Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 41:53-57
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AC 5357. Verses 53-57. And the seven years of abundance of produce that was in the land of Egypt were ended. And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said; and there was famine in all lands; and in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And all the land of Egypt was famished, and the people cried unto Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all Egypt, Go unto Joseph; what he saith unto you, do. And the famine was over all the faces of the land, and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to Egypt; and the famine was strengthened in the land of Egypt. And all the earth came into Egypt to buy, to Joseph; because the famine was strengthened in all the earth. "And the seven years of abundance of produce were ended," signifies after the states of the multiplication of truth; "that was in the land of Egypt," signifies in the natural; "and the seven years of famine began to come," signifies the following states of desolation; "as Joseph had said," signifies as had been foreseen by the celestial of the spiritual; "and there was famine in all lands," signifies desolation everywhere in the natural; "and in all the land of Egypt there was bread," signifies remains in consequence of truths from good having been multiplied; "and all the land of Egypt was famished," signifies desolation in both naturals; "and the people cried unto Pharaoh for bread," signifies the need of good for truth; "and Pharaoh said to all Egypt," signifies perception; "Go unto Joseph," signifies that it was from the celestial of the spiritual; "what he saith to you, do," signifies provided there is obedience; "and the famine was over all the faces of the land," signifies that there was desolation even to despair; "and Joseph opened all the storehouses," signifies communication from remains; "and sold to Egypt," signifies appropriation; "and the famine was strengthened in the land of Egypt," signifies increasing severity; "and all the earth came into Egypt," signifies that truths and goods were brought into the memory knowledges of the church; "to buy," signifies appropriation therefrom; "to Joseph," signifies where the celestial of the spiritual was; "because the famine was strengthened in all the earth," signifies that everywhere, except there, was there desolation in the natural.

AC 5358. And the seven years of abundance of produce were ended. That this signifies after the states of the multiplication of truth, is evident from what was unfolded above (n. 5276, 5292, 5339), where similar words occur.

AC 5359. That was in the land of Egypt. That this signifies in the natural, is evident from the signification of the "land of Egypt," as being the natural (n. 5080, 5095, 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288).

AC 5360. And the seven years of famine began to come. That this signifies the following states of desolation, is evident from the signification of "years," as being states (n. 482, 487, 488, 493, 893); and from the signification of "famine," as being a lack of the knowledges of truth and good (n. 1460, 3364), consequently desolation. That a famine denotes such a lack, or desolation, is because celestial and spiritual food are nothing else than good and truth. These are what angels and spirits are nourished by, and what they hunger for when hungry, and thirst for when thirsty; and therefore also material food corresponds thereto - as bread to celestial love, and wine to spiritual love, as well as everything that pertains to bread or food, and to wine or drink. When therefore there is a lack of such things, there is a "famine," and in the Word is this is called "desolation" and "vastation" - "desolation" when truths fail, and "vastation" when goods fail. This desolation and vastation is treated of in many passages of the Word, and is there described by the desolation of the earth, of kingdoms, of cities, of nations, and of peoples, and is also termed a "pouring out," a "cutting off," a "consummation," a "desert," and a "void;" and the state itself is called the "great day of Jehovah," the "day of His wrath" and "vengeance," a "day of darkness," and "thick darkness," of "cloud" and of "obscurity," a "day of visitation," also the "day when the earth shall perish," thus the "last day" and the "day of judgment;" and because men have not understood the internal sense of the Word, they have hitherto supposed that it meant a day when the earth will perish, and that then for the first time will there be a resurrection and a judgment, not being aware that by a "day" in such passages is signified a state, and by the "earth" the church, and thus by a "day when the earth will perish," a state when the church will come to its end; therefore when this perishing is described in the Word, a "new earth" is also described, by which is meant a new church. In regard to the "new earth" and "new heaven," see (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535). That last state of a church which precedes the state of a new church, is properly meant and described in the Word by "vastation" and "desolation." By the same words is described also the state that precedes man‘s regeneration, which state is here signified by the seven years of famine.

AC 5361. As Joseph had said. That this signifies as had been foreseen by the celestial of the spiritual, is evident from the signification of "saying" in the historicals of the Word, as being to perceive, and therefore when predicated of the Lord, who here is "Joseph," to perceive from Himself, thus to foresee; and from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (n. 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332).

