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Numbers Chapter 31

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. Concerning the removal of falsifications of truth with the man of the Spiritual Church by victory in temptation, vers. 1-12.
2. That purification must follow, because the outward rejection of falsified truths must be succeeded by the separation of impure affections, and incipient falsities, as well as of whatever impurities yet adhere externally to the acquired goods and truths of the church, vers. 13-24.
3. Concerning the new quality by victory, and the clear distinction to be made between the Celestial and Spiritual, or between good and truth, vers. 25-31.
4. That goods and truths of every kind and degree, in this new state, are fully ascribed to the Lord, vers. 32-54.

1.  This is evident because by Jehovah is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2951; by Moses is represented Divine Truth, or the Word, 7010; and by saying is denoted perception, 1822.

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2.  Avenging the children of Israel of the Midianites, denotes that falsifications of truth are to be entirely removed with the man of the Spiritual Church, 8223, 3654, 3242; and Moses being gathered to his people afterwards, denotes in order that the conjunction of the internal man with the external, and the agreement of the latter with the former may be fully effected, 7010, 3255, 9459, 1259.

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3.  Moses speaking to the people, saying, denotes the operation of the Internal upon the External, giving enlightenment and perception, 7010, 2951, 1259, 1822; "Arm you men from among you for the war," denotes that a state of conflict must be endured with truths against falsities, 2686, 1007, 1664; "that they may go against Midian," denotes so that the latter may be overcome, 1064, 3242; and "to execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian," denotes because Divine Good is eternally opposed to such falsifications, 2001, 8223.

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4.  "Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel shall you send to the war," denotes that this conflict must be by means of the truths of faith complete and in orderly arrangement, 3858, 3242, 3654.

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5.  There being delivered out of the thousands of Israel of every tribe twelve thousand armed for war, denotes that this actually happens; for the Lord secretly arranges such truths in all their fullness in order that the man of the church may be able to oppose falsities, 2575, 3858, 2686, l664.

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6.  Moses sending them a thousand of every tribe to the war, denotes that there is a distinct classification of such truths, through the leading principle of Divine Truth, 7010, 2575, 3858, 1664; them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, denotes by which truths, as it were, separate from good, are conjoined with good, and with truths derived from good in temptations, chap 25:7, 1664; with the vessels of the sanctuary, denotes including the scientifics of inmost good, 6917, 3210; and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand, denotes inmost truth by which revelation is made according to the state with full power, 8815, chap 10:5.

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7.  Warring against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and destroying every male, denotes that temptation takes place under Divine protection, in which falsified truths are resisted, and falsities themselves are destroyed, 1664, 3242, 2001, 5.486, 7010, 4727, 725, 2466³.

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8.  Slaying the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, denotes that the leading principles of such falsifications of truth are overcome as well as falsified truths themselves, 4727, 1682, 3242; Evi means desire, or lust, and therefore denotes the lust of falsifying, 8910; Rekem means streaked, or embroidered, or variegated, and therefore he denotes the cunning by which falsity is mixed with truths, 3993, 3995; Zur means a rock, and therefore he denotes that which confirms and fixes such falsifications, 2760 preface, 5096; Hur means liberty, whiteness, hole, cavern, and therefore he denotes the natural affection which delights in them, 2870, 6963, 5145, 2463, 8603; Reba means four-sided, and therefore denotes that which gives the appearance of consistency to them, 9717; the five kings of Midian denotes that these are the whole of such falsifications, 5708, 1682, 3242 ; and their slaying also Balaam the son of Beor with the sword, denotes that, in addition, falsity from the evil which misinterprets the Word is also overcome, 4727, chap 22:5, 27992.

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9.  The children of Israel taking captive the women of Midian, denotes that the spiritual man, in this temptation and victory, appropriates every affection of truth, 3654, 1717-1719, 5946; and their little ones, denotes all incipient truths and goods, 5946; and taking all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods for a prey, denotes the appropriation of all natural affections, all spiritual affections, and all knowledges of good and truth, which had been perverted by falsifications, for truly spiritual uses, 6126, 6134, 1694, 3242, 1851.

