ACV9 S27 7345-7365

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7345 Verses 25, 26,* 27, 28, 29. And seven days were fulfilled after that Jehovah had smitten the river. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold I will smite all thy border with frogs; and the river shall make frogs to creep forth, and they shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants and of thy people,* and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs; and on thee, and on thy people, and on all thy servants, shall the frogs come up. “And seven days were fulfilled after that Jehovah had smitten the river,” signifies the end of that state after truths had been falsified; “and Jehovah said unto Moses” signifies new instruction “Come unto Pharaoh, and say unto him,” signifies a command to those who infest; “Thus saith Jehovah, Let My people go, that they may serve Me,” signifies that they should leave those who are of the church to worship their God in freedom; “and if thou refuse to let them go,” signifies if they would not leave them; “behold I will smite all thy border with frogs,” signifies reasonings from mere falsities; “and the river shall make frogs to creep forth,” signifies that there will be reasonings from these falsities; and they shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber,” signifies that they shall fill the mind even to its interiors; “and upon thy bed,” signifies to the inmosts; “and into the house of thy servants, and of thy people,” signifies all things that are in the natural; “and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs,” signifies into the delights of cupidities; “and on thee, and on thy people, and on all thy servants, shall the frogs come up,” signifies that reasonings from falsities shall be in all things both in general and in particular.
Numbered as in the Hebrew in the English text Chapter VIII. begins with this verse.
** Et in populum tuum, but et populi tui below.

7346 And seven days were fulfilled after that Jehovah had smitten the river. That this signifies the end of that state after truths had been falsified, is evident from the signification of “seven days,” as being an entire period from beginning to end, thus a full state (see n. 728, 6508), the same as a week (n. 2044, 3845), thus “seven days fulfilled” denotes the end of that period or state; and from the signification of “after that Jehovah had smitten the river,” as being after truths had been falsified; for that the river smitten with the rod of Aaron, and the waters made blood, denotes that truths had been falsified, see n. 7316, 7317, 7330, 7332.

7347 And Jehovah said unto Moses. That this signifies new instruction is evident from the signification of “Jehovah said,” when anything is commanded anew, as being new instruction (see n. 7186, 7267, 7304).

348 Come unto Pharaoh, and say unto him. That this signifies a command to those who infest, is evident from the signification of “coming or entering in and saying,” when said by Jehovah, as being a command; and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being those who infest by falsities (see n. 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142).

7349 Thus saith Jehovah, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. That this signifies that they should leave those who are of the church to worship their God in freedom, is evident from the signification of “letting go,” as being to leave; from the representation of the sons of Israel, who are here “My people,” as being those who are of the spiritual church (see n. 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223); and from the signification of “serving Me,” as being to worship their God. That it denotes to worship in freedom, is because there could be no worship where falsities were infesting; and because all worship which is truly worship must be in freedom (n. 1947, 2875, 2876, 2880, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031).

7350 And If thou refuse to let them go. That this signifies if they did not leave them, is evident from the signification of “letting go,” as being to leave (as just above, n. 7349), thus “if thou refuse to let go” denotes if they did not leave them.

7351 Behold I will smite all thy border with frogs. That this signifies reasonings from mere falsities, is evident from the signification of “frogs,” as being reasonings; that they are from mere falsities is signified by their “creeping forth from the river,” as presently follows (that the “river of Egypt” denotes falsity, see n. 6693, 7307), and because it is said that “all the border should be smitten with them.” By these words is also signified that the reasonings shall not be from falsified truths, but from mere falsities, because reasonings from falsified truths are finally turned into blasphemies against truth and good; and moreover the truths themselves reject the falsification, because they cannot be together with falsities; and so long as they are, they fight with them, and at last loosen and separate themselves from them. Hence it is that after a man has falsified truths, he at last wholly denies them; otherwise falsities would have dominion over truths. From this it is that after the evil in the other life have been cast into hell, they are not allowed to reason from falsified truths, but from mere falsities.
[2] That “frogs” denote reasonings from falsities, is evident in John:
I saw out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, like frogs; for they are the spirits of demons, working signs to go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:13-14);
that “frogs” denote reasonings from falsities against truths, is plain from the details of this passage, for it is said that “they went out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet;” also that “they went forth unto the kings of the earth, to gather them together unto war.” The “kings of the earth” denote the truths of the church (that “kings” denote truths, and in the opposite sense falsities, see n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; and that the “earth” denotes the church, n. 662, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577; also that “war” denotes spiritual combat, n. 2686, thus combat against the truths and goods of faith). From this it is plain that “frogs” denote reasonings from falsities against truths.
[3] And in David:
He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish; He caused frogs to creep forth on their land, in the chambers of their kings (Ps. 105:29-30);
it is said “in the chambers of their kings” because there is meant reasoning against truths from falsities; “the chambers of kings” denote interior truths, and in the opposite sense interior falsities. (That “kings” denote truths, and in the opposite sense falsities, see just above.)