AC 5362. And there was famine in all lands. That this signifies desolation everywhere in the natural, is evident from the signification of "famine," as being desolation (n. 5360); and from the signification of "all lands," as being everywhere in the natural. "land" denotes the natural mind, thus the natural, (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301),

AC 5363. But in all the land of Egypt there was bread. That this signifies remains in consequence of truths from good having been multiplied, is evident from the fact that by the "bread in all the land of Egypt" is meant the corn gathered in the seven years of abundance of produce, and laid up in the cities, by which are signified the remains stored up in the interiors of the natural mind, as has frequently been stated and shown above. Hence by the "bread in all the land of Egypt" are signified the remains in consequence of truths from good having been multiplied. That remains are here meant by the "bread in the land of Egypt," is evident also from the fact that the years of famine had already begun, in which the land of Egypt suffered famine equally with the other lands, except that it had stores laid up which the other lands had not, and therefore these words now follow, "and all the land of Egypt was famished."

AC 5364. And all the land of Egypt was famished. That this signifies desolation in both naturals, is evident from the signification of "famine," as being desolation (n. 5360, 5362); and from the signification of "all the land," as being both naturals (n. 5276).

AC 5365. And the people cried unto Pharaoh for bread. That this signifies the need of good for truth, is evident from the signification of "crying," as being the act of a person in grief and mourning, thus being that of a person in need; from the signification of "people," as being truth (n. 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581); from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the natural (n. 5079, 5080, 5095, 5160); and from the signification of "bread," as being the celestial of love, thus good (n. 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976). Front this it follows that by "the people cried unto Pharaoh for bread" is signified the need in the natural of good for truth. This meaning indeed appears remote from the historic sense of the letter; but still when they who are in the internal sense understand by "crying," by "people," by" Pharaoh," and by "bread," nothing else than what has been said, it follows that this meaning results therefrom.

[2] How the case is in regard to the need of good for truth, must be told. Truth has need of good, and good has need of truth; and when truth has need of good, truth is conjoined with good, and when good has need of truth, good is conjoined with truth; for the reciprocal conjunction of good and truth, namely of truth with good and of good with truth, is the heavenly marriage. In the early stages of man’s regeneration, truth is multiplied, but not good; and as truth has then no good with which to be conjoined, it is drawn in and stored up in the interiors of the natural mind, that it may be called forth thence according to the increasings of good. In this state truth is in need of good, and moreover conjunction of truth with good takes place according to the inflow of good into the natural; but still no fruitfulness is effected by this conjunction. But when man has been regenerated, then good increases; and as it increases it is in need of truth, and also procures truth for itself with which it may be conjoined, and thereupon there is a conjunction of good with truth. When this takes place, truth is made fruitful from good, and good from truth.

[3] That this is the case is entirely unknown‘ in the world, but is very well known in heaven; and yet were it known in the world (not only by knowledge but also by perception) what celestial love or love to the Lord is, and what spiritual love or charity toward the neighbor is, it would also be known what good is, for all good is of these loves; and moreover it would be known that good desires truth, and truth good, and that they are conjoined according to the desire and its quality. This might be plain from the fact that when truth is thought of, the good adjoined to it is presented at the same time; and when good is stirred, the truth adjoined to it is presented at the present time - in both cases with affection, desire, delight, or holy aspiration; and from this the quality of the conjunction might be known. But as it is not known from any inward sensation or perception what good is, such things cannot come to knowledge; for that about which nothing is known is not understood, even when it comes to view.

[4] And as it is not known what spiritual good is, and that it is charity toward the neighbor, therefore it is a matter of dispute in the world, especially among the learned, what is the highest good; and scarcely anyone has maintained that it is that delight, satisfaction, blessedness, and happiness which is perceived from mutual love devoid of any selfish or worldly end, and which makes heaven itself. From this also it is plain that in the world at this day it is not at all known what spiritual good is, and still less that good and truth form a marriage together, and that heaven is in this marriage, and that those who are in it are in wisdom and intelligence and have satisfactions and happinesses with unlimited and inexpressible variety, not one of which is known by the world, nor is its existence even recognized and believed; when in fact it is heaven itself, or that very heavenly joy of which so much is said in the church.

AC 5366. And Pharaoh said to all Egypt. That this signifies perception, is evident from the signification of "saying" in the historicals of the Word, as being to perceive (n. 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2061, 2080, 2862, 3395, 3509); from the representation of Pharaoh, as being the natural in general (n. 5160); and from the signification of "all Egypt," as being both naturals (n. 5276, 5364). From this it is plain that by "Pharaoh said to all Egypt" is signified perception in both naturals, In general and in particular.

