Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3677waters of the river? And yet I had planted thee a wholly noble vine, aseed of truth; how then art thou turned to me into the degenerateshoots of a strange vine? (Jer. 2:18, 21);speaking of Israel, by whom is signified the spiritual church (n.3654, 4286). “Egypt” and “the waters of Shihor” denote memoryknowledgeswhich pervert (n. 1164–1165, 1186, 1462); “Assyria”and “the waters of the river” denote reasoning from theseknowledges against the good of life and the truth of faith (n. 119,1186); a “noble vine” denotes the man of the spiritual church, whois called a “vine” from the intellectual part; the “degenerate shootsof a strange vine” denote the man of the perverted church.[5] In Ezekiel:A riddle and a parable concerning the house of Israel. A great eagletook of the seed of the land, and placed it in a field of sowing; it buddedand became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its shoots lookedback toward her, and the roots thereof were under her; so it became avine that made shoots, and sent forth sprigs to the eagle. This vineapplied its roots, and sent its shoots toward her, in a good field by manywaters. It was planted that it might make a branch, that it might be for avine of magnificence (Ezek. 17:2–3, 5–8);the “eagle” denotes the rational (n. 3901); the “seed of the land”denotes the truth of the church (n. 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848,3038, 3310, 3373); its “becoming a luxuriant vine” and a “vine ofmagnificence” denotes becoming a spiritual church, which is calleda “vine” from the wine thence produced, which signifies spiritualgood or the good of charity from whence comes the truth of faith,implanted in the intellectual part.[6] In the same:Thy mother was like a vine, in thy likeness, planted by the waters;a fruitful one, and made full of branches by reason of many waters;whence she had rods of strength for the scepter of them that bear rule;and its stature lifted itself above among the tangled boughs, andappeared in its height in the multitude of shoots (Ezek. 19:10–11);