Spiritual Meaning of

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In very many passages of the prophetic Word mention is made of mountains and hills, and by them in the internal sense are signified the goods of love--by mountains the good of love to the Lord, which is the internal of the celestial kingdom; and by hills the good of mutual love, which is the external of the same kingdom; but where the spiritual kingdom is treated of, then by mountains is signified the good of charity toward the neighbor, which is the internal of this kingdom, and by hills the truth of faith, which is its external. Be it known that every church of the Lord is internal and external, and so is each of His kingdoms.

[5] That such is the signification of hills, is evident from the following passages:--

the mountain of Jehovah, which is Zion, denotes the Lord's celestial kingdom, thus the good of this kingdom, which is of love to the Lord; thus in the supreme sense it is the Lord Himself, for all the love and all the good in the celestial kingdom belong to the Lord.

[6] The like is signified by the mountain of Zion elsewhere in the Word, and by the hill thereof the good of mutual love, as in Isaiah:--

where hill denotes the good of mutual love; and as by a hill is signified the good of mutual love, and by a mountain the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord, it is said that Jehovah would descend to fight upon that mountain. Jehovah does not fight upon the mountain of Zion and the hill thereof; but where the good of love is, it is for this, that is, for those who are in it, that the Lord (in this passage Jehovah) fights. If He fought for Zion and for Jerusalem, it is because they represented the celestial church. Therefore also the mountain of Zion was called holy, and Jerusalem also was said to be holy, when yet in itself it was filthy, as is plain from the prophets, where its abominations are treated of.

[7] In David:--

In the same:--

In the same:--

Again:--

In these passages mountains denote celestial love, and hills spiritual love; that mountains are not here meant, nor hills, nor they who were upon mountains and hills, is very manifest.

[8] In Isaiah:--

channels of waters denote the knowledges of good and of truth, which are said to be upon every high mountain and lifted up hill because these knowledges flow from the goods of celestial and spiritual love.

[9] In Habakkuk:--

the mountains of eternity denote the good of love of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial; the hills of an age, the good of mutual love that belonged to that church; the former being its internal, the latter its external. When that church is meant in the Word, seeing that it was the most ancient one, eternity is sometimes added, as here the mountains of eternity, and elsewhere the days of eternity (AC 6239); and an age also is added, as here the hills of an age, and also in the prophetic utterance of Israel: to the desire of the hills of an age. Hence it is evident that by the hills of an age are signified the goods of mutual love, which are of the celestial church, or of the Lord's celestial kingdom.

[10] So in Moses, in his prophetic utterance about Joseph:--

In Isaiah:--

In Joel:--

In Ezekiel:--

In Jeremiah:--

In these passages the goods of celestial love are signified by mountains; and likewise by hills, but in a lower degree.

[11] Because mountains and hills signified such things, in the Ancient Church their Divine worship also was upon mountains and upon hills; and afterward the Hebrew nation set altars upon mountains and hills, and there sacrificed and burnt incense; and where there were no hills, they constructed high places. But because this worship became idolatrous, through holding the mountains and hills themselves holy, and thinking nothing at all about the holy things which they signified, this worship was therefore forbidden the Israelitish and Jewish people, because that people was more prone to idolatry than any other. In order however that this representative which had been in ancient times might be retained, the mountain of Zion was chosen, and by it in the supreme sense was represented the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, and in the relative sense the Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual in His kingdom.

[12] As such things were signified, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son upon one of the mountains in the land of Moriah; and the Lord was also seen upon a mountain by Moses, and the Law was promulgated from the elevation of a mountain, for He was seen by Moses upon Mount Horeb, and the Law was promulgated upon Mount Sinai; and the temple of Jerusalem was also built upon a mountain.

[13] That from an ancient rite holy worship was held upon mountains and hills, and afterward the Gentiles and also the idolatrous Israelites and Jews sacrificed and burnt incense thereon, is plain in Jeremiah:--

speaking of Jerusalem. In Ezekiel:--

In Jeremiah:--

[14] Because idolatrous worship took place upon mountains and hills, by them are signified in the opposite sense the evils that belong to the love of self; as in Jeremiah:--

In Isaiah:--

In the same:--

Again:--

And in Micah:--

In Jeremiah:--

[15] The reason why mountains and hills signified the goods of celestial and spiritual love, was that they were prominent above the earth, and by things prominent and high were signified those which were of heaven, and in the supreme sense which were of the Lord. For the land of Canaan signified the Lord's heavenly kingdom (AC 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); hence all things in that land were significative, the mountains and hills being significative of such things as are high; for when the most ancient people who were of the celestial church ascended a mountain they thought of height, and from height, of what is holy, because Jehovah or the Lord was said to dwell in the highest, and because in the spiritual sense height denoted the good of love (AC 650).

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