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10.  Burning with fire all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, denotes that every doctrine also which had served for falsification, and every false arrangement of truths, through this temptation and victory, comes into the possession of the true church, those who are in evil being deprived of such truths through their own selfish love; and those who are in good being sanctmed by them through genuine heavenly love, 934, 402, 2625, 1293, 4236.

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11.  Taking all the spoil and all the prey both of man and beast, denotes that thus the church is enriched with goods and truths in abundance, both as to the internal and external man, 3242, 1851, 7872.

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12.  Bringing the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho, denotes that all these spiritual acquisitions of every quality are now sincerely acknowledged to be from Divine-Truth and Divine Good, and also as belonging to the Spiritual Church in its totality, through orderly arrangement internally, and even to exist where some impure good remains, where the Word in its literal sense is acknowledged, and where are the knowledges of truth in the external man, 1717-1719, 5946, 6126, 6134, it>94, 3242, 1851, 683, 7010, 9946, 7843, 3654, 4236, 2468, 1585, 9325, 5659.

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13.  Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation going forth to meet them without the camp, denotes that there is consequently an influx of Divine Truth and Divine Good and of all primary truths in an accommodated form even in this impure state, 7010, 9946, 1482, 7843, 5337, 4247, 4236.

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14.  Moses being angry with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, which came from the service of the war, denotes that there is aversion on the part of the man of the church in his impurity to Divine Truth, as to the superior governing powers, as to intermediate powers, and as to ultimate powers, which have endured temptation, 7010, 5798, 6358-9, 1482, 8712, 8713, 1664.

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15.  Moses saying to them, "Have you saved all the women alive?" denotes that it is made clear from Divine Truth that as yet the affections of falsity remain, 7010, 1822, 5407, 5.68.

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16.  "Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord," denotes that through these affections the man of the church is drawn away by perversions of the Word, and false teaching to the commission of sin by falsifying the truth in a state of selfish love most external, so that thus remains begin to suffer destruction, 568, 3654, chap 22:5, 25:1-9.

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17.  "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones," denotes that it is necessary that every incipient falsity should be separated, 4727, 5946, 568; and "kill every woman that has known man by lying with him," denotes as well as every affection of falsifying the truth, 3242.

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18.  "But all the women children that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves," denotes that at the same time every affection of truth that has not been contaminated with falsity is to be preserved, 3242, 5407.

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19.  "And encamp you without the camp seven days," denotes that it is necessary that impure states shall be distinguished carefully from the goods and truths of the church until regeneration is accomplished, 4236, 2044; and "whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day, and on the seventh day, you and your captives," denotes that for evils and falsity to be removed, purification therefrom must be continual in the course of regeneration, and must be completed at its close, both as to hereditary and acquired states, 4727, 10130, 3900¹⁰, chap 19:12, 1007, 2686, 6126, 6134, 1694, 1851. Observe that the Hebrew word for captives is here applied as being a part of the spoil taken from the enemy, and therefore as representing acquired states; while the Israelites, considered as men of war, are taken as representing hereditary states, because the spirit of warfare is not from the Lord but from the proprium of man, that is, from the life into which he is born. Hence we see how purification is necessary after states of temptation and victory, and before the full realization of the state of heavenly order, which is denoted by coming into the camp, 4236.

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20.  "And as to every garment and all that is made of skin, and all the work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood, you shall purify yourselves," denotes that purification must take place as to every interior truth, and good of the natural man, and as to every exterior truth and good thereof, 9215, 4169, 3301, 643, chap 19:12.

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21.  Eleazar the priest saying to the men of war which went to the battle, "This is the statute of the law which the Lord commanded Moses," denotes that this testimony of Divine Truth is confirmed by Divine Good with those who have been victorious in temptation; and that assurance is given that every outward form of the truth is the expression of its inward spirit, because Divine Good flows into Divine Truth, and Divine Truth is the form of Divine Good, 9946, 1822, 2686, 1007, 1664, 1038, 7884, 2001, 5486, 7010.

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22.  "Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin and the lead," denotes every outward form of good and truth of the highest degree; of good and truth of the middle degree; and of truth and good of the lowest degree, 425, 2967'.

