Spiritual Meaning of
Spiritual Meaning of |
|
Back to Words index | Back to Religious words index |
By the manna is signified spiritual good, that is, the good of the man of the spiritual church, which is the good of truth (AC 8458).
This is also apparent from the description of it in Exodus 16:31:--It was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it like that of a cake in honey; and likewise from the description of it in Numbers:--
The manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium; they ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in a pot, and made cakes of it: the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil (Numbers 11:7, 8).
From these particulars it is plain that in the spiritual sense the manna denotes the good of truth, that is, the good of the spiritual church. Hence also it is called the grain of the heavens, in David:--
He commanded the skies from above, and opened the doors of the heavens, and made manna to rain down upon them, and gave them the grain of the heavens (Ps. 78:23, 24).
Grain denotes the good of truth, (AC 5295, 5410). Manna also denotes the good of truth which is given to those who undergo temptations and conquer, in John:--
To him that overcometh I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone (Rev. 2:17).
That in the supreme sense the manna denotes the Lord in us, is evident from the very words of the Lord in John:--
Your fathers did eat the manna in the wilderness, and are dead: this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that one may eat thereof and not die: I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eat of this bread he shall live eternally (John 6:49-51, 58).
From all this it is very plain that by the manna in the supreme sense is signified the Lord. The reason is that the manna denotes the good of truth, and all good is from the Lord, and consequently the Lord is in good, and is the good itself. That this good will be appropriated to them and make their life, is signified by eating (AC 3168, 3513, 3596, 4745); for the good which is from the Lord makes the life of heaven with man, and thereafter nourishes and sustains it.
from AC 8464
Back to Words index, Back to Religious words index
| Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). | Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002. | www.BibleMeanings.info |