AC 5367. Go unto Joseph. That this signifies that it was from the celestial of the spiritual, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual. "To go unto him" signifies that it was from him, namely, the good for truth which is signified by the "bread for which the people cried unto Pharaoh" (n. 5365).

AC 5368. What he saith to you, do. That this signifies provided there is obedience, is evident from the signification of "doing what anyone says," as being to obey. By this is signified that good is adjoined to truth in the natural, provided the natural applies itself and obeys. Something must be said about the natural’s applying itself and obeying. They who are in worldly things only, and yet more they who are in bodily things, and still more they who are in earthly ones, cannot apprehend what is meant by saying that the natural ought to apply itself and obey. They suppose that there is only one thing that acts in man, and therefore that there is not one thing in him to command, and another to obey; and yet it is the internal man that should command, and the external that should obey, and that does obey when the man has not the world as the end, but heaven, and not self but the neighbor, consequently when he regards bodily and worldly things as means and not as the end; and he so regards them when he loves his neighbor more than himself, and the things of heaven more than those of the world. When this is the case, the natural obeys; the natural is the same as the external man.

AC 5369. And the famine was over all the faces of the earth. That this signifies when there was desolation even to despair, is evident from the signification of " famine," as being desolation (n. 5360, 5362, 5364); and from the signification of the "earth," as being the natural. When famine is said to be "over all the faces" of this, despair is signified, because the desolation is then everywhere; for the height and extremity of desolation is despair (n. 5279, 5280).

AC 5370. And Joseph opened all the storehouses. That this signifies communication from remains, is evident from the signification of "opening," as here being to communicate. "All the storehouses" are the repositories in which the corn was stored, and by which are signified remains, as has been repeatedly shown above. That remains are goods and truths stored up by the Lord in the interiors, may be seen above (n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284, 5135, 5342, 5344).

AC 5371. And sold to Egypt. That this signifies appropriation, is evident from the signification of "selling," as being to appropriate to anyone; for what is sold becomes his who buys it. "Selling" and "buying" signify appropriation, (n. 5374).

AC 5372. And the famine was strengthened in the land of Egypt. That this signifies increasing severity, that is, of the desolation, is evident from the signification of "famine" and of the "land of Egypt," as being desolation in the natural, the increasing severity of which is signified by its "being strengthened."

AC 5373. And all the earth came into Egypt. That this signifies that goods and truths were brought into the memory-knowledges of the church, is evident from the signification of the "earth." The signification of "earth" or "land" in the Word is various: in general it signifies the church, and hence the things belonging to the church, which are goods and truths; and because it signifies the church, it signifies also the man of the church, for he is the church in particular; and because it signifies the man of the church, it signifies that in him which is the man, namely, the mind. Hence it is that by the "land of Egypt" is occasionally above signified the natural mind. In this passage however the land of Egypt is not meant, but the earth in general, consequently the things of the church, which are goods and truths. The signification of "land" or "earth" is various, (n. 620, 636, 2571); and in general it signifies the church (n. 566, 662, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355, 3404, 4447, 4535).

[2] That by "all the earth coming to Egypt" is signified that goods and truths were brought into memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of "Egypt" in the proper sense, as being memory-knowledge, consequently matters of memory-knowledge (n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462); and that the memory-knowledges signified in a good sense by "Egypt" are those of the church (n. 4749, 4964, 4966). That this is the internal sense of these words is plain not only from the signification of the word "earth" or "land" when the land of Egypt is not meant, and from that of "Egypt" in the proper sense, and from its being said, "all the earth came" (venerunt) in the plural, but also from the very connection of things in the internal sense; for in this connection it now follows that the truths and goods of remains are brought into memory-knowledges.

[3] For the case is this: during man‘s regeneration as to the natural, goods and truths are one and all brought together into memory-knowledges. Those which are not in the memory-knowledges there, are not in the natural; for the natural mind, as regards that part of it which is subject to the understanding, consists solely of memory-knowledges The memory-knowledges that belong to the natural are the ultimates of order, and things prior must be in ultimates in order to come into existence and to appear in that sphere; and besides this all prior things tend to ultimates as to their boundaries or ends, and come into existence together therein as causes do in their effects, or as higher things do in lower as in their vessels. The memory-knowledges of the natural are such ultimates. Hence it is that the spiritual world is terminated in man’s natural, in which the things of the spiritual world are representatively presented. Unless spiritual things were presented representatively in the natural, thus by such things as are in the world, they would not be apprehended at all. From all this it is evident that during the regeneration of the natural all interior truths and goods, which are from the spiritual world, are brought into memory-knowledges, in order that they may appear.