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23.  "Everything that may abide the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean," denotes which is capable of being affected by pure love from the Lord, is essentially pure, and must, therefore, be made actually pure, by the removal of evil and falsity which contaminate it through the truth of the Word and through temptations, 934, 10130, 7861, 4545; "nevertheless, it shall be purified by the water of separation," denotes purification by the truth of the Word, chap 19:11-12; "and all that abides not the fire you shall make to go through the water," denotes that the outward form which is not capable of being so affected (as is celestial good) must be purified through the removal of falsity by Divine Truth, 934, 7861, 10130, chap 19:11-12.

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24.  "And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean, and afterward you shall come into the camp," denotes that thus regeneration, and consequently purification, must be completed, so that the heavenly life may be fully received, 3147, 9215, chap 19:19, 1853, 4236.

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25.  This is evident, because by Jehovah is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2951; by Moses is represented Divine Truth, or the Word, 7010; and by saying is denoted perception, 1822.

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26.  "Take the sum of the prey that was taken both of man and beast, you, and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation," denotes that the quality of good and truth acquired through victory in temptation, is truly estimated by the Lord through Divine Truth and Divine Good, and the primary truths thence derived, even as to Internals and as to Externals, 10217, ver. 9, 7872, 7010, 9946, 7833, 7843.

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27.  "And divide the prey into two parts between the men skilled in war that went out to battle, and all the congregation," or assembly, denotes that, as the result of regeneration, good and truth, or the celestial and spiritual principles are in equality, good established against evil by truths being the internal, and truth, now conjoined with good, being the external, 1832, 4342, 8292, 747, 2686, 1007, 1664, 7843.

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28.  "And levy a tribute to the Lord of the men of war that went out to battle," denotes that all who have engaged in the conflict by truths interiorly, are to ascribe to the Lord all the good and truth they have received fully and completely, 6394, 2001, ver. 3; one soul of five hundred, denotes fully and completely, 10253; and "of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses and of the flocks," denotes as to celestial things internal and external, and as to spiritual things external and internal, 7120, 2180, 2781, 6126.

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29.  "Take it of their half and give it to Eleazar the priest for the Lord's offering," denotes that all good is from the Lord, and must be ascribed to Him, as being the inmost principle of worship from Him, and as giving all the activity of life there, ver. 27, 10227, 9946, 2001, 5619.

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30.  "And of the children of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty," denotes that all truth is from the Lord with the man of the Spiritual Church as distinguished from the Celestial, and must be fully ascribed to Him, 3654, ver. 27, 2141; "of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses and of the flocks, even of all the cattle," denotes as to the affections of truth internal and external, and as to truths themselves external and internal, yea, as to every good of truths, 7120, 2180, 2781, 6126, 6134; "and give them to the Levites which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord," denotes in worship from the holy principle of charity, which is the celestial principle of the Spiritual Church, and ministers to the genuine Celestial and thus to the Lord, 10227, 3858, 10017, 3382, 3210, 2001.

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31.  Moses and Eleazar the priest doings as the Lord commanded Moses, denotes that this effect actually takes place, when man is regenerated according to Divine Order by influx and correspondence, 7010, 9946, 2618, 2001, 5,486.

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32.  The prey over and above the booty which the men of war took being six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five hundred sheep, denotes that the goods and truths thus acquired by man during regeneration, exclusive of the remains of evil and falsity which adhere to every one, are as follows: charity in all fullness and holiness acquired by victory in temptation, 3242, 1851, 6978, 8888, 8889, 10253, 4169.

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33.  And three score and twelve thousand beeves, denotes natural good holy and pure by conjunction with the interiors, 728, 5194, 2180.

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34.  Three score and one thousand asses, denotes natural truth also similarly acquired in fullness, 8888, 2575.

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35.  Thirty and two thousand persons in all of the women who had not known man by lying with him, denotes with fullness of conjunction with the interiors as to every natural affection of truth un-corrupted by falsity, 5335, 5194, 3242.