7352 And the river shall make frogs to creep forth. That this signifies that there will be reasonings from these falsities, is evident from the signification of “the river of Egypt,” as being falsity (see n. 6693, 7307); and from the signification of “frogs,” as being reasonings (as above, n. 7351). That “frogs” denote reasonings is because they are in waters, where they make a chattering noise and croak, and are also among things unclean. What reasoning from mere falsities is, shall be illustrated by some examples. That man reasons from mere falsities who attributes all things to nature, and scarcely anything to the Divine; when yet all things are from the Divine, and nature is only the instrumental means by which the Divine works. He reasons from mere falsities who believes that man is like a beast, only more perfect, because he can think; and thus that man will die like a beast; by thus denying the conjunction of man with the Divine through the thought which is of faith, and the affection which is of love, and hence his resurrection and life eternal, such a man speaks from mere falsities. In like manner is he who believes that there is no hell. And also he who believes that all a man has is the delight of this world’s life, and therefore he must enjoy this, because when he dies, he dies altogether. He reasons from mere falsities who believes that all things depend upon his own sagacity, and on fortune; and not on the Divine Providence, except such as is universal. And also he who believes that religion is good for nothing except to keep the simple in bonds. Especially do they reason from mere falsities who believe that the Word is not Divine. In short, all those reason from mere falsities who utterly deny truths Divine.

7353 And they shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber. That this signifies that they shall fill the mind, even to its interiors, is evident from the signification of a “house,” as being the mind of man (see n. 3538, 4973, 5023); and from the signification of a “bedchamber” as being the interiors of the mind. That “bed-chambers” denote the interiors of the mind is because they are in the inner part of the house. By “chambers” are signified things interior, and by “bed-chambers” things still more interior, in the following passages:
Go, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the door after thee; hide thyself as for a little moment, until the anger be overpast (Isa. 26:20).
He said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the sons of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his image (Ezek. 8:12).
Without shall the sword bereave, and terror from the chambers (Deut 32:25).
Elisha the prophet that is in Israel telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber (2 Kings 6:12).
The ancients compared the mind of man to a house, and those things which are within man to chambers. The human mind is indeed like this; for the things therein are distinct, scarcely otherwise than as a house is divided into its chambers; those things which are in the middle are like the inmost parts; those which are at the sides are like the outer parts, these being compared to the courts; and those which while outside are connected with the inside parts, being compared to the porches.

7354 And upon thy bed. That this signifies to the inmosts, is evident from the signification of a “bed,” as being that which is inmost; for when the bedchambers denote the interior things, the couch or bed which is therein denotes that which is inmost.

7355 And into the house of thy servants and of thy people. That this signifies all things that are in the natural, is evident from the signification of a “house,” as being the mind of man, and as it is said of the Egyptians, and of the servants of Pharaoh, it denotes the natural mind (that a “house” denotes the mind, see just above, n. 7353); and from the signification of “the servants and people of Pharaoh,” as being all things in the natural, the things there which serve for confirming falsities being called “servants.” (That “people” is said of truths, and in the opposite sense of falsities, see n. 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581, 4619, 6451, 6465.) From this it is evident that by “into the house of the servants and of the people of Pharaoh” is signified into all things that are in the natural.

