the gentiles to the true Christian church. By the Jews here mentioned are signified all who acknowledge the Lord and love Him. By ten men out of every language of the nations taking hold of his skirt, is signified that all of every religious denomination, who have a desire of knowing and understanding truth from the Lord, will endeavor to obtain information and instruction from those who are able to give it, especially from the Word itself. Ten men denote all: all lan guages of the nations denote every religious denomination : to take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, is to embrace the truth proceeding from the Lord, particularly the literal or external sense ofhis Word : and the desire which is expressed of going with the Jew because God is with him, implies an affection or love of the truth for its own sake, with an intention of living in obedience to it. See A. R. 101. Ap. Ex. 433, 455, 675. A. C. 3881.

(10.) Luke xv. 8. " What woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?" By the woman here alluded to, is signified the church as to the affection of truth, or what is the same thing, the affection of truth itself in the church, or in the member of the church. By her having ten pieces of money, and after wards losing one piece, is signified the possession of an abundance of truths from the Word at one time, or in one state, and the loss or apparent extinction of some of them at another time, or in another state. A piece of money denotes truth, or the knowledge of truth ; and the number ten denotes an abundance, much, or all : to lose one, is to neglect some truth or precept of the Word, which might have been profitable had it been duly attended to. By her lighting a candle, sweeping the house, and seeking diligently till she find it, are signified self-examination from affection, purification from evils, and close attention to the particular as well as general state of the whole mind, with a view to discover and bring into actual use and life the truth, which had been suffered to remain inactive, or which had been apparently extinguished. To light a candle, is to produce the light of truth from the love thereof, for the purpose of self-examination : to sweep the house, is to examine fully the state of the mind, also to prepare it for the reception of good, by the removal of evils : to seek diligently till the piece of money be found, is to continue the examination until the truth be restored. See Ap. Ex. 675.

(11.) Luke xix. 13. " And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."- By the nobleman going into a far country is signified the Lord taking his departure from the world, and then appearing to men to be absent. By receiving for himself a kingdom, is signified that with respect to his Humanity He became the God of heaven and the church, which constitute his spiritual kingdom. By his returning is signified the communication of divine good and truth, from his Humanity when glorified, to those on earth who are willing to acknowledge and worship Him as their God. By his ten servants are signified in general all who are in the world, and especially all who belong to the church : and by the ten pounds which He gave them to negotiate with, are signified all the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, together with the faculty of perceiving or understanding them, whereby intelligence and heavenly wisdom may be obtained. See Ap. Ex. 223, 675. A. R. 101.

(12.) Apoc. xi. 13. " And the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand : and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven;" By a great earthquake is signified a remarkable change of state with those in the spiritual world who had been of the church, but were in falsities of doctrine and in evils of life. By the tenth part of the city falling, is signified that all such wrere entirely separated from heaven and cast into hell : the tenth part denotes the same as ten, viz., all : and a city denotes doctrine, in the present case false doctrine, together with those who embrace and confirm it. By seven thousand being slain is signified the destruction of all who profess the false doctrine of justification by faith alone, and who on that account do not bring forth the fruits of charity in their life. By the remnant being affrighted, and giving glory to the God of heaven, is signified that they who in some degree adjoined to faith the good works of charity, when they saw the destruction of the former, being in great concern for their spiritual life, wrere separated from them, and acknowledged the Lord as the only God of heaven and earth. See A. R. 515 to 517. Ap. Ex. 673 to 678.

Eleven.

The number eleven, when it has relation to ten, signifies all things even to redundance or superfluity : for as ten denotes all, so eleven, as being more than ten, denotes what is redundant or superabundant. A. C. 9616.

When it has relation to twelve which signifies all things in fulness, it then denotes a state not yet full, as to the reception of truths and goods, but capable of becoming so, as in the case of well-disposed boys and children. Ap. Ex. 194.

The eleventh hour, day, week, month or year, signifies the same as eleven hours, days, etc., viz., all even to redundancy, when the subject treated of points out an excess above ten ; and nearly all, or an approach to fulness, when the subject treated of is a state somewhat below the full complement denoted by twelve. Ap. Ex. 194. A. C. 2075.