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36.  The half which was the portion of them that went out to war being in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheen, denotes that the quality of the goods and truths belonging to those who successfully engage in temptations is of spiritual affections, fullness, and holiness, both as to good and as to truth internally and externally, 10255, 4%²> 10253, 4169.

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37.  The Lord's tribute of the sheep being six hundred and threescore and fifteen, denotes that these are acknowledged to be from the. Lord in the course of regeneration, wherein a new state of spiritual life is acquired, 8888, 8400, 6394, 2001, ver. 3.

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38.  The beeves being thirty and six thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was three score and twelve, denotes that of natural affections there are fullness and perfection from victory in temptations, which are all acknowledged to be from the Lord, holy and perfect, 2180, 5335, 8888, 6394, 2001, 728, 5194.

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39.  The asses being thirty thousand and five hundred, of which the Lord's tribute was threescore and one. denotes of natural truths also fullness and holiness, and these entirely ascribed to the Lord in the new state, 2781, 5335, 10253, 6394, 2001, 3306, 2044.

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40.  The persons being sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty and two persons, denotes of pure affections for truth, conjunction with higher affections, also ascribed to the Lord. 3242, 2044, 5194, 6394, 2001, 5335.

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41.  Moses giving the tribute which was the Lord's heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses, denotes that, in short, all these are fully ascribed to the Lord, through Divine Truth, because it is felt that all life and activity are from Him through good conjoined with truth in the man of the church, 7010, 5194, 6394, 2001, 10097, 9946. The word "Eleazar" means the help of God, and therefore denotes truth, while the priest denotes good, for which reason it is here said, "good conjoined with truth."

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42.  The children of Israel's half which was divided off from the men that warred, denotes spiritual principles as distinct from celestial according to Divine Truth, 3654, 10255, 7010, ver. 3.

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43.  The congregation's half being three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep, denotes that the quality of the spiritual affections is fullness and holiness as to good, and as to truth, 7843, 10255, 482, 10253, 4160.

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44.  Thirty and six thousand beeves, denotes of natural affections, fullness and perfection from victory in temptations, 5335, 8888, 2180.

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45.  Thirty thousand and five hundred asses, denotes of natural truths also fullness and holiness, 9487, 716, 2781.

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46.  And sixteen thousand persons, denotes of pure affections for truth conjunction with the higher affections, 2044, 5194, 3242.

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47.  Moses taking even of the children of Israel's half, one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and beast, and giving them to the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses, denotes that all these different affections are fully ascribed to the Lord, according to Divine Order, both as to things internal and things external, through the principle of charity, which is the celestial principle of the Spiritual Church, and ministers to the genuine celestial principle and thus to the Lord, 7010, 3654, 10255, 2141, 7872, 5619, 3858, 3382, 3210, 5486.

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48.  The officers which were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds coming near to Moses, denotes that thus all the leading principles of the church, according to their degrees, are harmonized with Divine Truth, 1482, 8712-3, 3572, 7010.

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49.  Their saying to Moses, "Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us," denotes that there is perception from this harmony that the quality of the church is full and perfect in every respect, nothing being wanting, 1822, 7010, 5164, 10217, ver. 5, 8474.

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50.  "And we have brought the Lord's oblation what every man has gotten," denotes that through leading principles there is full acknowledgement of the Lord in worship as to every individual, or as to every particular affection, 5619; "'jewels,' or 'vessels' of gold," denote precious truths conjoined with good, 3079, 425; "ankle chains," denote coherence in the lowest natural degree, 2162, 9852; "bracelets" denote conjunction with the spiritual degree, 3105, 5194; "signet-rings, earrings, and armlets, or necklaces," denote holy fear of God in successive order according to degrees, 4874, 3103, 5320; and "to make atonement for our souls before the Lord," denotes the full conjunction of the external with the internal man, and thus with the Lord, 10042, 2973⁵, 2001.

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51.  Moses and Eleazar taking the gold of them, even all worked jewels, denotes that thus all good is acknowledged to be from the Lord by Divine Truth and Divine Good, as well as every precious truth conjoined with good, 7010, 9946, 425, 3079, 9737.

