In accordance with the plan
adopted it is now necessary to explain, as a preface to this chapter,
what the Lord taught concerning the Last Judgment, or the last times
of the church, in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. Before
the preceding chapter of Genesis there was explained what is
contained in this chapter of Matthew from verse 19 to 22. Now
follows what is contained in verses 23 to 28.
Then if any man shall say
unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there, believe it not. For there
shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall give great
signs and wonders, to lead astray if possible even the elect. Behold
I have told you before. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold
He is in the desert, go not out; Behold He is in the inner chambers,
believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth out of the east
and appeareth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles
be gathered together (Matt. 24:23-28).
What these words involve no one
can know except from the internal sense-as that false Christs shall
arise who shall give signs and wonders; and that if men should say
that Christ is in the desert, they should not go out; and that if they
should say that He is in the inner chambers, they should not believe
it; and that the coming of the Son of man shall be as the lightning
which cometh forth from the east and appeareth even unto the west; and
also that wheresoever the carcass is, there also will the eagles be
gathered together. These things, like those which precede and that
follow in this chapter, seem not to stand in any series as to the
sense of the letter; but yet in the internal sense they are in a most
beautiful series, which first becomes apparent when it is understood
what is signified by "false Christs;" what by "signs and wonders;"
what by the "desert" and the "inner chambers;" also what by the
"coming of the Son of man;" and lastly what by the "carcass" and the
"eagles."
[2] The reason why the Lord spoke
in this manner was in order that the people might not understand the
Word, lest they should profane it; for when the church has been
vastated, as it then was with the Jews, if men understood it they
would profane it; wherefore for the same reason the Lord also spoke by
parables, as He Himself teaches in Matthew (13:13-15; Mark
4:11, 12; Luke 8:10). For the Word cannot be profaned by those
who do not know its mysteries; but by those who do (see n. 301-303,
593, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 3398, 3402); and more by
those who appear to themselves learned than by those who seem to
themselves unlearned.
[3] But the reason why the
interiors of the Word are now being opened, is that the church at this
day has been so far vastated (that is, is so devoid of faith and love)
that although men know and understand, still they do not acknowledge,
and much less believe (see n. 3398, 3399), except a few who are in the
life of good and are called the "elect," who can now be instructed,
and with whom a New Church is to be instituted. But where these are,
the Lord alone knows; there will be few within the church; it has been
among the Gentiles that previous new churches have been set up (see n.
2986).
In what precedes in this
chapter of Matthew the successive vastation of the church has been
treated of-that they should first begin no longer to know what good
and truth are, but should dispute about them; next that they should
despise them; thirdly that they should not acknowledge them; and
fourthly that they should profane them (see n. 3754). The subject now
treated of is the state of the church in respect to its quality at
that time as to doctrine in general, and with those specifically who
are in holy external worship, but in profane internal worship; that
is, who with the mouth profess the Lord with holy reverence, but at
heart worship themselves and the world, so that with them the worship
of the Lord is a means of gaining honors and wealth. Insofar as these
persons have acknowledged the Lord, and the heavenly life and faith,
so far do they profane them when they become of such a character. This
state of the church is now treated of, as may better appear from the
internal sense of the Lord's words quoted above, which is as follows.
Then if any man shall say
unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there; believe it not;
signifies an exhortation to
beware of their doctrine. "The Christ" is the Lord as to Divine truth,
and hence as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word. That here
the contrary is meant, namely, Divine truth falsified, or the doctrine
of falsity is evident. (That "Jesus" is Divine good, and "Christ"
Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 3004, 3005, 3008, 3009.)
[2] For there shall arise
false Christs and false prophets;
signifies the falsities of that
doctrine. That "false Christs" are doctrinal things from the Word
falsified, or truths not Divine, is manifest from what has been said
just above (see also n. 3010, 3732 at the end); and that "false
prophets" are those who teach such falsities (n. 2534). In the
Christian world they who teach falsities are especially those who have
as their end their own pre-eminence, and the riches of the world; for
they pervert the truths of the Word in their own favor; for when the
love of self and of the world is the end, nothing else is thought of.
These are "false Christs and false prophets."
[3] And they shall give
great signs and wonders;
signifies things that confirm and
persuade from external appearances and fallacies, by which the simple
suffer themselves to be led astray. That this is "giving signs and
wonders," will of the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.