A state not yet full, yet a state of reception, such as appertains to well disposed children and young persons. Ap. Ex. 194.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xxxvii. 9. "And Joseph dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said : Behold, I have dreamed a dream more, and behold, the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars, made obeisance to me." By Joseph who dreamed this prophetic dream, is here represented in the supreme sense the Lord himself, and in a respective sense the divine truth proceeding from Him, especially that divine truth which teaches the Divinity of his Humanity. By his brethren are here represented those of the church who are in faith separate from charity, and who refuse to acknowledge the Divine Humanity of the Lord. By the sun and moon in this passage, are signified natural good and natural truth, because predicated of Jacob and Leah, by whom such good and such truth are represented in the Word. On other occasions the sun denotes celestial good, and the moon spiritual good or truth, and in the supreme sense both signify the Lord, the sun as to divine good, and the moon as to divine truth. By stars are signified the knowledges of good and truth : and as the knowledge or doctrine of the Divinity of the Lord s Humanity is the chief knowledge or doctrine in the church, and this was represented by Joseph, it follows, that the eleven stars, which, with the sun and moon, were seen to make obeisance to Joseph, denote all the other knowledges of good and truth, which are subordinate to the primary and most essential knowledge concerning the Divine Humanity of the Lord. See A. C. 4687, 4693 to 4698.

(2.) Ex. xxvi. 7. " And thou shalt make curtains of goats hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make." By the curtains of goats hair intended for a covering upon that part of the tabernacle called the habitation, are signified the exterior truths of faith derived from external celestial good, which is the good of mutual love : for by the curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, are signified the interior truths of faith, as already explained in the fourth example under number TEN. The curtains of goats hair were eleven in number, to denote all even to redundance and superfluity : for as ten signifies all, so eleven signifies all that is sufficient, and moreover a superfluity ; which is further denoted by doubling the last curtain, and causing it to hang over the back and sides of the habitation, as stated in ver. 9, 12, 13, of this chapter. See A. C. 9615, 9616.

(3.) Ex. xxxvi. 14. " And he made curtains of goats hair for the tent over the tabernacle (habitation) : eleven curtains he made them."- By the eleven curtains of goats hair are here also signified the same things as in the preceding example, viz., all the exterior truths of faith from a celestial origin, even to redundance or super fluity. See A. C. 9615, 9616, 10750.

(4.) 2 Kings xxv. 2. " And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah." By the city being besieged unto the eleventh year when the famine prevailed, and there was no bread, is signified that there was no longer conjunction by the things relating to faith and charity. The number eleven, when preceded by the numbers nine and ten, each in reference to the siege of the city, as in ver.1, denotes a complete state of desolation as to the things of the church.  Famine in the city, and want of bread for the people of the land, as expressed in ver. 3, signify that there was nothing of faith and nothing of charity remaining. See A. C. 2075.

(5.) Matt. xx. 6. " And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle ; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle ?
" By the eleventh hour, when some laborers were hired to work in the vineyard, is signified a state of life not yet full with respect to the reception of truths and goods, but yet capable of full reception by further instruction : for the twelfth hour to which all labored, signifies truths and goods in their fulness. The state of well-disposed boys and children who die before they come to years of maturity, and who are instructed and perfected after death, is here described by the laborers engaged at the eleventh hour : while the states of old men, young men, and those entering upon maturity, are described by the hiring of other laborers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours ; all of whom are said to receive a like reward, by which is signified, that all are accepted by the Lord according to their several degrees of regeneration. See example five, under number NINE. Ap. Ex. 194.

(6.) Matt, xxviii. 16. " Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain, where Jesus had appointed them."- By the tivelve disciples, whom the Lord chose for his more immediate followers, in like manner as by the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, were represented all the truths and goods of the church. The same were also represented by the eleven, after the defection of Judas who betrayed the Lord, yet with a difference in respect to fulness and perfection. And again the same were represented, in a different respect, by the ten disciples who were assembled together on the day of the Lord s resurrection, and on whom the Lord breathed the Holy Spirit, at the same time giving them power to remit or to retain sins ; for on that occasion both Judas and Thomas were absent : see John xx. 19 to 24. The number of disciples being reduced from twelve to eleven, by the apostacy of Judas, they still represented all the truths and goods of the succeeding Christian church, but not in so full a degree : and probably this very circumstance may have been permit ted to take place, and to be recorded in the Word, not only as representative of the infidelity of the Jewish church, but also as prophetic of the obscure and imperfect reception of divine truth, which would distinguish the professors of Christianity in every age of the church, until the commencement of the New Jerusalem.