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52.  All the gold of the heave offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the captains of thousands and of the captains of hundreds being sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, denotes that the quality of good from the Lord involving perception and acknowledgement to be from Him by the various powers in due subordination, is fullness and completeness of conjunction in every respect, 425, 10097, 5619, 8712-3, 5194, 2044, 2575, 716, 2141.

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53.  The men of war having taken booty every one for himself, denotes that evil still adheres to man and remains with him, although quiescent, even when he is regenerated, 6978 on Nahum 3:1-4, 868.

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54.  Moses and Eleaznr the priest taking the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds and bringing it into the tent of meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, denotes that what is true of all celestial things ascribed to the Lord, is true also of spiritual things in their order. All are ascribed to the Lord through Divine Truth and Divine Good, and remain with man to eternity from Him, 7010, 9946, 425, 8712-3, 3540³, 6888, 3654, 2001.

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Discussion

It is proper in reflecting on the contents of the first section of this chapter, to consider the distinction between the apparent and the genuine truths of the Word, and why the Word contains such truths as the former, and is not limited to the statement of genuine truths, since it is the Word of the Lord, and ought to contain, therefore, no teaching from Him that is false. We have to affirm, then, that there is no teaching in the Word from the Lord that is false; and yet we have to acknowledge that the Lord did speak to Moses, instructing him to take vengeance on the Midianites, while yet it is contrary to the genuine truth, that any person, or any number of persons combined, should indulge in taking revenge at all, as we know very well from Matt 5:38-48. And that the Lord here taught a genuine truth in opposition to an apparent truth is beyond doubt. For it is manifestly true that no one ought to return evil for evil; and also that every one ought to overcome evil with good. For if I do evil to another because he has done evil to me, I am as bad as he is; but if I do good to him, because he has done evil to me, I am acting according to the genuine truth. Hence, then, it is decidedly wrong to resist evil by doing evil in return, while yet it is clearly necessary to resist evil with good, or from good, even if the good that is returned for the evil assumes the outward appearance of punishment or of revenge.

We now see, therefore, that when the Lord instructed Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, the command assumed the outward form which it did in accommodation to the state of Moses and the Israelites, who were of such a character that they actually desired to take vengeance, or to do evil to others, who had done evil to them. This command of the Lord, therefore (that is, of the same Lord that spoke the Sermon on the Mount), in its first procedure from Him, was not a command to take vengeance at all, or to engage in war at all, but yet in its descent from Him. through the heavens, and through the mind of the angel or spirit who spoke from the Lord to Moses, it assumed the outward appearance, which is here recorded and forms a part of the literal sense of the Word. That is, it is an apparent truth and not a genuine truth; and such, indeed, are all the truths of the Word in which vengeance, anger, wrath, repentance, changes of mind, and other merely human weaknesses, are attributed to the Lord. The Word,.however, is Divine Truth in ultimate or lowest forms, and does not contain anything false, while yet both its apparent and its genuine truths, may easily be falsified by misinterpretations. For example, the Lord, when He was in the world, appeared, spoke of Himself, felt Himself to be, and was regarded by others, as a separate person from His Father; and these apparent truths were then unavoidable; and yet as a matter of fact, and thus, in the genuine sense, He was the Father Himself manifested in whom was the whole Divine Trinity, as He carefully taught His disciples (John 14:8-17, Matt 28:16-20, John 8:17-18, 58-59). And therefore those who assume that the apparent truths of the Word concerning the Lord are genuine truths, and so make Him a distinct person from the Father, in reality, misinterpret the Word, and thence misunderstand it. Hence, then, it is not necessary to believe either that the Divine Being is revengeful, or advises vengeance; or that He is embodied in more persons than one. And thus, there are apparent truths in the Word as well as in creation, because it is impossible that Divine realities can appear the same outwardly as they are inwardly, and also that interior forms of truth only are adapted to the apprehension of mankind in all circumstances.