7356 And into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs. That this signifies into the delights of cupidities is evident from the signification of “ovens” as being exterior goods, because in them the bread is made ready, and exterior goods are those which are in the natural, and are commonly called delights; for when the interior goods which are of the loves and their affections flow into the natural, they are felt there as delights. These are signified by “ovens” in a good sense; but in the opposite sense, as here, by “ovens” are signified the delights of cupidities, that is, delights from the loves of hell, which are the loves of self and of the world. And from the signification of “kneading-troughs” as being also the delights of cupidities in the natural, but still more external, because kneading-troughs are vessels in which dough is prepared for bread. By reasonings entering into the delights of cupidities is meant that it would be the delight of their life to reason from falsities, and thus to deceive and seduce others. It is moreover one of the chief delights of the evil to spread falsities, to confirm them, to deride truths, and especially to seduce others.
[2] That an “oven” denotes the delight of the affections which are of charity and faith, and in the opposite sense the delight of the cupidities which are of the love of self and the love of the world, is plain in Hosea:
They are all adulterers; they are as an oven heated by the baker; the stirrer ceaseth from kneading his dough; when they turn their mind like an oven in their lying in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as flames of fire. They were all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all the kings thereof fall (Hos. 7:4, 6-7);
“an oven” denotes the delights of the cupidities which are of evils; “burning,” “being hot,” “flames of fire,” denote the cupidities themselves. (That “fire” denotes the yearning of evil, see n. 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324e.) “They devour their judges, all their kings fall” denotes that goods and truths perish. Everyone can see that without an internal sense such as this, it cannot be known what is here meant by “all the adulterers are as an oven heated by the baker, all grow hot as an oven, they devour the judges, and their kings fall.”
[3] “Oven” is used in a good sense in Isaiah:
The saying of Jehovah whose hearth is in Zion, and His oven in Jerusalem (Isa. 31:9);
where “Zion” denotes the celestial church, thus the good of love which is of this church; “Jerusalem,” the spiritual church, thus the good of this love, which is the good of charity and of the derivative faith. In this passage “oven” denotes the interior delight of the affections of good and truth; and this because the bread which is baked in an oven signifies the good of celestial and spiritual love (that “bread” signifies this, see n. 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915). And as the signification of an “oven” comes from this, therefore the bread which was prepared in an oven for the sacrifices, and was called a “meat-offering,” was distinguished from the meat-offering that was prepared in a pan, and from the meat-offering that was prepared in a cooking pot (see Lev. 2:4-5, 7); it was varieties of the good of love that were hereby signified.

7357 And on thee, and of thy people and on all thy servants shall the frogs come up. That this signifies that reasonings from falsities shall be in all things both in general and in particular is evident from what was said above (n. 7355); all and each of those who were in the land of Egypt are signified by “Pharaoh, his people, and his servants,” thus falsities in general and in particular. That by “Pharaoh and the Egyptians” are signified falsities has been often shown above. Be it known that they who are in hell, and who have been deprived of the truths which they had known in the world, cannot do otherwise than speak falsities; and therefore when any such infernal speaks, as when they appear in the world of spirits, it is at once known that what he speaks is false. This is known to the upright in the other life from common experience. That they speak nothing but what is false, is clear also from the words of the Lord in John:
Ye are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father ye will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because the truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh from his own; because he is the speaker of a lie, and the father of it (John 8:44);
for everyone speaks according to the affection of his love, and no one can speak contrary to it, except from dissimulation, hypocrisy, fraud, and deceit, as is the case with the evil when they speak truths. But these truths which they so speak, are nevertheless falsities with them. But on the other hand, they who are in truth from good cannot but speak truths.

7358 ON THE INHABITANTS AND SPIRITS OF THE PLANET MARS.
Like all the rest of the planets, the planet Mars appears in the idea of spirits and angels constantly in its own place, and in fact to the left in front, at some distance in the plane of the breast, and thus outside the sphere in which are the spirits of our earth. The spirits of one earth are separated from the spirits of another earth, because the spirits of each earth have reference to some special province in the Grand Man, and thence are in another and diverse state; and diversity of state causes them to appear separate from one another, either to the right or to the left, at a greater or a less distance.

7359 Spirits from thence came to me, and applied themselves to my left temple, and there breathed on me with their speech, but I did not understand it. It was soft in its flow, nor do I remember ever to have perceived a softer, it being like the softest aura. It breathed first upon the left temple, and the left ear from above; and the breathing extended thence to the left eye, and by little and little to the right, and then flowed downward, especially from the left eye, to the lips; and when it was at the lips, it entered through the mouth, and by a way within the mouth, in fact by the Eustachian tube, into the brain. When the breathing came thither, I then understood their speech, and it was given me to talk with them. While they were talking with me I observed that my lips moved, and my tongue also a little, because of the correspondence of interior speech with exterior. Exterior speech is that of articulate sound falling toward the external membrane of the ear, and thence by means of little organs, membranes, and fibers, which are within the ear, being conveyed to the brain.

