Lost and Found

In this next chapter, Jesus tells three parables about finding things that have been lost: a sheep, a coin, and a son. At the heart of these three parables is a message about the loss of something precious that God has given us, and the joy of its recovery. This is the connection to the previous parable which spoke of the “ten thousand.” These are the blessed states of love for the neighbor and trust in God, states that were given to us in childhood, but were seemingly lost along the way. The truth is, however, that while these precious states in us may become deeply buried, they can never be fully lost. Though they may be hidden beneath our consciousness, they remain with us for our entire lives. The joy of finding them again becomes the subject of the next three parables. ¹

At the end of the previous chapter, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 14:35). It is appropriate, then, in keeping with the seamless connection of episodes, that the next chapter begins with the words, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near … to hear Him” (Luke 15:1). Apparently, the tax collectors and sinners “had ears to hear.” But it is not the same with the scribes and Pharisees who continue to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).

Aware of their inability or their unwillingness to understand why He is healing on the Sabbath and eating with sinners, Jesus says to them, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4).

Preserving innocence

In sacred scripture, the word “sheep” symbolizes innocence. Like sheep who are willing to follow their shepherd, those who are in a state of innocence are willing to be led by the Lord. The imagery of the shepherd and his sheep occurs throughout the Word, most memorably in the twenty-third psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul (Psalms 23:1-2). This beautiful psalm sums up in poetic language the relationship that we can have with God. If we allow Him to lead us, we will find ourselves in “green pastures” feeding on the goodness He offers. If we allow Him to lead us, we will find ourselves beside still waters, drinking in the truth He offers. As a result, the Lord restores our soul. ²

The word “restores” implies that at one point the needs of our soul were fully supplied, but that over time something had been lost and, therefore, needed to be restored. This is what happens to each of us as we journey from the innocence and trust of infancy and early childhood into adolescence and adulthood. More and more, we begin to lose something of that childlike innocence and trust. We begin to crave independence, the feeling that we are self-sufficient and can figure things out for ourselves. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do, and we want to do things for ourselves. In other words, we are less willing to be led, desiring instead to be our own masters. This is not evil or wrong. It’s just a stage in our human development.

God, of course, knows all about our development. He knows that each of us will move from total dependence on parents and caregivers to independence, from reliance on others to self-reliance, and from confidence in others to confidence in self. While this is a necessary step in the maturation process—a step that is expected and should be encouraged—we should remember that real maturity is to develop an ever-increasing willingness to follow God and live according to His teachings. This mature trust in God is called “the innocence of wisdom” and is true wisdom. ³

As we move from the innocence of childhood to the innocence of wisdom, the quality that is essential to both states is innocence. In childhood that innocence takes the form of a willingness to be led by others. This innocent and trusting state can be seen when children spontaneously reach up to take hold of their parent’s hand, allowing themselves to be led. This is an early picture of the greater innocence which is to follow. It is the innocence of adulthood, the willingness to be led by the Lord, especially through the teachings of His Word.

When seen in the light of the loss and regaining of innocence, the parable about the lost sheep is about those times when we succumb to the illusion of self-sufficiency. We believe that we have no need for the Lord and are sufficient unto ourselves. Fortunately, the Lord does not let us simply drift away. He comes to us, searching for us, and when He finds us, He brings us back home. This is the journey of life, a journey which begins with a tender willingness to be led by our caregivers, and ends with a mature willingness to be led by God. In this way, that state of innocence, initiated in infancy and further developed in adulthood, is preserved in us. ⁴

Regaining lost innocence

It’s wonderful to know that our earliest states of innocence—those affections for goodness and truth—can be regained and deepened in adulthood. But the question arises, “How is this innocence lost and how can it be found again?” The answer is revealed in the spiritual sense of this simple parable. The “man” who had a hundred sheep represents each of us when, in our infancy, we had an abundance of innocence. We were surrounded by angels who filled us with tender affections—“one hundred sheep.” But as we grow up, we begin to lose—or so it seems—these tender states of infancy. Therefore, there comes a time in our life when we must go in search of those lost affectional states, find them, and allow them to take a leading role in our lives again.

As we do so, our stubbornness and hard-heartedness begin to soften; we become kinder, gentler, and more forgiving. Our intellect, represented by “a man,” is reconnected with that which has been “lost”—the softer, more affectionate side of our nature, represented by the “lost sheep.”

This is an exciting moment in our lives. It is a time for great rejoicing. In the parable, Jesus puts it like this: “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). This describes those sacred moments in our life when we have reconnected with those innocent states of willingness to be led, but this time with greater wisdom. When this happens in our inner world, we are truly “home” again. As Jesus says, “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” (Luke 15:6).

It should be noted, however, that we cannot find the lost sheep by ourselves. In the deepest sense of this parable, then, we are not the ones who go searching for the lost sheep. Rather, it is God who comes searching for us. It is God who finds us, no matter how far we have strayed. It is God who lifts us up with the inspiration of His Word, and it is God who strengthens us by placing us upon His strong shoulders.

Understood spiritually, to be “placed on God’s shoulders” is to be empowered by Him, for in the human body the “shoulders” represent great strength. We know this from common expressions such as “Let us put our shoulder to the wheel,” “We must learn to shoulder our responsibilities,” and “Do not pray for a lighter burden, but for stronger shoulders.” And in the Hebrew scriptures, the Lord’s coming into the world is described as follows: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). ⁵

The imagery of the Lord “putting us on His shoulders” pictures how the Lord strengthens those states in us that are willing to be led by His love and wisdom. These are like the tender, innocent states that we once knew in childhood. Although these states seemed to be lost, they were merely hidden away, buried beneath our consciousness. They may have been forgotten for a time, especially during those times when we lost our higher selves in worldly concerns. But they were always there, ready to serve as a foundation for the development of a more mature faith in later years, a faith that trusts in God. ⁶

The blessedness of dependency

As we conclude this first parable in this series of three, we need to remember the dramatic setting. Jesus has just been accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners, the despised outcasts of society. In those days, breaking bread with others was not only an expression of friendship, but also an indication of willingness to be more intimately associated with the people with whom one dined. Therefore, from the point of view of the scribes and Pharisees, breaking bread with people who are seen to be sinful would be considered disgraceful. Not only would it be regarded as accepting sinful behavior, but it would also be risking contamination through association.

This “arms-length” attitude toward sinners also extended to foreigners, non-believers, and people with physical deformities. In this regard, they believed they were acting in strict accordance with the teachings of the Hebrew scriptures. As it is written, “Thus says the Lord, O House of Israel, let us have no more of your abominations … you brought in foreigners to My house … and offered My food” (Ezekiel 44:6-7). Also, “No one with a defect, whether blind, or lame, or disfigured, or deformed … shall go near the veil or approach the altar, lest he profane My sanctuaries” (Leviticus 21:18, 23.)