For as it was foreseen that the Christian church would come to its consummation or end in consequence of not fully acknowledging the Lord, so the number eleven being expressive of all the truths and goods belonging to the church, is used by the Evangelists to denote at the same time their obscure and imperfect reception : whereas in the Apocalypse, a book peculiarly descriptive of the end of the former church, and the com mencement of a new one under the name of the New Jerusalem, the number twelve uniformly marks the full reception of divine truth by those who shall become members of this last and truly Christian church. Hence in the 7th chapter we read of the number of those who were sealed being twelve thousand of each tribe of the children of Israel, making a total of twelve times tivelve thousand, or a hundred and forty-four thousand, besides " a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues :" and in the 21st chapter we further read of the city, New Jerusalem, " having a wall great and high, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel :" and again of " the tivelve foundations of the wall, in which were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb :" also of the dimensions of the city, which were
" tivelve thousand furlongs in length, breadth, and height, the wall being a hundred and forty-four (twelve times twelve) cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel."

Twelve.

The number twelve belongs to the spiritual class of expressions, being predicated of truths or of falsities, and denotes all truths or all falsities in the complex. A. C. 10217, 10264. Ap. Ex. 253. It is a most holy number, because it signifies all the holy things of faith. A. C. 648. A universal number, comprehending all things of the church, and of the Lord s kingdom in general and in particular. A. C. 3268, 3863. It signifies all things of faith derived from charity. A. C. 1667 1988, 2089, 3268, 4603. A. R. 348. All things of love and thence of faith in one complex. A. C. 575, 577, 1667, 3239, 7973.

All truths and goods in one complex, which proceed from the Lord and constitute heaven. A. C. 6335, 6640, 9603. All things of the doctrine of truth and good, or of faith and love-A. C. 3858.

The most common or cardinal things of the church, by which man is initiated into spiritual and celestial things, and thus regenerated. A. C. 3913. A. R. 916.
The common things of the church, consequently of faith and love, or of truth and good ; and in an opposite sense, the common things of no faith and no love, or all things of what is false and evil. A. C. 3926.

All things of the church, likewise all persons, who are in good and truth from the Lord, and who acknowledge Him as the God of heaven and earth. A. R. 348. Ap. Ex. 340. L. J. 39. A. C. 3129, 3354, 3858, 6397.

In the opposite sense it denotes principles opposite to those of faith and love, viz., the general principles of falsity and evil. A. C. 3926. Being compounded of three multiplied by four, it derives its signification from both of those numbers : hence, as three signifies all in respect to truth, and four all in respect to good, the number twelve denotes all truths derived from good, or all truths and goods in the church. T. C. R. 217. A. R. 348, 915. Ap. Ex. 340. A. C. 3913,
9873.

The twelfth hour, etc., signifies the same as twelve hours, etc., viz., a full, complete and perfect state. Ap. Ex. 194. A. C. 6000.

The half, and all the multiples of twelve, have a like signification as the simple number. A. C. 7973.

EXAMPLES.

(1.) Gen. xiv. 4. " Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled." The subject treated of in this chapter is the state of the Lord s Humanity while in his infancy, and his entrance into temptations as soon as He arrived at maturity, which with Him was at or about twelve years of age, being much earlier than with other men. The four kings denote apparent goods and truths ; and the five kings, against whom they fought, denote evils and falsities derived hereditarily from the mother, but which did not manifestly show themselves until the time arrived when the Lord might, according to divine order, sustain temptations, and thus fight against and overcome those hereditary propensities. Hence it is said that the five kings served Chedorlaomer twelve years, and that in the thirteenth year they rebelled ; by which is signified that hereditary evils and falsities were kept in a state of subjection so as not to appear during the Lord s infancy and childhood, by such goods andtruths as appertained to his external man, and which in themselves were apparent goods and truths, and not genuine or divine. By their rebelling in the thirteenth year, is signified that his first temptation in childhood commenced ; his victory over which by apparent goods and truths, and at length his purification from even these latter, is described in the succeeding parts of the same chapter. See A. C. 1660 to 1668.