[4] To lead astray if
possible even the elect;
signifies those who are in the
life of good and truth, and are consequently with the Lord. These are
they who in the Word are called the "elect." In the company of those
who veil over profane worship with what is holy, such are rarely seen;
or if seen, they are not known; for the Lord hides them, and thus
protects them. For before they have been confirmed they suffer
themselves to be easily led away by external sanctities; but after
they have been confirmed they remain steadfast, being kept by the Lord
in the company of angels, without knowing it; and it is then
impossible for them to be led astray by that wicked crew.
[5] Behold, I have told
you before;
signifies an exhortation to
prudence, that is, to beware; for they are among false prophets, who
appear in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves (Matt.
7:15). The "false prophets" are the sons of the age, who are more
prudent in their generation (that is, more crafty) than the sons of
light (as described in Luke 16:8). For which reason the Lord exhorts
them in the words, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents and simple as doves"
(Matt. 10:16).
[6] If therefore they
shall say unto you, Behold He is in the desert, go not forth; Behold
He is in the inner chambers, believe it not;
signifies that what they say
about truth, and what they say about good, as well as many other
things, are not to be believed. That this is what is signified, no one
can see except the man who is acquainted with the internal sense. That
a mystery is contained in these words may be known from the fact that
the Lord spoke them, and that without any other sense more interiorly
hidden the words amount to nothing-namely, that if they should say
that the Christ was in the desert they were not to go forth; and if
they should say that He was in the inner chambers, they were not to
believe it. But it is vastated truth that is signified by the
"desert;" and vastated good by the "inner chambers," or secret
recesses. The reason why vastated truth is signified by the "desert,"
is that when the church is vastated (that is, when there is no longer
any Divine truth in it, because there is no longer any good, or love
to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor), it is then said to be a
"desert," or to be in a "desert;" for by a "desert" or "wilderness" is
meant whatever is not cultivated or inhabited (n. 2708); also whatever
has little life (n. 1927), as is then the case with truth in the
church. This shows that the "desert" here is a church in which there
is no truth.
[7] But the "inner chambers," or
secret recesses, in the internal sense signify the church as to good,
and also simply good. The church that is in good is called the "house
of God." The "inner chambers," and the things within the house, are
goods. (That the "house of God" is Divine good; and a "house" in
general, the good of love and charity, may be seen above, n. 2233,
2234, 2559, 3142, 3652, 3720.) The reason why that which men say about
truth, and what they say about good, is not to be believed, is that
they call falsity truth, and evil good; for they who regard themselves
and the world as their end, understand nothing else by truth and good
than that they themselves are to be adored, and are to receive
benefits; and if they breathe forth piety, it is that they may appear
in sheep's clothing.
[8] Moreover, as the Word spoken
by the Lord contains innumerable things within it, and as "desert" or
"wilderness" is a word of wide signification, for all that is called a
"wilderness" which is not cultivated and inhabited, and all interior
things are called "inner chambers," therefore by a "desert" is also
signified the Word of the Old Testament, because this is regarded as
abrogated; and by "inner chambers" the Word of the New Testament,
because this teaches interior things, or those which concern the
internal man. So also the whole Word is called a "desert," because it
no longer serves for doctrinal things; and human institutions are
called "inner chambers," which, because they depart from the precepts
and institutes of the Word, make the Word to be a "desert." This is
also known in the Christian world; for they who are in holy external
and in profane internal worship, for the sake of innovations which
look to their pre-eminence over all and their opulence above all as
the ends in view, abrogate the Word, and this so far as not even to
permit it to be read by others. And although they who are not in such
profane worship hold the Word to be holy, and permit it to be among
the people, they nevertheless bend and explain all things therein in
favor of their doctrinal matters, which causes the rest of what is in
the Word, and which is not in accordance with their doctrinal matters,
to be a "desert."
This may be sufficiently evident
from the case of those who make salvation to consist in faith alone,
and hold in contempt the works of charity. All that the Lord Himself
has spoken in the New Testament, and so many times in the Old,
concerning love and charity, they make as a "desert;" and all the
things that belong to faith without works, they make as "inner
chambers." It is manifest from this what is signified by the words,
"If they say unto you, Behold He is in the desert, go not forth;
Behold He is in the inner chambers, believe it not."