Jesus, however, teaches a very different lesson about associating with outcasts, sinners, foreigners, non-believers, and people who might have a physical defect. As we saw in the previous chapter, Jesus speaks about a master who invites the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind to a great supper. We pointed out that this is the Lord’s invitation to each of us. However, when we are pre-occupied with self-sufficiency, we have no desire to come to the feast. This is the part of us that mistakenly believes it has no need for God in our lives. There is no need for His truth and no need for His power to live according to that truth. These are the parts of ourselves of whom Jesus says, “None of these shall taste My supper.”

But there are other parts of ourselves. These are the parts that have been seemingly “lost” for a long time. These are compared to the beggars who roamed the lanes and streets of the city, aware that they are poor, maimed, lame, and blind. These are the people that the man sends his servant to find and invite to the supper. Because they know they are poor, maimed, lame and blind, and desperately in need of help, they accept the invitation and come to the supper.

It is the same for these “lost” parts of ourselves. When we know that we do not have all the answers, we acknowledge that we are “spiritually poor.” When we know that we lack the power to do the good we would like to do, we acknowledge that we are “spiritually maimed.” When we know that we have been hobbling along in life, unable to “walk in the ways of righteousness” (Proverbs 8:20), we acknowledge that we are “spiritually lame.” And when we know that we cannot see the truth, we acknowledge that we are “spiritually blind.”

The key thing about each of these states is that they are states of dependency. If we are poor, maimed, lame, or blind, we must depend on others for help. The person who is physically blind sees nothing in the natural world; therefore, a blind person must depend on others for guidance. Similarly, if our spiritual eyes are not opened, if we have no understanding of spiritual reality, we will be unable to comprehend the things of heaven. This world is the only world that we will see. Therefore, we need God to open our spiritual eyes through the truths of His Word.

This is what can happen whenever we choose to repent, acknowledging our need for the Lord, and allowing the Lord to restore what has been lost. After years of looking elsewhere for nourishment, we finally decide that nothing in the physical world can provide the nourishment that our soul craves. Happily accepting His invitation, we turn to the Lord who has been seeking us the whole time. In doing so, we allow Him to supply us with the goodness for which we hunger and the truth for which we thirst. ⁷

In this regard, it’s reassuring to know that no matter how far we have strayed, the Lord seeks to find us and bring us back home—to the place where we once again feel something akin to the innocence of childhood. But this time we experience genuine innocence. This is the innocence of wisdom. It is a willingness to be led by the Lord and to experience, as a result, the ensuing joys of heaven. As Jesus puts it, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

The parable of the lost sheep is followed immediately by the parable of the lost coin. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8). As we begin this parable, we notice, once again, the use of the number “ten” whether it be ten times ten (one hundred sheep) or ten times a thousand (ten thousand men). Whenever this number is mentioned, it always refers to some blessed state with us—either in relation to some affection or some insight about truth. The previous parable was about the recovery of innocent affections (represented by the lost sheep); this parable will be about the recovery of some lost truth (represented by the lost silver coin). ⁸

In this parable, the silver coins represent truth—the truth that illumines the darkness, just as the silvery moon illumines the night. In our infancy the innate sense of what is good and true is given to us freely through the angels who surround and protect us. But as we grow older the tender feelings of love (represented by the lost sheep) and the awareness of simple truth (represented by the lost coin) recede from our consciousness. We come into states where these gifts from God feel as though they are lost. We, therefore, need to go in search of them.

What might the “lost coin” represent in each of our lives? Perhaps it is the truth that God is always with us. At one point, this may have been a precious and most valuable truth, but over time it was lost. Perhaps it is the truth that no matter what happens, God can bring good out of it. Perhaps it was the initial feelings we experienced when first falling in love and the accompanying truths that matched those feelings. Those truths may have included thoughts such as, I will always love you. Nothing will ever come between us. I will always be faithful. I will be there for you during bad times and good times, in sickness and in health.

Thoughts like these which flow in from God may abound at first, but over time they can be lost. When this happens, we have slipped from those earlier states. We find that we are no longer living by the truth we once knew. In the beginning, we were kind, considerate, and forgiving. Then, over time, something changed. We found ourselves becoming less patient, less forgiving, easily disturbed, and quickly becoming critical. What happened to those God-given principles we once cherished? Where did they go? Like the woman in the parable, we have lost a precious coin—a precious truth in our lives is missing. And, like the woman in the parable, we will have to search for that lost coin.

Her search begins with a thorough search of her “house.” In sacred scripture, a “house” represents the interiors of person’s mind. It is the place where we dwell, our mental “dwelling-place.” In other words, the thoughts and feelings that we choose to dwell on become our spiritual home. So, when it is written that the woman needed to “light a lamp” and “sweep her house,” we can know that this relates to something that is going on in her mental “dwelling-place,” that is, in her mind. ⁹

The parable calls each of us to “light a lamp” and “sweep our house” in order to find the coin that has been lost. As long as we are in darkness, the chances of finding the lost coin are slim. But if we light a lamp, our chances are greatly improved. In this case, lighting a lamp suggests the willingness to use the light of truth to examine ourselves seeking to find what has been lost. Not only do we “light the lamp,” but we must also “sweep the floor.” This suggests that we must carefully explore the inner rooms of our mind, sweeping away the dust of lower thoughts, so that we might be able to find the missing coin. Cleaning our mental house also suggests the re-ordering of priorities so that we can see the truth again—truth that may have become lost in the clutter of worldly concerns.

The search for the lost coin requires both the light of God’s Word and the willingness to do sincere self-examination. And when we find that lost coin, we will want to rejoice. As it is written, “And when she found it, she called her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I have lost!’” (Luke 15:9). ¹⁰

Jesus concludes this parable, as He did the previous one, on a celebratory note. He compares the joy of finding the lost coin to the joy that the angels feel when a sinner repents. As He puts it, “I say to you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

A practical application

Like the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin speaks about something we once possessed, but then lost. In spiritual terms, both parables relate to our loss of connection with God. The parable of the lost lamb is about the loss of innocence—the innocent willingness to follow the Lord. The parable of the lost coin continues this theme, this time focusing on the loss of some God-given truth. When this happens, we find ourselves thinking, I used to be more patient. I used to be kinder, more considerate, and more forgiving. I used to be more diligent. I need to take a look at my life and put my priorities back into order, and I need to invite the Lord into this process. This is the “lost coin”—the missing piece. And this realization is what brings about the woman’s joy, so much so that she wants to tell her friends and neighbors. Perhaps you have experienced something like this as well. The rediscovery of how wonderful it is to reconnect with God and get back to first principles is certainly worth sharing. But first, you may need to “light a lamp” and “sweep the house,” in order to find that missing truth.