AC 5374. To buy. That this signifies appropriation therefrom, is evident from the signification of "buying," as being to procure for one‘s self, thus to appropriate. Procuring and appropriating spiritually are effected by means of good and truth. To this corresponds the procuring and appropriating that in the world are effected by means of silver and gold; for in the spiritual sense "silver" is truth, and "gold" is good. Hence "buying" signifies appropriation, as also in the following passages in the Word:--

Everyone that thirsteth come ye to the waters, and he that hath no silver; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price (Isa. 55:1; Jeremiah 13:1, 2, 11).

In Matthew:--

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto treasure hid in the field; which when a man hath found, he hideth, and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls, and he went and sold all that he had, and bought it (Matthew 13:44-46).

Again:--

The prudent virgins said to the foolish ones, Go ye to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came (Matthew 25:9, 10).

[2] As "buying" signifies appropriation, therefore in the Word the things bought with silver are well distinguished from those otherwise obtained. Moreover the servants bought with silver were as one’s own, and in a lower degree like those born in the house; and therefore they are often mentioned together, as in Genesis:

Circumcising he shall be circumcised that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy silver (Gen. 17:13);

and in Leviticus:--

If a priest buy any soul with the purchase of silver, he and one that is born in his house, they shall eat of his bread (Lev. 22:11).

Hence it is evident what is signified by the "redeemed (or those bought back) of Jehovah," in the Word, namely, those who have received good and truth, and thus those to whom the things of the Lord have been appropriated.

AC 5375. To Joseph. That this signifies where the celestial of the spiritual was, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual, as often shown above. The celestial of the spiritual is the good of truth from the Divine.

AC 5376. Because the famine was strengthened in all the earth. That this signifies that everywhere, except there, was there desolation in the natural, is evident from the signification of "famine," as being desolation; and from the signification of "earth," as being the natural. Its being everywhere except there, namely, in the memory-knowledges where the celestial of the spiritual was, follows from what goes before. How the case is with the desolation of the natural, or the deprivation of truth there, has already been told; but as the same subject is continued in what follows, it must be told again. The man who is born within the church, from earliest childhood learns from the Word and from the doctrinal things of the church what the truth of faith is, and also what the good of charity is. But when he grows up to manhood he begins either to confirm or to deny in himself the truths of faith that he has learned; for he then looks at these truths with his own sight, and thereby causes them either to be made his own or else to be rejected; for nothing can become one‘s own that is not acknowledged of one’s own insight, that is, which the man does not know to be so from himself, and not from somebody else; and therefore the truths learned from childhood enter no further into the man‘s life than the first entrance, from which they can either be admitted more interiorly, or else be cast out.

[2] With those who are being regenerated, that is, who the Lord ford sees will suffer themselves to be regenerated, these truths are greatly multiplied, for these persons are in the affection of knowing truths; but when they come nearer to the very act of regeneration, they are as it were deprived of these truths, for these are drawn inward, and then the man appears to be in desolation; nevertheless as regeneration goes on these truths are successively let back into the natural, and are there conjoined with good. But with those who are not being regenerated, that is, who the Lord foresees will not suffer themselves to be regenerated, truths are indeed usually multiplied, for these persons are in the affection of knowing such things for the sake of reputation, honor, and gain; yet when they advance in years and submit these truths to their own sight, they then either do not believe them, or they deny them, or they turn them into falsities; thus with them truths are not withdrawn inward, but are cast forth, although they still remain in the memory for the sake of ends in the world, though without life. This state also is called in the Word "desolation" or "vastation," but differs from the former state in the desolation of the former being apparent, while the desolation of this state is absolute; for in the former state man is not deprived of truths, while in this state he is entirely deprived of them. The desolation of the former state has been treated of in the internal sense in this chapter, and is still further treated of in the following one, and is what is signified by the "famine of seven years."