A second point to be noticed in this section is that although Divine Good or Divine Truth cannot be tempted, but only truth Divine adjoined to Good Divine, 2814, as it exists from the Lord with the man of the church, this being represented by the twelve thousand men sent against Midian and accompanied by Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, yet it is still true that the Lord alone fights for man in temptations, while man must himself endure conflict and overcome as from himself. A third point is, that, in spiritual conflicts, the essential and governing principles of falsity are also to be overcome, as appears from ver. 8, which is very interesting in the internal sense, on account of the correspondence of the names. And a fourth is that in consequence of victory, falsified truths come into the possession of man as genuine truths, which are acknowledged to be from the Lord. All the points in this section, therefore, are very stimulating and encouraging. And, in addition, it may be observed that this victory is gained, while yet man is in a comparatively imperfect and impure state, as the spiritual teaching of ver. 12 clearly shows.

But the next section also reveals, in the internal sense, some interesting things. To begin with, consider the first effect of victory in temptation. There is a stronger influence from the Lord, and from the angels. For as nothing but evils and errors prevent these from being perfect and full at any time, so the conquest of them immediately causes greater influences; and this is represented by Moses and Eleazar and the princes going out to meet the successful warriors. Notice one result, however. The presence of heavenly light and life discloses the imperfection and aversion of the yet not fully regenerated man. For the love of falsifying the truth still remains; and thus we learn how very gradual is man's progress in the higher life. And here we pause to think, for a moment, of the actual historical facts. Moses commands the slaughter of every male among the little ones, and all the married women of the captive Midianites. How cruel were those wars of the Israelites! War is at all times a curse and not a blessing; and the very spirit of cruelty and revenge lurks in the minds both of the leaders and of the soldiers who engage in war, however apparently just may seem to be the reasons for the conflict. Hence, then, cruel and destructive warfare can never be justified. And if modern wars are in some respects not so bad, in this respect, as were those of ancient nations, yet it still remains absolutely true, that all wars have an evil origin; are contrary to the spirit of true religion; and inevitably foster and encourage and stimulate the worst of evil passions. No wonder, therefore, that the best conditions of mankind in the past are described as limes of mutual love and peace and prosperity, when no selfishness was predominant; and that the best conditions of the future will be the return of the golden age, when men "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks," when "nation shall not lift up sword against nation," and "neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4).

But now, on the other hand, turning to the interpretation, according to the correspondences, we realize how holy and pure is the Word in its spiritual sense. For the command given by Moses, in that sense, is of the greatest value, and ought to be strictly carried out by every member of the church. And the spiritual warrior should indeed separate from himself every incipient falsity, or evil, and every delight in falsifying the truth for selfish purposes, while yet he must preserve in himself every affection of truth, which is not contaminated with falsity; in addition to which it is necessary that impure states shall be distinguished carefully from the goods and truths of the church until regeneration is accomplished, and man is altogether purified from evil.

But this is as to internal things; and we must notice now what relates to the purification in external things, which must follow the spiritual warfare which is so necessary a part of human regeneration. And here we clearly are taught that the two great purifying powers are the love of the Lord and the neighbour, which are represented by fire and the holy truths of the Word of the Lord, which are signified by water, and especially by the water of separation, or as the marginal reading has it, the water of impurity, which means the truth which teaches that, apart from the acknowledgement that man of himself is nothing but evil, and that this acknowledgement must never be lost with the man of the church on earth, nor even with the angels, there is really no purification at all. And why is this so much insisted upon? It is because, if any man, or any angel, were persuaded that he ever had any good or any truth in himself, either hereditary, or acquired, independently of its continual influx from the Lord, and of its continual reception by himself, he could not possibly be preserved in a state of purity, since such a persuasion is the origin of all evil, and would, without doubt, cause him who cherished it to imagine himself a god, and induce him to claim dominion over his fellow creatures, and thus to destroy that Divine Order without which the universe cannot be preserved. For it is the very nature of selfish love to attempt this and to accomplish it, were it possible.