As we concluded the first two parables in this series, we mentioned that the thing that has been lost is our connection with God. In both cases, it is ‘the missing piece.” This theme is continued in an even more direct way in this next parable, this time through the story of two sons. As Jesus continues to speak to the scribes and Pharisees, He says, “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So, he divided to them his livelihood” (Luke 15:11-12). As the story goes, the younger son takes his inheritance, journeys to a far country, and spends everything. As it is written, “He wasted his possessions with prodigal living” (Luke 15:13).

The younger son is rebellious and wild. He represents our lower nature. This is the unregenerate human will delighting only in the pleasure of the senses without regard for anything higher. In the parable, it is the story of the younger son who asks that he receive an early inheritance and then spends it all on earthly pleasures. He soon discovers, however, that the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, apart from anything higher, leads to a profound state of emptiness. As it is written, “When he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into the fields to feed the swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything” (Luke 15:14-16).

This pictures each of us at those times when we have wandered away from our relationship with God. After spending everything we have on temporal pleasures, we sink into states of despair and emptiness. And so, it is written, “There arose a severe famine in the land.” This is what happens when we hunger for something, but don’t yet know what it is. We would even eat “the pods that the swine ate.” And yet, even that does not satisfy us. Gradually, we begin to awaken to the reality that living in this way does not nourish our spirits. As we come to our spiritual senses, we realize how far we have strayed and how mistaken we have been. And so, as the parable continues, we read that “when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!’” (Luke 15:17).

This is the moment when we realize that there is more to life than satisfying the desires of our lower nature; we realize that there is something higher—our relationship with the Lord. This is the moment when our spirit cries out, like the young man in the parable, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father” (Luke 15:19).

The return of the lost son

It should be kept in mind that while Jesus is telling this parable, and the two preceding ones, He is in the presence of the scribes and Pharisees. In a remarkable series of parables about things that are at first lost but eventually found, Jesus is indirectly instructing the scribes and Pharisees about the importance of learning to think in new ways. These three parables, when taken together, constitute Jesus’ response to their contemptuous comment which initiated this series. They said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). Jesus wants them to know that if they could think differently, they could experience angelic joy when what has been “lost” could be found. More deeply, Jesus is encouraging them to think deeply about what has been lost in them and how it could be found again.

In that respect, this third parable in the series is no different. Having awakened from his wayward lifestyle, the younger son is now determined to head back home and apologize to his father. “I will arise and go to my father,” he says. Not only is he determined to return home, but he is also very clear about what he will tell his father. In fact, he has practiced the wording. “Father,” he will say, “I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:18).

With determination in his heart and words of repentance in his mind, the younger son begins his journey back home to his father. However, before we consider the father’s response, let us first consider how the scribes and Pharisees would have expected the father to react. After all, this young man had dishonored his father and brought shame to the family. According to the cultural standards of the day, and the religious practices that were then in place, if a son brought dishonor to his father, he would be disowned.

The father’s response, however, is totally unexpected. Before the son even has a chance to utter a confession, acknowledge his transgressions, or ask for forgiveness, the father sees him “a great way off” and is immediately filled with compassion. Without a moment’s hesitation, the father runs to his son, falls on his neck, and kisses him (Luke 15:20).

Still feeling a need to confess, the son recites the words that he has rehearsed: “Father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). But the father hardly seems to notice. We read, “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is now alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:22-24).

It should be noted that the father continues to refer to him as his “son.” As he puts it, “For this my son was dead and is now alive again.” When our lives are immersed in natural concerns and the pursuit of sensual pleasures, it is as if we are “dead” to spiritual reality. But when we realize that a mere sensual existence is a “dead end,” and decide to return to God, it is as if we are “alive” again.

The resentment of the elder brother

This joyous scene is quickly interrupted by the elder brother. Apparently, he has been faithfully serving his father, doing his work in the fields. But as he comes in from his labors, and draws near to the house, he is surprised to hear music and dancing. And when he finds out that his brother has returned, and that his father has killed the fatted calf in his younger brother’s honor, the older brother is so angry that he will not enter the house. Even when his father pleads with him to come in, the elder brother refuses to take part in the celebration. Instead, he says, “Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I have never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might be merry with my friends” (Luke 15:29).

On one level, the “elder brother” who “never transgressed” his father’s commandment represents the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees who pride themselves on their strict observance of the commandments. Because they mistakenly believe that this was the key to obtaining divine favor, they would be deeply offended by any suggestion that God’s love and favor extends to all people, even to sinners. Moreover, because their envy and resentment prevent them from appreciating the blessings that are constantly flowing in from God, they are filled with resentment when they see others getting what they think they deserve. This is represented by the words of the elder son when he says, “You never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.”

The elder brother chose to remain at home, faithfully serving his father. As he says to his father, “I never transgressed your commandments.” This is a thinly veiled reference to the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees who believed that they were righteous and blameless before the Lord. At a deeper level, it also applies to each of us. Rigid adherence to the commandments, apart from love and mercy, cannot save us. It becomes a form of truth alone, without goodness.

The elder brother’s problem, then, was not a failure to dutifully serve his father. Rather, it was an inability to appreciate all that he had been given and all that he had. He was so filled with resentment that he refused to take part in the celebration. Unlike the angels, he felt no joy that his brother had repented. Instead, all he could feel was envy. Through this parable, Jesus is telling the scribes, the Pharisees, and everyone who has ears to hear that the kingdom of heaven with all its blessings is available to each of us, right now, if we are willing to receive them. All of this is contained in the father’s stirring plea, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad … for your brother who was lost is found” (Luke 15:31-32). ¹²

As the parable concludes, we can rejoice with the younger brother who awoke from his waywardness; but we are also left with a poignant picture of the elder brother who has not yet awakened from his self-righteousness. One brother has been found; the other is still lost.

A practical application

Although the elder brother claimed that he had “never transgressed his father’s commandments,” he was blind to the fact that he was jealous of his younger brother, thus transgressing the commandment against coveting. In the light of this parable, we are called to examine ourselves in terms of our own covetousness. Can we honestly feel joy in the success of others without wanting that success for ourselves? Can we honestly feel happy for the sinner who has repented without wanting some of that attention for ourselves? Can we be so content with what we have that we feel genuinely happy for others? Can we believe that the father’s words to the elder son, “All that I have is yours” also apply to us? We need to keep reminding ourselves that God wants to give us every spiritual blessing, right now. We are invited, so to speak, to enjoy “the fatted calf.” This realization can help us rise above covetous desires and feel truly happy for others. In fact, we can feel their joy as joy in ourselves. ¹³

Footnotes:

730. Verse 6 (Revelation 12:6). And the woman fled into the wilderness, signifies the church among a few, because with those who are not in good, and consequently not in truths. This is evident from the signification of "woman," as being the church (See above, n. 707), also from the signification of "wilderness," as being where there are no truths because there is no good (of which presently); also from the signification of "fleeing" thither, as meaning to tarry among those who are not in truths because they are not in good; and as there are at the end of the church but few who are in truths from good, it signifies among a few. From this it is clear what these words involve, namely, that the New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem, which is signified by "the woman," can as yet be instituted only with a few, by reason that the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a "wilderness" when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, that is, the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, with its truths; and when doctrine is not received there is no church, for the church is from doctrine.