(2.) Gen, xvii. 20. "As forlshmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly : twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation."- By Ishmael were represented such in the church as become rational or spiritual men, by the reception of truth from the Lord ; of whom it is said that they shall be blessed, made fruitful, and be multiplied exceedingly. By the twelve princes which he shall beget, are signified the primary precepts of charity and faith : the number twelve signifies all things of faith ; and the term princes is predicated of charity, and the primary things thereof, which are the precepts of divine truth. See A. C. 2087 to 2090.

(3.) Gen. xlix. 28. "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel : and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them ; every one according to his blessing he blessed them." By the twelve tribes of Israel are signified all the truths and goods of the church in the aggregate. The blessing pronounced upon each denotes the happiness which every one will experience, who enters into either of the spiritual states represented by the twelve tribes. See A. C. 6445 to 6448.

(4.) Ex. xxviii. 21. "And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names ; like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes."- By the precious stones are signified the goods and truths of the church ; and by their number being twelve, according to the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, are signified all such goods and truths in the complex, each stone and each name denoting some specific good and truth, and the whole being arranged in their order according to the form of heaven. See A. C. 9875 to 9878.

(5.) 1 Kings x. 20. " And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps : there was not the like made in any kingdom." By Solomon s throne was represented the divine truth derived from the divine good ; and by the twelve lions upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other, were represented all the truths of heaven and the church in their power, whereby man is enabled to fight and overcome in spiritual temptation : lions denote truths in power, and the number twelve all. See Ap. Ex. 253, 430. A. C. 5313, 6367.

(6.) 1 Kings xix. 19. " So he departed thence, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him." By Elijah, and afterwards by Elisha, was represented the Lord as to the Word, in which are all truths derived from good. When the time, therefore, came for transferring that representation from the one to the other, which was announced by Elijah s casting his mantle upon Elisha, the latter was found ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth, by which is signified the formation of the church by the divine truths of the Word. The act of ploughing, spiritually understood, denotes the preparation of the mind by good for the reception of truths ; the oxen also employed in ploughing, denote goods in the natural or external man ; and the number twelve, as in other cases, signifies all. See Ap. Ex. 430. A. C. 5895.

(7.) Ezek. xliii. 16. " And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof." The altar was a representative of worship ; and it is described as twelve cubits long and twelve broad, to denote that the worship of the Lord should be according to all the principles of good, and all the principles of truth ; the length of the altar being predicated of good, and its breadth of truth, in the same manner as the length and breadth of the New Jerusalem are. Thus the dimensions of the altar which is said to be squarein the four squares thereof, denote what is just, having an equal respect to the four quarters of the world, or to every degree of good and truth in the church. See A. R. 905 to 907.

(8.) Matt. xiv. 20, 21. "And they did all eat and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children." Every particular contained in the description of the miracle recorded in this chapter, has a spiritual signification. The five thousand men, besides women and children, who were fed by the Lord, signify all in the church who are in truths derived from good ; the men those who are in truths, the women those who are in good affections, and the children those who are in innocence. The bread and the fishes signify the goods and truths of the natural man : the multitude eating of these, denotes the spiritual nourishment received by the members of the church from the Lord : and the twelve baskets of fragments that remained, signify the consequent knowledges of truth and good in all abundance. See a further explanation of this miracle in the seventh example under number FIVE. See Ap. Ex. 430, 548.

(9.) Matt. xix. 28. " And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."- By the twelve disciples of the Lord sitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, is not meant that the disciples will hereafter sit in judgment on mankind ; for they, as well as every other created being, are utterly incompetent to such a work ; but that the Lord alone, as the Son of Man, or the Word, will judge the human race from and according to the truths and goods of the church, or accord ing to the truths derived from good, which were represented by the twelve apostles, as well as by the twelve tribes of Israel ; the number twelve here, as in other places, denoting all such truths and goods proceeding from the Lord. See A. R. 798. Ap. Ex. 333, 430, 431. A. C. 5313, 6397.

(10.) Matt. xxvi. 53. " Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels ? "- By twelve legions of angels is signified the universal heaven, or all the angels thereof: hence by more than these, is evidently signified the divine omnipotence. See Ap. Ex. 430.