[3] This same desolation is often treated of in other parts of the Word, as in Isaiah:--

Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, who hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of His anger; two things are befallen thee, who shall bemoan thee? wasting and breaking, famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets. Therefore hear, do this, thou afflicted and drunken one, but not with wine, behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My wrath; thou shalt no more drink it again, but I will put it into the hand of them that make thee sad (Isa. 51:17-23);

in this passage is described the state of desolation in which is the man of the church who is becoming a church, or who is being regenerated. This desolation is called "wasting," "breaking," "famine," "sword," and also the "cup of the anger and wrath of Jehovah," and the "cup of trembling." The truths of which he is then deprived are the "sons who faint, and lie at the head of all the streets." That "sons" are truths may be seen above (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373), and that "streets" are where truths are (n. 2336); hence "to lie at the head of all the streets" means that truths appear to be dispersed. It is evident that this desolation is apparent, and that by it as by temptations regeneration is effected, for it is said that she "shall no more drink," but that "He will put the cup into the hand of them that make her sad."

[4] In Ezekiel:--

Thus hath said the Lord Jehovih, Because they lay waste and swallow you up on every side, that ye be an inheritance unto the remains of the nations, therefore ye mountains of Israel hear the word of the Lord Jehovih: thus hath said the Lord Jehovih to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, and to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the remains of the nations that are round about; I have spoken in My zeal and in my wrath, because ye have borne the reproach of the nations. Surely the nations that are round about you, these shall bear their reproach; but ye mountains of Israel shall put forth your branch and yield your fruit to My people Israel. For behold I am with you, and I will have regard unto you, that ye may be titled and sown; and I will multiply man upon you, the whole house of Israel, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes builded. I will cause you to dwell according to your times of old, and will do better to you than at your beginnings (Ezekiel 36:3-12);

here also the subject treated of is the desolation that precedes regeneration, the desolation being signified by the "desolate wastes," and the "cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision;" but regeneration being signified by "putting forth branch and yielding fruit," by "having regard unto them that they may be tilled and sown, that man may be multiplied, the cities inhabited, and the wastes built," and by "causing them to dwell according to their times of old," and "doing better to them than at their beginning."

[5] How the case is in regard to desolation is plain from those who are in desolation in the other life. They who are in desolation there are harassed by evil spirits and genii, who pour in persuasions of evil and falsity until they are almost overwhelmed, the result being that truths do not appear; but as the time of desolation draws to a close they are enlightened by light from heaven, and in this way the evil spirits and genii are driven away, everyone into his own hell, where they undergo punishments. These are the things signified by "the cities becoming a prey and derision to the remains of the nations that are round about," and by "the nations that are round about bearing their reproach;" and above in Isaiah by "the cup being put into the hand of them that make her sad;" and also in other passages in Isaiah by the "waster being laid waste" (Isa. 33:1). Also in Jeremiah:--

I will visit upon the wasters, and will make them everlasting desolations (Jer. 25:12).

In Isaiah:--

Thy destroyers will hasten thy sons, and thy wasters shall go forth from thee. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all gather together, they come to thee. For as to thy wastes and the land of thy destruction, thou shalt be too straitened for an inhabitant, they that swallow thee up shall be far away (Isa. 49:17-19);

[6] here again, and in this whole chapter, the subject treated of is the desolation of those who are being regenerated, and their regeneration and fruitfulness after desolation, and lastly the punishment of those who oppressed them (Isa. 49:26). In the same:--

Woe to thee that layeth waste when thou art not laid waste! When thou hast ceased to lay waste, thou shalt be laid waste (Isa. 33:1);

meaning that they who vastate are punished, as above. In the same:--

Let mine outcasts tarry in thee; Moab, be thou a covert to them before the waster; for the oppressor hath ceased, the wasting is ended (Isa. 16:4).

Again:--

The day of Jehovah is near, it shall come as a wasting from Shaddai (Isa. 13:6);

"a wasting from Shaddai" denotes vastation in temptations; that God as to temptations was by the ancients called Shaddai, may be seen above (n. 1992, 3667, 4572).

[7] Again:--

Then they shall not thirst; He shall lead them in wastes, He shall cause the waters to flow out of the rock for them; and He will cleave the rock that the waters flow out (Isa. 48:21);

speaking of the state after desolation. Again:--

Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all the wastes thereof, so as to make the wilderness thereof as Eden, and the solitude thereof as the garden of Jehovah; gladness and joy shall be found therein, confession and the voice of a song (Isa. 51:3).

where the subject treated of is the same, for as before said desolation is for the sake of the end that the man may be regenerated, that is, that after evils and falsities are separated, truths may be conjoined with goods, and goods with truths. The regenerate man as to good is what is compared to "Eden," and as to truths to the "garden of Jehovah." In David:--

Jehovah hath made me come up out of the pit of devastation, out of the mire of clay, and hath set my feet upon a rock (Ps. 40:2).