7360 From all this it was given me to know that the speech of the inhabitants of Mars is different from the speech of the inhabitants of our earth. That is to say, it was not sonorous, but almost silent, insinuating itself into the interior hearing and sight by a shorter way. And being of this nature, it was fuller and more perfect, fuller of the ideas of thought, thus approaching more nearly the speech of spirits and angels. Moreover, the very affection of the speech is represented with them in the face, and its thought in the eyes; for with them, thought and speech, and also affection and face, act as a one. They regard it as wicked to think one thing and speak another, and to will one thing and show another in the face. They do not know what hypocrisy is, or what fraudulent deceit and dissimulation are.

7361 That such also was the speech of the most ancient people on this earth, has been given to me to know by conversation with some of them (see n. 607, 608). To make the matter clearer, I may again relate what has been given to me to know from experience about the speech of the most ancient of this earth; as follows. “There was shown me by a certain influx which I cannot describe, what was the nature of the speech of those who were of the Most Ancient Church, namely, that it was not articulate, like the vocal speech of our time, but tacit; and was produced not by external but by internal respiration. It was also granted me to notice the nature of their internal respiration, that it advanced from the navel toward the heart, and so through the lips, without sound, when they spoke; and that it did not enter into the ear of another by an external way, and strike upon what is called the drum of the ear; but by a certain internal way, and in fact by a way there which is now called the Eustachian tube.
[2] It was shown me that by such speech they could much more fully express the sentiments of the mind and the ideas of thought, than can possibly be done by articulate sounds or sonorous words, which likewise are directed by the respiration, but external; for there is no vocal word, nor anything in a vocal word, which is not directed by applications of the respiration. But with them this is done much more perfectly, because by internal respiration, which, being more interior, is also more perfect, and more applicable and conformable to the very ideas of thought. Moreover, they express themselves by slight movements of the lips, and corresponding changes of the face; for as they had been celestial men, whatever they thought shone forth from their faces and eyes, which were varied conformably; the face as to form and life, the eyes as to light. They could not possibly put on an expression of countenance that was not in agreement with what they were thinking. Simulation, and still more deceit, were to them a monstrous crime (n. 1118). As their speech was of this nature, and they had internal respiration, they could be in company with angels.

7362 The respiration of the spirits of the planet Mars has also been communicated to me (that spirits and angels breathe, see n. 3884-3894); and it was perceived that their respiration was interior, proceeding from the region of the chest toward the navel, and thence rolling itself upward through the breast, with an imperceptible breathing toward the mouth. From these and other proofs of experience it was made evident to me that they were of a celestial genius, and thus not unlike those who were of the Most Ancient Church on this earth.

7363 They spoke with me about the life of the inhabitants in their earth, in that they are not under commands, but are distinguished into larger and smaller societies, and that they there associate with themselves such as agree with them in disposition. This they know at once from the face and speech, in which they are rarely deceived, and then they are forthwith friends. But they feel no aversion to others, for they have no aversion, still less hatred. They also said that their consociations are delightful, and that they converse together about what is being done in the societies, especially what is being done in heaven; for many of them have open communication with the angels in heaven. This is easy to believe, as they are of such a nature and so associated, that their societies, taken together through that earth, represent a general angelic society. The societies there are all various, but the Lord conjoins them all by the heavenly form, so as to be a one; for a one is made of various particulars suitably arranged into a form.

7364 Those in their societies who begin to think wrongly, and thence to will wrongly, are separated, and left to themselves alone, whence they lead a most wretched life out of all society, in rocks or other places, for they are no longer cared for by the rest. Certain societies endeavor to drive such persons to repentance by various methods; but when this fails, they separate themselves from them. In this way they take care lest the lust of dominion and of gain should creep in, that is, lest any from the lust of dominion should subject to themselves the society in which they are, and then others; and lest any from the lust of gain should despoil others of their goods. Everyone on that earth lives content with his goods, and everyone content with his honor in being called just and a lover of his neighbor. This delight and tranquillity of mind would perish, unless those who think and will evilly were cast out, and unless they prudently and severely met the first beginnings of the love of self and the love of the world with those into whom they enter; for it was these loves which out of societies made empires and kingdoms, within which there are few who do not desire to domineer, and to possess all the property of others; there being few who do what is just and equitable from justice and equity, and still fewer who do what is good from charity, and what is true from faith, and not rather from fear of the law, of injury, of life, or of the loss of gain, honor, and reputation on account of these.

7365 The subject of the inhabitants and spirits of the planet Mars will be continued at the end of the following chapter.