[2] Something shall first be said of there being no truths where there is no good. By good is meant the good of the life according to the truths of doctrine from the Word. The reason is because the Lord never flows immediately into truths with man, but mediately through his good; for good is of the will, and the will is the man himself; from the will the understanding is produced and formed; for the understanding is adjoined to the will so that what the will loves the understanding sees, and also brings forth into light; consequently if the will is not in good, but is in evil, then the influx of truth from the Lord into the understanding has no effect, for it is dissipated, because it is not loved, yea, it is perverted, and the truth is falsified. From this it is clear why the Lord does not flow immediately into man's understanding except so far as the will is in good. With every man the Lord can enlighten the understanding, and thus flow in with Divine truths, since there is given to every man the ability to understand truth, and this for the sake of his reformation; nevertheless the Lord does not flow in, because truths do not remain except so far as the will has been reformed. Moreover, it is dangerous to so enlighten the understanding in truths as to produce belief except so far as the will acts as one with it; since man can then pervert, adulterate, and profane truths, which is most hurtful. Furthermore, so far as truths are known and understood and are not at the same time lived, they are nothing but lifeless truths, and lifeless truths are like statues that have no life. From this it can be seen why it is that there are no truths where there is no good, that is, not in essence but only in form.

[3] The man of the church at its end is such, because man then loves supremely such things as belong to the body and the world; and when these are loved supremely then the things pertaining to the Lord and heaven are not loved, for no one can serve two masters at the same time but that he will love the one and hate the other, since they are opposites. For from the love of the body, which is the love of self, and from the love of the world, which is the love of riches, when these are loved above all things, evils of every kind flow forth, and from evils falsities, and these are the opposites of goods and truths, which come forth from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbor. These few words will make clear why it is that the woman is said "to have fled into the wilderness," that is, among a few, because of being with those who are not in good, and thus not in truths.

[4] In the Word wilderness and also solitude and waste places are mentioned in many passages, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good. This state of the church is called a "wilderness" because in the spiritual world the place where those dwell who are not in truths because they are not in good is like a wilderness, where there is no verdure in the plains, nor harvest in the fields, nor fruit trees in the gardens, but a barren land, parched and dry; moreover "wilderness" signifies in the Word the state of the church with the Gentiles who are in ignorance of truth, and yet are in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have a desire for truths. "Wilderness," signifies also in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind. That "wilderness" has these significations in the Word can be seen from the passages therein where "wilderness" is mentioned.

[5] In respect to the first meaning, namely, that "wilderness" means the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good, it is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh kingdoms quake, that hath made the world a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof? (Isaiah 14:16, 17)

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is meant, and "to make the earth to tremble, to make kingdoms quake, and make the world a wilderness," signifies to destroy all the truths and goods of the church; "the earth" meaning the church; "kingdoms" its truths; "world" its goods; and "wilderness" where these are not. "To destroy its cities" signifies its doctrinals, "city" signifying doctrine. The adulteration of the Word, whereby doctrine and thus the church is destroyed, is here signified by "Babylon. "

[6] In the same:

Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the triumphing city; for the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken. The height and the watchtower shall be over the caves forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks (Isaiah 32:13, 14).

"Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn of the briar" signifies the falsity of evil in the church; "the thorn of the briar" meaning the falsity of evil, and "land" the church. "Upon all the houses of joy in the triumphing city" signifies where the goods and truths of the doctrine from the Word have been received with affection. But what is signified by "the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken, the height and the watchtower shall be over the caves, a joy of wild asses, and a pasture for flocks," may be seen above n. 410, where it is explained.

[7] In the same:

At My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a wilderness, their fish shall rot because there is no water, and shall die for thirst (Isaiah 50:2).

"To make the rivers into a wilderness," signifies to deprive the understanding of truths, thus to deprive man of intelligence. (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 342 In Jeremiah:

I saw, and lo, Carmel was a wilderness, and all the cities were desolate before Jehovah; the whole land shall be a waste (Jeremiah 4:26, 27).

"Carmel" signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good; that this was a "wilderness" signifies that there were in it no truths from good; "cities which were desolate" signify doctrinals without truths; "the whole land a waste" signifies a church destitute of good and consequently of truths.

[8] In the same:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden down My field, they have made the field of My desire a wilderness of solitude. Devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land to the other end of it (Jeremiah 12:10, 12).

The total destruction of the truths and goods of the church by falsities from evil is signified by "they have destroyed the vineyard, trodden down the field, made the field of desire a wilderness of solitude; and devastators are come upon all the hills in the wilderness, for the sword of Jehovah devoureth;" "vineyard and field" signify the church in respect to truth and good; "field of desire" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; and "wilderness of solitude" where these are not; "devastators in the wilderness" signify evils because of the absence of truths; "the sword of Jehovah devoureth" signifies falsity destroying; "from one end of the land to the other end of the land" signifies all things of the church.

[9] In Lamentations:

We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness (Lamentations 5:9).

"To get bread with the peril of souls" signifies the difficulty and danger in acquiring the truths of life from the Word; "because of the sword of the wilderness" signifies because the falsity of evil prevails in the church and falsifies truths and thus destroys them.

[10] In Ezekiel:

The vine is now planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst (Ezekiel 19:13).

"Vine" signifies the church, which in the beginning of this chapter is called "a mother who became a lioness;" this is said "to be planted in the wilderness" when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good; "a land of drought" means where there is no good, but evil instead, and a "land of thirst" means where there is no truth, but falsity instead.

[11] In Hosea:

Strive with your mother that she may put away her whoredoms from her faces, lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth, and make her as a wilderness, and set her as a land of drought, and slay her with thirst (Hosea 2:2, 3).

This is said of the church that has falsified the truths of the Word; "mother" means the church, and "whoredoms" the falsifications of truth; "to strip her naked and set her as in the day of her birth" signifies to deprive the church of all truth, as it was before it was reformed; "wilderness" and "land of drought" signify a church without good; and "to slay with thirst" signifies a deprivation of truth; "thirst" is predicated of truths, because "water," which is thirsted for, means truth, and "drought" is predicated of the want of good, because it is a result of scorching.

[12] In the same:

He is fierce among the brethren; an east wind shall come, the wind of Jehovah, coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up (Hosea 13:15).

This is said of Ephraim, by whom the understanding of the Word is meant, and this is called "fierce among the brethren" when it eagerly defends falsities, and combats for them against truths; "an east wind, the wind of Jehovah," signifies the ardor of desire from a love for and pride in the destruction of truths; this is said "to come up from the wilderness" when it is from an understanding in which there are no truths from good, but only falsities from evil; such an understanding is a "wilderness" because it is empty and void; that by such ardor and pride everything of doctrine and of the Word is destroyed is signified by "his spring shall become dry and his fountain shall be dried up," "spring" meaning doctrine, and "fountain" the Word.