(11.) Luke ii. 42. " And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, after the custom of the feast."- As the number twelve signifies all things, and is predicated of truths derived from good which constitute the church, therefore the Lord, when He was twelve years of age, left his nominal father Joseph and his mother Mary, and after three days was found in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions ; by which circumstance is signified the initiation and introduction of his Humanity into all things relating to heaven and the church : wherefore He said to Joseph and Mary, after they had found Him, " Wist ye not that I must be about my Father s business ? " ver. 49. See Ap. Ex. 430.

(12.) Luke viii. 43, 44. " And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind Him and touched the border of his garment : and immediately her issue of blood stanched." By the woman here mentioned is signified the church as to the affection of truth, or what is the same thing, the affection of truth itself. By her having an issue of blood twelve years, is signified that the church, though in the desire and love of truth, was not as yet in the possession of it, but on the contrary surrounded with false principles, and at the same time in a state of spiritual uncleanness. The number of years, twelve, during which she was so afflicted, denotes what is full or total. Her application to other physicians, which proved to be vain and without success, signifies that purification and regeneration cannot be effected by any other power than that of the Lord and his Word. By her coming behind Jesus and touching the border of his garment, and her issue of blood being immediately stanched, is signified that on her approaching the Lord through the medium of his Word, even in the literal sense, a healing virtue was communicated to her, and the power of divine truth was manifested in the removal of falsities and evils, or in the purification of her spirit from the defilements of sin. This first act of the divine power of the Lord seems to refer more immediately to the suppression of evil in the external, while the understanding is as yet but faintly enlightened, and capable of discerning the great truths of the Word only in an obscure degree ; which state of the spiritual life is represented by the woman s coming behind Jesus, and touching the border of his garment : for to approach the Lord from behind, and not to have a direct view of his countenance, is the same thing as to discern his Humanity not yet fully glorified, without an internal acknowledgment of his supreme and exclusive Divinity ; and to touch the border or extremity of his garment, is the same thing as to embrace the Word in its lit eral or external sense, without being as yet fully enlightened to perceive its genuine internal sense.

That the further process of purification and regeneration might, however, be distinctly represented in the case of this woman, it is stated in the 47th and 48th verses, that a second act of divine power of the Lord took place upon her, when she came into his direct presence, and fell down before Him, declaring unto Him before all the people her faith in his divine omnipotence, and consequently in his supreme Divinity: for to come into his direct presence, to view his divine countenance, and then to fall down in self-abasement before Him, implies a more full and more interior acknowledgment of his divine person and character, and at the same time a more profound and enlightened perception of the internal sense of his Word, than she had before exhibited ; her conduct on this occa sion in some respects resembling that of the apostle John, in Apoc. i. 10 to 17, when he first heard the voice of the Son of Man behind him; and afterwards, being turned to see the voice that spake unto him, he beheld the person of his Lord in all his divine majesty and glory. In this latter case the Lord said to John, " Fear not ; I am the First and the Last :" and in the former case He addressed the woman in this consolatory language, "Daughter, be of good comfort ; thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace." It further appears that the whole case of this woman is representative of the conversion of the gentiles to the Christian religion, and their gradual but willing reception of the divine truth of the Word, first in its literal sense, and afterwards in its genuine internal sense ; in other words, of their acknowledgment of the Lord, first as the Son of God, (for the most part attended with an idea of another divine person superior to Him, and a third equal or inferior to Him,) and lastly, in agreement with the Prophets and the Lord s own words in the Gospel, as the supreme God, or everlasting Father himself in a Divine Human Form. See Ap. Ex. 79, 195. A. C. 10130.

(13.) John xi. 9. " Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day he sturnbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world."- As the number twelve signifies goods and truths in their fulness, so twelve hours of the day denote all states of spiritual light or intelligence derived from them : hence to walk in the day without stumbling, is to live conscientiously according to the dictates of divine truth. See Ap. Ex. 194, 430. A. C. 6000.