[9] For as the lightning
cometh forth from the east, and appeareth even unto the west, so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be;
signifies that it was with the
internal worship of the Lord as with lightning, which is instantly
dissipated. For by the "lightning" is signified that which is of
heavenly light, and thus that which is preached about love and faith,
because these are of heavenly light. In the supreme sense the "east"
is the Lord; and in the internal sense, the good of love, of charity,
and of faith from the Lord (see n. 101, 1250, 3249). But the "west" in
the internal sense is that which has gone down or has ceased to be;
thus it signifies no acknowledgment of the Lord, nor of the good of
love, charity, and faith; and so the lightning that cometh out of the
east and appeareth even unto the west denotes dissipation. The coming
of the Lord is not according to the letter, that He is to appear again
in the world; but it is His presence in everyone; and this exists
whenever the gospel is preached and what is holy is thought of.
[10] For wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together;
signifies that confirmations of
falsity by means of reasonings will be multiplied in the vastated
church. When the church is without the good and consequently without
the truth of faith (that is, when it has been vastated), it is said to
be "dead," for its life is from good and truth; and hence when dead it
is compared to a "carcass." Reasonings concerning goods and truths
that make these out to be nothing except insofar as they are
apprehended, and confirmations of evil and falsity thereby, are the
"eagles," as is evident from that which now follows. That the
"carcass" here is the church devoid of the life of charity and faith,
is manifest from the words of the Lord in Luke, where He speaks
of the consummation of the age:
The disciples said, Where
Lord? (that is, the consummation of the age, or the Last Judgment).
And He said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the eagles
also be gathered together (Luke 17:37).
"Body" here stands in place of
"carcass," for it is a dead body that is meant, and it signifies the
church; for that the Judgment was to commence from the house of God or
from the church, is evident from various passages in the Word. This is
what is signified in the internal sense by the Lord's words now
adduced and unfolded. That they are in a most beautiful series,
although this does not appear in the sense of the letter, must be
evident to anyone who contemplates them in their connection according
to the explication.
The reason why the last state of
the church is compared to "eagles" gathered together to a "carcass,"
or to a "body," is that by "eagles" are signified man's rational
things, which when predicated of the good, are true rational things;
but when predicated of the evil, are false rational things or
reasonings. "Birds" in general signify man's thoughts, in both senses
good and bad (n. 40, 745, 776, 866, 991, 3219); and every species has
a special signification. As eagles fly high and are sharp-sighted,
they signify rational things. That this is the case may be seen from
many passages in the Word, of which in confirmation we may adduce the
following. First, where they signify true rational things; in Moses:
Jehovah found His people
in a desert land, and in emptiness, in wailing, in solitude: He led
him about, He instructed him, he kept him as the pupil of the eye;
as the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,
spreadeth out her wings, taketh him, beareth him upon her wings
(Deut. 32:10-11).
Instruction in the truths and
goods of faith is what is here described, and is compared to the
"eagle." The very process until man becomes rational and spiritual, is
contained in the description and comparison. The comparisons in the
Word are all made by means of significatives; thus here by the
"eagle," which is the rational.
[2] In the same: Jehovah said to
Moses:
Ye have seen what I did
unto the Egyptians, and bare you up upon eagles' wings, that I might
bring you unto Myself (Exod. 19:3-4);
denoting the same. In Isaiah:
They that wait upon
Jehovah shall be renewed in strength, they shall mount up with
strong wing as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint (Isa. 40:31);
"to be renewed in strength" is to
grow as to the willing of good; and "to mount up with strong wing as
eagles" is to grow as to the understanding of truth, thus as to the
rational. The subject is set forth here as elsewhere by two
expressions, one of which involves the good which is of the will, and
the other the truth which is of the understanding; and the case is the
same with the expressions, "they shall run and not be weary, and shall
walk and not faint."
[3] In Ezekiel:
Speak a parable about the
house of Israel, and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, A great eagle,
with long pinions, full of feathers, that had embroidery, came upon
Lebanon, and took a twig of the cedar; he carried it into a land of
traffic, he set it in a city of spice merchants. It grew, and became
a spreading vine. There was another great eagle, with great and many
feathers; and behold this vine did bend its roots toward him, and
sent forth its branches toward him, that he might water it from the
beds of its plantations in a good field, by many waters; but it
shall be laid waste. He sent his ambassadors into Egypt that they
might give him horses and much people (Ezek. 17:2-9, 15).
The "eagle" first mentioned
denotes the rational enlightened by the Divine; the "eagle" mentioned
in the second place denotes the rational from what is man's own,
afterwards become perverted through reasonings from sensuous things
and memory-knowledges. ("Egypt" denotes memory-knowledges, see n.
1164, 1165, 1186, 1462; "horses" the intellectual from them, n.
2761-2762, 3217.)