[8] The vastation and desolation of the man of the church, or of the church in man, was represented by the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon; and the raising up of the church by the return from that captivity, as occasionally described in (Jeremiah 32:37-44); for desolation is captivity, the man then being kept as it were bound, and therefore by "those bound," "in prison," and "in the pit," are signified those who are in desolation (n. 4728, 4744, 5037, 5038, 5085, 5096).

[9] The state of desolation and vastation with those who are not being regenerated is also occasionally treated of in the Word. In this state are they who deny truths, or turn them into falsities: this is the state of the church toward its end, when there is no longer any faith or charity. Thus in Isaiah:--

I will make known to you what I will do to My vineyard, in removing the hedge thereof so that it shall be eaten up, in breaking through the fence thereof that it may be trodden down. I will then make it a desolation; it shall not be pruned nor hoed, that there may come up brier and shrub; nay, I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isa. 5:5, 6).

In the same:--

Tell this people, Hearing hear ye, but understand not; and seeing see ye, but know not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and smear over their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart should understand, and they should be converted, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he said, Until the cities be devastated that they be without inhabitant, and the houses that there be no man in them, and the land be reduced into a solitude; Jehovah will remove man. And the desert shall be multiplied in the midst of the land; scarcely a tenth part shall be in it any more, and yet it shall be banished (Isa. 6:9-13).

[10] In the same:--

Remains shall return, the remains of Jacob, unto the mighty God; for a consummation is decreed, overflowing with righteousness; for a consummation and a decree shall the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth make in all the earth (Isa. 10:21-23).

Again:--

Jehovah maketh the earth void, and maketh it empty, and will overturn the faces thereof. The earth shall be utterly void, the habitable earth shall mourn, shall be confounded, the world shall languish and be confounded, a curse shall devour the earth; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish; that which is left in the city shall be a waste, the gate shall be smitten even to devastation; breaking, the earth is broken; breaking, the earth is broken in pieces; moving, the earth is moved; reeling, the earth reeleth like a drunkard (Isa. 24:1-23).

Again:--

The paths are devastated, the wayfaring man ceaseth, the land mourneth and languisheth, Lebanon is ashamed and withered away, Sharon is become like a desert (Isa. 33:8, 9).

Again:--

I will make desolate and swallow up together, I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herb (Isa. 42:14, 15).

[11] In Jeremiah:--

I will give to the curse all the nations round about, and will make them a desolation, and a derision, and perpetual wastes; I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones and the light of the candle; that the whole land may be a desolation and a devastation. It shall come to pass when seventy years are fulfilled, that I will visit their iniquity upon the king of Babylon, and upon this nation, and upon the land of the Chaldees, and will make it everlasting desolations (Jer. 25:9-12).

In the same:--

Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall become perpetual wastes; Edom shall be a desolation, everyone that goeth by it shall be amazed, and shall hiss over all the plagues thereof (Jer. 49:13-18).

In Ezekiel:--

Thus saith the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem concerning the land of Israel, They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their waters with amazement; that her land may be devastated from its fulness, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein; the cities that are inhabited shall be devastated, and the land shall be made desolate (Ezek. 12:19, 20).

[12] Again:--

When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall make the deep come up against thee, and many waters shall cover thee, and I shall make thee go down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and shall make thee to dwell in the earth of the lower things, for a desolation from eternity with them that go down into the pit (Ezek. 26:19-21);

speaking of Tyre. In Joel:--

A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and of obscurity; a fire devoureth before him and behind him a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of waste (Joel 2:2, 3).

In Zephaniah:--

The day of Jehovah is near, a day of wrath is this day, a day of distress and of cramping, a day of wasteness and devastation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and shade; the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of the zeal of Jehovah, for I will make a consummation, yea, a speedy one, with all the inhabitants of the land (Zeph. 1:14-18).

In Matthew:--

When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, foretold by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, then let them that are in Judea flee into the mountains (Matthew 24:15, 16; Mark 13:14; Dan. 9:27; 12:10-12).

From these passages it is evident that desolation is the apparent deprivation of truth with those who are being regenerated, but is the absolute deprivation of it with those who are not being regenerated.