Spiritual Meaning of

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That the olive signifies the good of charity, is evident from the signification in the Word not only of an olive, but also of oil. It was with olive oil, together with spices, that the priests and kings were anointed, and it was with olive oil that the lamps were trimmed (Exod. 30:24; 27:20). The reason olive oil was used for anointing and for lamps was that it represented all that is celestial, and therefore all the good of love and of charity; for the oil is the very essence of the tree, and is as it were its soul, just as the celestial, or the good of love and of charity, is the very essence or the very soul of faith; and hence oil has this representation. That oil signifies what is celestial, or the good of love and of charity, may be confirmed from many passages of the Word; but as it is the olive-tree that is mentioned here, we will merely present some passages that confirm its signification. As in Jeremiah:--

where the Most Ancient or Celestial Church is so called, which was the foundation church of the Jewish Church; and therefore all the representatives of the Jewish Church had regard to celestial things, and through these to the Lord.

[2] In Hosea:--

which is said of the church that is to be planted, whose honor is the olive-tree, that is, the good of love and of charity; the smell as of Lebanon, being the affection of the truth of faith therefrom. Lebanon" stands for its cedars, which signified spiritual things, or the truths of faith. In Zechariah, speaking of the lampstand:--

Here the two olive-trees denote the celestial and the spiritual, thus love, which is of the celestial church, and charity, which is of the spiritual church. These are on the right hand and on the left hand of the Lord. The lampstand here signifies, as in the Jewish Church it represented, the Lord; its lamps signify celestial things from which are spiritual, as from a flame proceed rays of light, or light. In David:--

where wife as a vine, denotes the spiritual church; sons the truths of faith, which are called olive-plants, because from the goods of charity. In Isaiah:--

where the subject treated of is the remains in man; of an olive-tree, denoting celestial remains. In Micah:--

And in Moses:--

where the subject is the abundance of doctrinal teachings about the goods and truths of faith, which by reason of their character, those people rejected. From these passages it is evident that a leaf signifies the truth of faith, and an olive the good of charity; and that like things are signified by the olive-leaf which the dove brought in her mouth; that is, that there now appeared in the man of the Ancient Church some little of the truth of faith from the good of charity.

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