[13] In Joel:

O Jehovah, to thee do I cry, because the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field; for the beasts of the field pant after Thee, for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness (Joel 1:19, 20).

"The fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field" signifies that the love of self and the pride of self-intelligence have consumed all the perception of good and all the understanding of the truth of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word, "fire" signifying the love of self, "flame" the pride of self-intelligence, "the habitations of the wilderness" the goods of doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word, and "the trees of the field" the knowledges of its truth. The sense of the letter of the Word is called a "wilderness" when it is merely understood naturally, thus according to appearances, and not at the same time spiritually, or according to the genuine sense. "The beasts of the field pant after Thee" signifies the lamentations of those who are natural and yet have a desire for truths; that "beasts" signify the affections of the natural man may be seen above n. 650; "for the streams of waters are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the habitations of the wilderness" signifies that consequently there are no longer any truths and goods of life.

[14] In the same:

The day of Jehovah cometh; a fire consumeth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth; the land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness, and nothing escaped him (Joel 2:1, 3).

"The day of Jehovah" means the end of the church, called the consummation of the age, and the Lord's coming at that time. That at the end of the church the love of self and the consequent pride of self-intelligence consume all its goods and truths is signified by "a fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame kindleth," "fire" signifying the love of self, and "flame" the pride of self-intelligence, as above. "The land is as the garden of Eden before him, but behind him a wilderness of wasteness," signifies that in the beginning, when that church was established with the ancients, there was an understanding of truth from good, but at its end falsity from evil; "the garden of Eden" signifying the understanding of truth from good and the consequent wisdom, and "wilderness of wasteness" signifying no understanding of truth from good, and consequent insanity from falsities that are from evil; "nothing escaped him" signifies that there is nothing whatever of truth from good.

[15] In Isaiah:

The land mourneth, it languisheth, Lebanon blusheth, it hath withered away, Sharon is become like a desert, Bashan is shaken out, and Carmel (Isaiah 33:9).

This, too, describes the devastation of good and the desolation of truth in the church. "Lebanon" signifies the church in respect to a rational understanding of good and truth; "Sharon," "Bashan," and "Carmel," the church in respect to the knowledges of good and truth from the natural sense of the Word; the devastation and abandonment of these is signified by "mourning," "languishing," "withering away," and "becoming like a desert," the "desert" meaning where there is no truth because there is no good.

[16] In Jeremiah:

Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land mourneth on account of cursing, the pastures of the wilderness are dried up (Jeremiah 23:10).

"The land full of adulterers" signifies the church which has its goods and truths from the Word adulterated; the "curse" on account of which the land mourneth, signifies all the evil of life and falsity of doctrine; and "the pastures of the wilderness that are dried up" signify the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; "pastures" meaning such knowledges because they nourish the mind, and "wilderness" signifies the Word when it is adulterated.

[17] In David:

Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and the springs of water into dryness, a land of fruit into saltiness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein (Psalms 107:33, 34).

"The rivers that are made into a wilderness" signify intelligence from the understanding of truth and also of the Word in its interior sense, that has been devastated by falsities from evil; "rivers" meaning such things as belong to intelligence, and "wilderness" where these things are absent, and in their place are the falsities from evil. "The springs of water that are turned into dryness" signify that the lowest things of the understanding, which are called the knowledges of truth and good, have no light of truth or spiritual affection for it; "waters" signifying truths; "dryness" deprivation of these from the absence of light and affection, and "springs" the ultimates of truth, like the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. "The land of fruit that shall be made into saltiness" signifies the good of love and of life deeply vastated by falsities; "saltiness" meaning the devastation of truth by falsities; and as all devastation by falsities comes from the evil of the life it is added, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. "

[18] In Jeremiah:

Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled, upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness, whence thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and thy wickedness (Jeremiah 3:2).

This describes the adulteration and falsification of the Word, which are signified by "being defiled and committing whoredom;" so "Lift up thine eyes unto the hills, and see where thou hast been defiled," signifies to give thought to the knowledges of truth and good in the Word, that they have been adulterated; "to lift up the eyes" signifies to give thought, "hills" signify those knowledges because the groves and trees that are upon them signify knowledges; "hills" signify also the goods of charity which are so destroyed; "upon the ways hast thou sat as an Arabian in the wilderness" signifies to lie in wait, lest any truth should come forth and be received; "ways" meaning the truths of the church; "to sit in them" meaning to lie in wait, and "an Arabian in the wilderness" meaning one who kills and plunders like a robber in the wilderness. "Thou hast profaned the land with thy whoredoms and wickedness" signifies the falsification of the truths of the Word by evils that have come to be of the life.

[19] In the same:

O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness? (Jeremiah 2:31)

That every good of life and truth of doctrine is taught in the Word, and not the evil of life and the falsity of doctrine, is meant by "see ye the Word of Jehovah; have I been a wilderness to Israel? have I been a land of darkness?"

[20] In Joel:

Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a waste wilderness, because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed in their land (Joel 3:19).

"Egypt" and "Edom" signify the natural man that has perverted the truths and goods of the Word; that it is to be so destroyed as to see only such things as serve for confirmation is signified by "Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a waste wilderness;" that this will be because of the adulteration of every good and truth in the Word is signified by "because of the violence to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they have shed;" "violence to the sons of Judah" signifying the adulteration of the Word in respect to good, and "shedding innocent blood" the adulteration of the Word in respect to its truths. (That "Judah" signifies the celestial church, and also the Word, see above, n. 211, 433; and that "shedding innocent blood" signifies to do violence to Divine truth, thus to adulterate the truth of the Word, n. 329.) The adulteration of the Word is effected by the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man when these are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and the natural man becomes a "waste" and a "wilderness" when his knowledges are used to confirm falsity and evil; "Egypt" signifies such knowledges, and "Edom" the pride that falsifies by means of these.

[21] In Malachi:

Esau I hated, and made his mountains a waste and his heritage for the dragons of the wilderness (Malachi 1:3).

"Esau" signifies the love of the natural man; "his mountains" signify the evils from that love, and "his heritage" signifies the falsities from those evils, and "the dragons of the desert" signify mere falsifications from which these come.

[22] Because with the Jewish nation all things of the Word had been adulterated, and there was no longer any truth because there was no good, John the Baptist was "in the wilderness," and this represented the state of that church, respecting which it is written in the Gospels:

John the Baptist was in the wilderness till the days of his appearing unto Israel (Luke 1:80).

That he preached in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 3:2, 4, 5);

and in Isaiah:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make level in the solitude a highway for our God (Isaiah 40:3).

So also the Lord says of "Jerusalem," which means the church in respect to doctrine:

Your house is left deserted (Luke 13:35).

