Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 292natural man. This is evident from the signification of “ruling,” asbeing to chastise, for it is added that “he would shiver them aspottery vessels,” and the evils which are signified are chastised bymeans of truths. It is evident also from the signification of “an ironrod,” as being truths that are in the natural man; a “rod” or “staff”signifies the power by which chastisement is effected; and “iron”truths in the natural man which chastise. (That a “rod” or “staff” ispower, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4013, 4015, 4876, 4936, 6947,7011, 7026, 7568, 7572; that it is for this reason that kings have ascepter, which is a short staff, n. 4581, 4876.)“Iron” signifies truths in the natural man, because metals, as wellas the other things of the earth, by correspondence signify thingsspiritual and celestial, all of which have reference to truths andgoods. “Gold” signifies the good of the internal man; “silver” itstruth; “copper” or “brass” the good of the external or natural man;“iron” its truth. For this reason the ages were called by the ancientsafter the names of the metals, namely, golden, silver, copper, andiron; the Golden Age from the most ancient men, who lived in thegood of love; the Silver Age from the ancients after them who livedin truths from that good; the Copper Age from their posterity whowere in external or natural good; the Iron Age from the posterity ofthese who were in natural truth alone without good. Natural truthis truth in the memory, not in the life; truth of life is good. (Butmore about this correspondence in Heaven and Hell, n. 104, 115.)[2] The successive states of the church, even until the coming ofthe Lord, are meant by the “gold,” the “silver,” the “brass,” and the“iron,” of which the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream wascomposed, which is thus described in Daniel:His head was good gold, his breast and his arms silver, his bellyand his thighs brass, his legs iron, his feet part iron and part clay. Astone was cut out of the rock, and it smote the image upon his feet thatwere iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Whereas thou sawest thefeet partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it signifies that thekingdom shall be divided; the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partlybroken. Whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shallmingle themselves by the seed of man; but they shall not cleave one toanother, even as iron doth not mingle with clay (Dan. 2:32–34, 41–43).