(14.) Apoc. xii. 1. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."- By a great wonder (or rather sign; seen in heaven, is signified a revelation or manifest testification concerning the New Church, the difficult reception of its doctrine, and the persecution or assaults which it will have to sustain. By the woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, is signified the New Church of the Lord, first in the heavens, and therefore called the New Heaven, afterwards on the earth, and therefore called the New Jerusalem. She is said to be clothed or surrounded with the sun, because the church represented by her, especially among the angels of heaven, is in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbor, which state of spiritual affection produces around them a heavenly sphere of light and love resembling a sun. The moon also is said to be under her feet, to denote afuture state of intelligence and faith with those who shall become members of the New Church on earth : for as the sun which is the chief luminary in heaven, signifies love, so the moon which is subor dinate to it and derives all its light from it, signifies intelligence and faith, particularly in the natural or external man. By a crown of twelve stars upon her head is signified the wisdom and intelligence of the New Church, acquired by the knowledges of divine good and divine truth from the Word : a crown upon the head denotes wisdom and intelligence ; stars denote the knowledge of good and truth from the Word ; and the number twelve denotes all. See A. R. 532. Ap. Ex. 705 to 709.

(15.) Apoc. xxi. 12 to 14. " And it had a wall great and high, nnd had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east, three gates ; on the north, three gates ; on the south, three gates ; and on the west, three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." By a wall great and high is signi fied the Word in its literal sense, from which the doctrine of the New Church is derived, and by which it is confirmed and defended ; the term great being predicated of good, and the term high of truth. By the twelve gates are signified all the knowledges of truth and good by which man is introduced into the church ; the three gates on the east being for those who are in a greater or superior degree of love and the affection of good ; the three gates on the west, for those who are in a less or inferior degree of the same ; the three gates on the south, for those who are in a greater or superior degree of wisdom and the affection of truth ; and the three gates on the north, for those who are in a less or inferior degree of the same. By the wall having twelve foundations, is signified that the Word in its literal sense contains all things appertaining to the doctrine of the New Church ; the foundations thereof denoting its doctrinals, and the number twelve all. By the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb which were written in the twelve foundations, are signified all things appertaining to the doctrine of the New Jerusalem from the Word concerning the Lord, and concerning a life according to his commandments ; the Lamb denoting the Lord as to his Divine Humanity, and his twelve apostles all things relating to his church. See A. R. 898 to 903. Ap. Ex. 430.

(16.) Apoc. xxii. 2. " In the midst of the street of it, and of either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."- By the street of the city is signified the truth of doctrine in the New Church : and by the midst thereof is signified the inmost principle of the truth of doctrine, and whatever is thence derived. By the river and its sides is signified divine truth in great abundance, producing intelligence and wisdom in every degree. By the tree of life, which bare twelve kinds of fruits, is signified the Lord as to his divine love, from whom are derived all the goods of love and charity, called good works, which man performs apparently as of himself: fruits denote the good things of love and charity manifested in acts of useful service to mankind ; and twelve denotes all. By the tree yielding its fruit every month is signified, that the Lord produces the goods of love in man according to every state of truth in him : a month, as being determined by the moon which signifies faith in the understanding, denotes the various states of truth derived from good, and entering into conjunction with it. By the leaves of the tree which were for the healing of the nations, are signified rational truths calculated to amend the life of those who are in evils and thence in falsities : nations in a good sense denote those who are in goods and thence in truths, but in an opposite sense, as in this place, those who are in evils and thence in falsities. See A. R. 933 to 936. Ap. Ex. 430.

In addition to these examples of the spiritual signification of the number twelve, many others are to be found in the Word of similar import ; as, That Moses built an altar under the hill, and twelve pil lars according to the twelve tribes of Israel, Ex. xxiv. 4. That twelve cakes of fine flour, called the show-bread, were set in two rows upon a table before Jehovah, Lev. xxiv. 5, 6. That the princes of Israel were twelve, Num. i. 44. That those twelve princes brought to the dedication of the altar twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold, twelve bullocks, twelve rams, twelve lambs, and twelve kids, Num. vii. 84, 87. That twelve thousand of the children of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, were sent out to war against the Midianites, Num. xxxi. 4 to 7. That twelve men were sent out to search the land of Canaan, Deut. i. 22 to 24. That twelve men took twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, and laid them down at the place where they lodged, as a memorial that the waters of Jordan were cut off: and that twelve stones were also placed in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests stood, who bare the ark of the covenant, Josh. iv. 1 to 9, 20. That the molten sea, which Solomon made, stood upon twelve oxen, 1 Kings vii. 25. That Elijah took twelve stones, and built an altar in the name of Jehovah, 1 Kings xviii. 31, 32. That twelve thousand of each of the tribes of Israel were sealed, Apoc. vii. 5 to 8. And that the foundations of the wall of the city New Jerusalem were garnished with twelve kinds of precious stones, Apoc. xxi. 19, 20.