"A house deserted" signifies the church that is without truths because it is without good. But what is signified by the following in Matthew:

If they say unto you, Lo, Christ is in the wilderness, go not forth; if in the secret chambers, believe not (Matthew 24:26);

may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 3900); for "Christ" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth, consequently in relation to the Word and to doctrine from the Word, and "false Christs," of whom this is said, signify the falsities of doctrine from the truths of the Word falsified. From the passages that have been cited from the Word it can be seen that "wilderness" means the church in which there are no truths because there is no good, consequently in which there is falsity because there is evil; for where there is no truth and good, there is falsity and evil; the two cannot exist together, and this is meant by the Lord's words, that "no one can serve two masters."

[23] 2. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of the church with the Gentiles that have been in ignorance of truth, and yet have been in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have desired truths, as can be seen from the passages in the Word that treat of the church that is to be established among the Gentiles. In Isaiah:

The spirit shall be poured out upon you ¹ from on high; then the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field (Isaiah 32:15, 16).

This is said of those who are in natural good, and are being reformed; influx out of heaven into such is signified by "the spirit shall be poured out upon you ² from on high;" that truth from a spiritual origin will then be implanted in them is signified by "the wilderness shall be a fruitful field;" "wilderness" meaning the natural man destitute of truths, and "fruitful field" (or land of harvest) the natural man made fruitful by truths. That in consequence the natural man will have a knowledge [scientia] of the cognitions of truth and good is signified by "the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest;" "forest" is predicated of the natural man as "garden" is of the spiritual, therefore a "forest" signifies knowledge and a "garden" intelligence; that in consequence there will be in the natural man that which is right and just is signified by "judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall abide in the fruitful field;" "judgment" and "justice" signify in the spiritual sense truth and good, but in the natural sense that which is right and just.

[24] In the same:

I will open rivers on the heights, and fountains will I place in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; I will give in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree (Isaiah 41:18, 19).

This, too, is said of the reformation and enlightenment of the Gentiles; and "to open rivers upon the heights and to place fountains in the midst of the valleys" signifies to give intelligence from spiritual truths and from natural truths; "rivers upon the heights" signifying intelligence from spiritual truths, and "fountains in the midst of valleys" intelligence from natural truths; "to make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters" signifies to fill the spiritual and the natural man with truths where before there were no truths; the spiritual man in which there were no truths is meant by "wilderness," since hitherto there had been no truth in it; and the natural man in which there was no truth is meant by "dry land," since hitherto there had been no spiritual influx into it; that the spiritual man will have truths in abundance is meant by "a pool of waters," and that the natural man will have truths in abundance is meant by the "springs of waters." "To set in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, the myrtle, and the oil tree" signifies to give rational truths and a perception of them, and "to set in the solitude the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree," signifies in like manner natural truths, which are knowledges and cognitions with the understanding of them; the "cedar" meaning higher rational truth; the "myrtle" lower rational truth; "oil tree" perception of good and thus of truth; "fir tree" the higher natural truth; the "pine" lower natural truth; and "box tree" the understanding of good and truth in the natural man.

[25] In David:

He maketh the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a springing forth of waters; and there He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may build a city of habitation (Psalms 107:35, 36).

This, likewise, is said of the enlightenment of the Gentiles. "To make the wilderness into a pool of waters" has a similar signification as just above; "and there He maketh the hungry to dwell" signifies for the sake of those who desire truths; these are meant by "the hungry and famished" in the Word; "that they may build a city of habitation" signifies that out of truths they may make for themselves a doctrine of life, "city" meaning doctrine, and "to inhabit" meaning to live.

[26] In Isaiah:

Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it shall spring forth; I will even place a way in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude; the wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:19, 20).

This, too, is said of the New Church to be established by the Lord among the Gentiles. The "wilderness" signifies the state of the church with those who are ignorant of truth, and yet have a desire to know it. But what the particulars signify in the spiritual sense may be seen explained above n. 518.

[27] In the same:

Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness as Eden, and her solitude like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness will be found therein, confession and the voice of singing (Isaiah 51:3).

This, also, is said of the New Church among the Gentiles that will acknowledge the Lord; that church is meant by "Zion," and its establishment and the reformation of the Gentiles by "comforting;" "the wilderness that shall be made as Eden and the solitude like the garden of Jehovah" signifies wisdom and intelligence from love to the Lord that those have who before had no understanding of truth and no perception of good. (But this may be seen explained above, n. 721)

[28] In David:

The habitations of the wilderness drop, and the hills gird themselves with exultation; the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn (Psalms 65:12, 13).

This, also, is said of the church among the Gentiles. "The habitations of the wilderness drop" signifies that their minds that before have been in ignorance of truth acknowledge and receive truths; "to drop" is predicated of the influx, acknowledgment and reception of truth; "habitations" are predicated of the interiors of man which belong to his mind, and "wilderness" is predicated of a state of the ignorance of truth. "The hills gird themselves with exultation" signifies that the goods in them receive truths with joy of heart; "the meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn," signifies that both the spiritual mind and the natural mind receive truths suitable to themselves; "meadows" signifying such things as belong to the spiritual mind and thus to the rational mind, and "valleys" such as belong to the natural mind; "flock" spiritual truth, and "corn" natural truth.

[29] In Isaiah:

Let them sing praise, the end of the earth, those that go down to the sea, and its fullness, the islands and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up the voice, the villages that Arabia doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them cry out from the head of the mountains (Isaiah 42:10, 11).

This is said of a church with those who were remote from the truths of the church because they were natural and sensual; their state of ignorance is meant by the "wilderness," and their joy from the preaching and the knowledge of truth is signified by "singing praise and lifting up the voice." (The rest may be seen explained above, n. 406)

[30] Since the state of ignorance of truth, in which the Gentiles have been, is signified by a "wilderness," and the desire for truth by "hunger," and instruction by the Lord by "feeding," it came to pass that the Lord withdrew into the wilderness, and there taught the multitude that sought Him, and afterwards fed them. (That this took place in the wilderness can be seen in Matthew 14:13-22; 15:32-38; Mark 6:31-34; 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17.) For all things that the Lord did and all things connected with Him were representative because they were correspondences, so also were these things. From these and the passages cited above it is evident that a "wilderness" signifies an uncultivated and uninhabited state with man, thus a state not yet made vital from what is spiritual, consequently, as applied to the church, a state not vivified by means of truths; thus it signifies such a religious principle as the Gentiles had, which was almost empty and void, because they did not have the Word where truths are, and thence did not know the Lord who teaches truths; and as they did not have truths, their good also could be no otherwise than such as the truth was with them, for good is like its truth, because one is of the other. From this it can be seen what "wilderness" signifies where the Gentiles are treated of, namely, where there is no truth and yet a desire for it that their good may be vivified.