[4] In Daniel:
The vision of Daniel:
Four beasts came up out of the sea, diverse one from another; the
first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I beheld till the
wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and
made to stand upon its feet like a man, and a man's heart was given
to it (Dan. 7:3-4).
The first state of the church is
what is here described by a "lion that had eagle's wings;" and the
"eagle's wings" here are rational things from what is man's own, on
the taking away of which they were given rational and voluntary things
from the Divine, which are signified by its "being taken up from the
earth, and made to stand upon its feet like a man, and having a man's
heart given to it."
[5] In Ezekiel, in the
description of the likeness of the faces of the four living creatures,
or cherubs:
They had the face of a
man, and they four had the face of a lion on the right side, and
they four had the face of an ox on the left side, and they four had
the face of an eagle (Ezek. 1:10).
As for the wheels they were
called Galgal [whirling wheels], and everyone had four faces; the
first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the
face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the
face of an eagle (Ezek. 10:13-14).
In John:
Round about the throne
were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind; the first
living creature was like a lion; and the second living creature was
like a calf; and the third living creature had a face as a man; and
the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle (Rev. 4:6-7).
That the living creatures thus
seen signify Divine arcana, is evident; and consequently so does the
"likeness of their faces;" but what arcana in particular are signified
cannot be known unless it is known what in the internal sense is a
"lion," a "calf," a "man," and an "eagle." That the "face of an eagle"
is circumspection and consequently Providence is manifest; for the
cherubs represented by the living creatures in Ezekiel signify
the Providence of the Lord lest man should enter into the mysteries of
faith from himself and his own rational (see n. 308). This shows that
when it is predicated of man, the "eagle" is in the internal sense the
rational; and this for the reason that the eagle flies high, and from
above has a wide view of the things that are below.
[6] In Job:
Does the hawk fly by
thine intelligence, and stretch her wings toward the south? Does the
eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? (Job
39:26-27);
it is evident that the "eagle"
here is reason, which is of intelligence. Such was the signification
of the "eagle" in the Ancient Church; for the book of Job is a book of
the Ancient Church (see n. 3540, end). Almost all the books of that
period were written by means of significatives; but in process of time
the significatives have become so completely forgotten that it is not
even known that "birds" in general denote thoughts, although they are
so frequently mentioned in the Word and it appears quite plain that
they have another meaning.
[7] That in the opposite sense an
"eagle" signifies rational things that are not true, and thus are
false, is evident from the following passages. In Moses:
Jehovah shall bring upon
thee a nation from far from the end of the earth, as the eagle
flieth, a nation whose tongue thou hearest not, a nation hard in
faces (Deut. 28:49-50).
In Jeremiah:
Behold he shall come up
as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are
swifter than eagles.* Woe unto us! For we are laid waste
(Jer. 4:13).
In the same:
Thy boasting hath
deceived thee, the pride of thy heart, O thou that dwellest in the
clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill; because
thou makest thy nest as high as the eagle I will bring thee down
from thence. Behold he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and
spread out his wings above Bozrah; and the heart of the mighty men
of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs
(Jer. 49:16, 22).
In the same:
Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles; they chased us upon the mountains; they laid wait
for us in the wilderness (Lam. 4:19).
In Micah:
Make thee bald, and poll
thee for the sons of thy delights; enlarge thy baldness as the
eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee (Micah 1:16).
In Obadiah:
Though thou mount on high
as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, I will
bring thee down from thence (Obad. 4).
In Habakkuk:
I am stirring up the
Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, that marcheth through the
breadths of the land to inherit dwelling-places that are not theirs.
Their horses are swifter than eagles;* their horsemen come
from far, they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour (Hab. 1:6, 8).
[8] By "eagles" in these passages
is signified falsity induced by reasonings, which is induced from the
fallacies of the senses and external appearances. That by the
"Chaldeans" in the Prophet last cited are signified those who are in a
holy external, but interiorly in falsity, may be seen above (n. 1368);
also that they who vastate the church are like Babylon (n. 1327); that
the "breadths of the land" denote truths (n. 3433, 3434). Vastation is
signified by "marching through the breadths of the land." Their
"horses" are their intellectual things, which are similar (see n.
2761, 2762, 3217). What the "eagle hastening to devour" signifies, is
thus evident, namely, the desolation of man in respect to truths; for
the desolation of the church is there treated of. Comparisons are here
made with eagles; but as before said, the comparisons in the Word are
made by means of significatives. From all this we can now see what is
signified by the comparison with the "eagles that will be gathered
together to the carcass."