A Rule for discovering the Signification of every other Number.

From the explanation of the preceding numbers may be discovered the signification of all others not distinctly specified ; as for example, the signification of 83, the age of Aaron, when he and Moses spake unto Pharaoh, and demanded the release of the children of Israel, Ex. vii. 7. This number being compounded of 80 and 3, we first look for the signification of 80, and find that it denotes the same as 40, viz., temptations ; also the same as 8 and 10, viz., a new state, arising from the insinuation or gradual introduction of remains into the human mind. We next proceed to the number 3, and find that it denotes fulness, more particularly in respect to truth, and consequently to the doctrine of divine truth in the church. Then combining these various significations, it is discovered that 83, the age of Aaron, involves the state or quality of the doctrine of the church at that time represented by him ; which state or quality was, that it taught the necessity of resisting or shunning evils as sins, and thus of undergoing temptations, in order that man may be introduced into a new state of spiritual life, and that the affections of good and truth which he has received from the Lord, may be brought into full operation and effect. See A. C. 7284, 7285.

Again, we read in Dan. xii. 11, that " from the time the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days." Now, in order to ascertain the signification of 1290 days in this passage, we have only, first, to observe the general nature of the subject treated of, which is evidently the perverted state of the church : secondly, to mark the spiritual signification attached to each of the component numbers, but taken in an opposite sense, which may be known by referring to their proper places in this work ; and, thirdly, to combine the distinct significations into one general sense. Thus the number 1290 consists of 1000, 200, and 90, added together ; and each of these again is the product of factors less than twelve. We find, then, that 1000 denotes what is full and complete; 200, conjunction, being predicated particularly of evils ; and 90, a full state of falsities ; which significations united produce the idea intended to be conveyed concerning the perverted and desolate state of the church in the latter times, when the daily sacrifice would be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate would be set up ; in ther words, when the true worship of the Lord would perish, and evils and falsities would abound.

So again, if we would discover the true signification of the number 1335, in the verse immediately following that above cited, we must proceed in a similar way to reduce it to its component numbers, and unite their distinct significations into one sense ; still observing the general tenor and spirit of the passage, as the rule to govern us in deciding whether the particular numbers are to be taken in a good sense, or in an opposite sense. Now 1335 consists of 1000, 300, 30, and 5, added together; and the number 1000, as before, signifies what is full and complete ; 300, the holy principle of remains ; 30, some degree of combat against evils, also fulness of remains, a principle of holiness from the Lord, and the beginning of a new state ; and 5, as much as is sufficient for spiritual use. Collating these distinct significations together, the result is, that the number 1335 points out that blessed state and period, when, after the destruction and desolation of the former church, a New Church shall be established by the Lord, in which righteousness, holiness and purity of life shall distinguish its members, according to their several degrees of regeneration. It is therefore written in the verse alluded to, " Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Dan. xii. 12.

In like manner the signification of the following numbers, with every other contained in the Word, may in some degree be ascertained by reducing them to the simple, primitive, or radical numbers, from which they arise either by multiplication or addition, or by both together, viz. :

745              Jer. lii. 30.
832              Jer. lii. 29.
1365            Num. iii. 50.
14001           Kings x. 26.
1775            Ex. xxxviii. 25, 28.
2300            Dan. viii. 14.
2400            Ex. xxxviii. 29.
4500            Ezek. xlviii. 16, 30, 33, 34.
4600            Jer. lii. 30.
8580             Num. iv. 48.
16,750          Num. xxxi. 52.
22,000          Num. iii. 39.
22,273          Num. iii. 43.
25,000          Ezek. xlviii. 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 2Q 21.
50,0701        Sam. vi. 19.
70,0002        Sam. xxiv. 15.
120,000        Judges viii. 10.
180,0001       Kings xii. 21.
337,500        Num. xxxi. 43.
601,730        Num. xxvi. 51.
603,550        Ex. xxxviii. 26. Num. i. 46.
1,000,000     Dan. vii. 10.
100,000,000  Dan. vii. 10.