[31] 3. Again, "wilderness" signifies the state of those who are in temptations, because in them truths and goods are shut in by the falsities and evils that come forth and are presented to the mind. This can be seen from the wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years; for this represented every state of temptations into which those come who are being regenerated, and of whom the church is to consist. Every man is born natural, and lives naturally until he becomes rational; and when he has become rational he can be led by the Lord and become spiritual; and this is effected by the implanting of the knowledges of truth from the Word, and at the same time by the opening of the spiritual mind which receives the things of heaven, and by calling forth these knowledges and elevating them out of the natural man and conjoining them with the spiritual affection of truth. This opening and conjunction is possible only through temptations, because in temptations man fights interiorly against the falsities and evils that are in the natural man. In a word, man is introduced into the church and becomes a church through temptations. This was represented by the wandering and leading about of the sons of Israel in the wilderness. The state of the natural man before he is regenerated was represented by their sojourning in the land of Egypt, for "the land of Egypt" signified the natural man and its knowledges and cognitions, together with the cupidities and appetites that reside in it (as can be seen from what has been said and shown above respecting Egypt, n. 654. But the spiritual state, which is the state of the church with man, was represented by the introduction of the sons of Israel into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church with its truths and goods, together with its affections, and delights, which reside in such a man; while the reformation and regeneration of man before from being natural he becomes spiritual and thus a church, was represented by their wanderings and journeyings in the wilderness forty years.

[32] That this is so, and that "the wilderness" signified a state of temptations, can be seen in Moses:

Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, and know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no; and He afflicted thee and made thee to hunger, and made thee to eat manna, which thou knewest not neither did thy fathers know; that He might teach thee that man doth not live by bread only, but by all that goeth forth from the mouth of Jehovah doth man live; thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, and thy foot swelled not, these forty years (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).

In the same:

In the wilderness which thou sawest, Jehovah thy God bare thee as a man doth bear his son. He went before you in the way, to seek for you a place in which ye might encamp, in fire by night to show you the way, and in the cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:31, 33).

In the same:

Jehovah, who led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent and of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters; who brought thee forth waters out of the rock of flint, and fed thee with manna in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee and try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16).

In the same:

Jehovah found Jacob in a land of wilderness, in an emptiness, a howling, a solitude; He led him about, He instructed him, He guarded him as the pupil of the eye (Deuteronomy 32:10).

The particulars here mentioned, and all the particulars related in the book of Exodus respecting the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, from their going forth from Egypt to their entrance into the land of Canaan, depict the temptations that the faithful encounter before they become spiritual, that is before the goods of love and charity with their truths are implanted, which constitute the church with man.

[33] He who knows what spiritual temptations are knows that when a man is in them he is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell; he knows, too, that the Lord with man fights against temptations from the interior; as also that He sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven; that the natural man loathes these; that nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is thus subdued and as it were dies; and that he is thus brought into subjection to the spiritual man; and that man is thus reformed and regenerated and introduced into the church. All this is involved in what is related respecting the sons of Israel in the wilderness. But to make clear that this is meant it is allowed to explain some of the particulars in the passages quoted.

[34] 1. That man in temptations is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell is meant by "Jehovah led thee through the great and fearful wilderness of the serpent, of the fiery serpent, of the scorpion, and of thirst, where there were no waters;" "the great and fearful wilderness" signifies grievous temptations; "the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion," signify evils and falsities with their persuasions coming forth from the sensual and natural man; "serpents" meaning evils therefrom, "fiery serpents" falsities therefrom, and "scorpions" persuasions; "thirst where there were no waters" signifies a lack and shutting off of truth. The above is meant also by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, that He might know what was in thine heart."

[35] 2. That the Lord with man fights against evils and falsities that are from hell is signified by "Jehovah found Jacob in a wilderness, in emptiness, a howling, a solitude, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye;" also by "He bare him as a man doth bear his son;" also by "He went before them in fire by night and in the cloud by day."

3. That the Lord sustains man in the meantime with spiritual food and drink, which are the goods and truths of heaven, is signified by "He fed them with manna, He brought them forth waters out of the rock of flint, and He led them and instructed them;" "manna" meaning the good of celestial love, and "waters out of the rock of flint" the truths of that good from the Lord.

4. That in temptations the natural man loathes those things is meant by the sons of Israel so often complaining of the manna, and lusting after the food of Egypt; therefore it is here said, "Jehovah afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna."

[36] 5. That nevertheless the natural man with his lusts is subdued and as it were dies and becomes subject to the spiritual man, was represented by the death in the wilderness of all those that went forth out of Egypt and desired to return thither, and refused to enter into the land of Canaan, and that their children were brought into that land. That this represented and signified such things can be known and seen only from the spiritual sense.

6. That after temptations man becomes spiritual, and is brought into the church, and through the church into heaven, was represented by their being brought into the land of Canaan, for "the land of Canaan" signified the church, and also heaven; and this is signified by "Jehovah afflicted thee and tried thee, to do thee good in thy latter end."

Their spiritual life is described by Jehovah's teaching them that "man doth not live by bread only, but by everything going forth from the mouth of Jehovah." That "their raiment waxed not old and their foot swelled not" signifies that the natural man was not injured by these afflictions, for "raiment" signifies the truths of the natural man, and the "foot" the natural man itself. Moreover "forty," whether years or days, signifies the entire duration of temptations (See above, n. 633).

[37] Like things are involved in these words in David:

They wandered in the wilderness in loneliness of life, ¹ they found no city of habitation, hungry and thirsty; when their soul was disheartened in the way, they cried to Jehovah. He led them in a way of straightness, ² that they might go to a city of habitation (Psalms 107:4-7).

This was said in general of those who have been redeemed, and in particular of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, and these words describe the temptations of those who are being regenerated by the Lord. "The city of habitation which they found not" signifies the doctrine of life which constitutes the church in man; and as the church is formed in man by a life according to doctrine, when temptations have been passed through, it is said that "Jehovah led them in a way of straightness that they might go to a city of habitation;" the lack of truth even to despair, and yet desire for it, is signified by "they were hungry and thirsty, so that their soul was disheartened in the way."

[38] In Jeremiah:

I remembered thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness. They said not, Where is Jehovah, who made us to come up out of the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in the land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and of dense shade, in a land through which no man [vir] passed, and where no man [homo] dwelt? And I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof (Jeremiah 2:2, 6, 7).

The "youth" and "love of espousals" that Jehovah remembered signify the state of man's reformation and regeneration, when from being natural he becomes spiritual; because man is thereby conjoined to the Lord, and as it were espoused to Him, this is what is meant by the "love of espousals;" and because this is effected through temptations it is said, "When thou wentest after Me in the wilderness;" the state of temptations is described by "He led me in the wilderness, in a land of solitude and of the pit, in a land of drought and dense shade;" "wilderness" signifying that state; "land of solitude and of the pit" signifying that state in respect to the evils and falsities that come forth, and the "land of drought and dense shade" signifying the perception of good and the understanding of truth obscured. The state of man after temptations is described by "I led you into a land of grain, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof," which signifies to be brought into the church in which are the truths of doctrine, by means of which the good of love and of charity are appropriated; "land" signifying the church; "the land of grain" the church in respect to the truths of doctrine; "to eat" to appropriate; "fruit" the good of love, and "good" the good of charity and of life.