And again we must notice also one other particular in this section, namely, that whereas everything which could abide the fire required to be purified with this water of separation; while that which could not abide the fire necessarily required purification by being washed in water, yet in every case of regeneration there must be the acknowledgement that man of himself is nothing but evil; although still there are some things, or some states of man, that not love but truth must make pure. For example, we know that a garment when soiled, or a wooden vessel, cannot be cleansed by passing through the fire, that is, by burning, and hence we may perceive that external intellectual powers, and affections, are not so susceptible of purification through the higher loves, and yet can be brought into correspondence with those loves by the operation of the truth which is represented by water, because garments, and vessels made of wood, correspond to external truths and affections. And again, on the other hand, we know that hot water is necessary in cleansing garments and wooden vessels, from which we learn, by correspondence, that spiritual heat or love in a modified and adapted form is essential in purification even here. For love is the life of all our powers, nor can it be conceived that spiritual purification is ever accomplished without the influence of love in some way. And hence, too, we have impressed upon us this lesson, that by the mere knowledge and understanding of truths we may indeed polish and brighten up our external deportment; but that, certainly, some earnest love of the truth, as well, must contribute to the making of our lives inwardly pure on the natural plane.

Concerning the next section, it may be said that we are already familiar with the signification of numbering, and of making an offering to the Lord through the priests and through the Levites from some of our former studies; and so it is only necessary here to re-impress upon our minds the importance of considering the quality of our own lives, habitually, as well as after seasons of trial, and temptation. For we know very well how little we are disposed to do this, and how slow we are in sincerely realizing and acknowledging that it is the Lord Who really arranges all our states, and Who enables us to know a little of their quality. And as this subject is of considerable interest, the following extract is here given:

"So long as man believes that he does all things from himself, both good and evil, so long goods do not affect him, and evils adhere to him; whereas, as soon as he acknowledges and believes that goods flow in from the Lord, and not from himself, and that evils are from hell, in this case goods affect him, and evils do not adhere to him; and also in proportion as goods affect him, in the same proportion evils are removed, thus he is purified and liberated from them. But so long as the state of man is such that he cannot perceive and be sensible of the influx of goods from the Lord, so long he does good works as from himself, nevertheless he ought to acknowledge and believe that they are from the Lord; for when this is the case, he is also liberated from evils; but to the intent that he may be liberated from evils, that acknowledgement must not be the confession of the mouth alone, but the confession of the heart itself.

"That a plague denotes the punishment of evil is manifest without explanation. There are three plagues, or three punishments, which follow those who attribute to themselves the truths of faith and goods of love, or who believe that they merit heaven by their works, for those who attribute to themselves those things, believe also that of themselves they merit heaven. These three punishments are: 1. That they cannot receive anything of the good of love and of the truth of faith. 2. That evils and falsities continually pursue them, 3. And that the truths and goods received from infancy perish. These three punishments are signified by the three plagues which were proposed to David by the prophet Gad on account of numbering the people, which were: 1. Seven years of famine. 2. A flight of three months before enemies. 3. And a pestilence of three days (2 Sam 24:13); for by a famine is signified the defect and scarcity of the goods and truths which are of faith and love.... But by flight before enemies, in the internal sense, is meant persecution by evils and falsities; for those who attribute to themselves goods and truths, are not able to fight against the evils and falsities which are from hell, 9978, which are enemies in the spiritual sense;... but by the pestilence is signified the vastation and consumption of goods and truths, which have been received from infancy, 7505. By David's choosing the pestilence, and by seventy thousand men dying of it, was signified that with the Israelitish and Jewish nation every truth and good of faith and love was about to perish, which also came to pass, for they did not acknowledge the Lord from whom, nevertheless, are all goods and truths. Three days signified to the full, and the same was also signified by the seventy thousand men who died," 10219. Thus, therefore, we see the consequences of not "numbering our days," spiritually, in the right way (Ps 90:12).

And finally, with regard to the last section of this chapter, it is impossible to supply a very easy commentary, on account of the numerous details which might be profitably explained more at large, were there space, in accordance with the plan of this work. But let the interested reader carefully go over the series of the internal sense here, as given in the parallel column, and compare this with the explanation in giving the references, and he will quickly discern the order, beauty, and practical value of the internal sense as it refers to the various points involved, as, for example, to the distinction between celestial and spiritual principles; between the various degrees of life ; and between the internal and external affections and powers, denoted by the persons, by the animals and by other things that are mentioned in the literal sense.