[39] In Ezekiel:

I will lead you out from the peoples, and will gather you from the lands, and I will lead you into a wilderness of peoples, and I will plead with you there face to face, even as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt; then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant (Ezekiel 20:34-37).

Here again "wilderness" stands for a state of temptations, which state is called "a wilderness of peoples" and "the wilderness of the land of Egypt," because the state of the natural man before regeneration is meant, which is a wilderness and a solitude because there are then no goods and truths in it, but only evils and falsities; but when falsities and evils have been exterminated therefrom, and truths and goods have been implanted in their place, from being a wilderness it becomes "Lebanon" and a "garden." "To plead with them in the wilderness face to face" signifies to show them to the life of what quality they are and in a way that they acknowledge it; for in temptations man's evils and falsities come forth and appear; "face to face" means to the life and so as to be acknowledged. That after man has endured hard things, conjunction with the Lord, which is reformation, takes place, is signified by "then will I cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant;" "to cause to pass under the rod" meaning to endure hard things, and "the bond of the covenant" meaning conjunction with the Lord.

[40] In Hosea:

I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she went after her lovers. Therefore behold, I will bring you ³ into the wilderness, and afterwards I will speak upon her heart, and I will give her her vineyards thence, and the valley of Achor for an entrance of hope, and she shall make answer there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt; and in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and shalt no more call Me, my Baal (Hosea 2:13-16).

The "Baalim" and "lovers," after whom she went, signify the things that belong to the natural man and are loved, namely, cupidities and falsities therefrom; that these must be removed by means of temptations is signified by "I will bring you ³ into the wilderness;" that afterwards there will be consolation is signified by "afterwards I will speak upon her heart;" that they will then have spiritual and natural truths is signified by "I will give her vineyards thence and the valley of Achor." That afterwards they will have influx of good out of heaven and consequent joy, as those had who were of the ancient churches and who from natural had become spiritual, is signified by "she shall make answer or sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt," "days of youth" signifying the times of the ancient church, and "according to the days of her coming up out of Egypt," signifying when from natural they became spiritual. Conjunction with the Lord at that time through the affections of truth, when the cupidities from the natural man have been rejected, is signified by "in that day thou shalt call Me, my Husband, and thou shalt no more call Me, my Baal."

[41] As a "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty," whether years or days, their whole duration from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were the most direful of all, and which He sustained from childhood to the passion of the cross, are signified by the temptations of the forty days in the desert, which are thus described in the Gospels:

Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil; and when He had fasted forty days and forty nights He afterwards hungered; and the tempter drew near unto Him (Matthew 4:1-3; Luke 4:1-3).

The spirit urging Jesus caused Him to go out into the wilderness; and He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted, and He was with the beasts (Mark 1:12, 13).

This does not mean that the Lord was tempted by the devil only forty days, and at the end of these, but that He was tempted throughout His whole life even to the last, when He endured direful anguish of heart in Gethsemane and afterwards the dreadful passion of the cross; for by means of the temptations admitted into the human that He had from the mother, the Lord subjugated all the hells, and at the same time glorified His Human. (But of these temptations of the Lord see what is written in the Arcana Coelestia, and collected therefrom in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.201.) All these temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, since the "wilderness" signifies a state of temptations, and "forty days and forty nights" the whole duration of these. No more was written respecting these in the Gospels because no more was revealed respecting them; nevertheless in the prophets, and especially in the psalms of David, they are described at length. "The beasts" with which the Lord is said to have been, signify the infernal societies; and "fasting" signifies here such affliction as there is in the combats of temptation.

[42] 4. Again, "wilderness" also signifies hell, because that is called a wilderness where there is no harvest or habitation, likewise where there are wild beasts, serpents, and dragons, which signify where there is no truth of doctrine or good of life, consequently where there are lusts from evil loves, and falsities therefrom of every kind; and as these are in hell and the former in a wilderness, so from correspondences the "wilderness" also signifies hell. Moreover, the natural man with everyone, so long as it is separated from the spiritual, as it is before regeneration, is a hell, because all the hereditary evil into which man is born resides in his natural man, and is not cast out from it, that is, removed, except by the influx of Divine truth through heaven from the Lord; and this influx into the natural man can come only through the spiritual, for the natural man is in the world and the spiritual in heaven; therefore the spiritual man must be opened before the hell that is in the natural man can be removed by the Lord out of heaven.

[43] How this is removed was represented by the he-goat called Azazel that was cast out into the desert; for the "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to his affections and knowledges, and in the contrary sense in respect to his cupidities and falsities. Of this he-goat we read thus in Moses:

That Aaron should take two he-goats and cast lots upon them, one for the he-goat to be sacrificed, the other for Azazel; and after he had expiated the Tent of meeting and the altar with the blood of the sacrificed bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat, he should lay his hands upon the head of the he-goat Azazel, and should confess upon it the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel; which he shall put upon the head of the he-goat, and afterwards should send him by the hand of a man appointed into the wilderness. So the he-goat shall bear upon him all the iniquities of the sons of Israel into the land cut off and into the wilderness; and the skin, the flesh, and the dung of the bullock and of the sacrificed he-goat should be burned in the wilderness; thus should they be expiated and cleansed from all their sins (Leviticus 16:5-34).

These things were commanded to represent expiation, that is, purification from evils and falsities. Two he-goats were taken to represent this, because a "he-goat" from correspondence signifies the natural man; the he-goat that was to be sacrificed represented the natural man in reference to the part purified, and the he-goat that was to be sent into the wilderness the natural man not purified. And as the natural man swarms with cupidities and uncleanness of every kind, as has been said above, therefore that he-goat was sent out of the camp into a land cut off and into the wilderness that he might bear away the iniquities and sins of all in that church; "the land cut off and the wilderness" signifying hell. Aaron laying his hands upon its head and confessing the sins represented communication and transference, for this is done when man is purified or expiated from sins, for the sins are then sent down to hell, and the affections of good and truth are implanted in their place; these were represented in part by the fat sacrificed from the bullock and from the other he-goat, also by their blood, and especially by the burnt offering from the ram (respecting which see verses 5-24 in the same chapter) Leviticus 16:5-24, for the "ram" from correspondence signifies the natural man in respect to the good of charity. But it is to be known that the Israelitish people were not in the least purified from their sins by this, but the purification of the natural man when he was being regenerated was thus merely represented. All things of man's regeneration were represented by such external things, especially by sacrifices; and this was done for the sake of the conjunction of heaven with that church through the externals of worship, the internals that the externals represented being seen in the heavens. Who cannot see that the sins of the whole congregation could not be transferred to a he-goat and borne by him to hell? From this it is evident what is signified by "wilderness" in its various senses.

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