Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3692planting vineyards” denotes cultivating those things which are ofthe spiritual church; “drinking the wine thereof” appropriating thetruths of that church which are of charity; and “making clustersand eating the fruit of them” appropriating the goods thencederived. Everyone can see that “building cities,” “plantingvineyards,” “drinking wine,” “making clusters,” and “eating thefruit of them” are merely natural things, in which there would benothing Divine unless they contained a spiritual sense.[8] In Moses:He hath washed his clothing in wine, and his covering in the bloodof grapes (Gen. 49:11);speaking of the Lord; “wine” denotes spiritual good from theDivine love; the “blood of grapes” celestial good therefrom.[9] Again:Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with the fat of lambs andof rams the sons of Bashan, and of he-goats, with the fat of kidneys ofwheat; and the blood of the grape thou drinkest unmixed (Deut. 32:14);speaking of the ancient church, whose goods of love and charity arethus described, and each expression signifies some specific good:the “blood of the grape” spiritual celestial good, the Divine inheaven proceeding from the Lord being so called. Wine is calledthe “blood of grapes” because both expressions signify holy truthproceeding from the Lord; but “wine” is predicated of the spiritualchurch, and “blood” of the celestial church, and for this reasonwine was enjoined in the holy supper.[10] Again:Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah;the grapes thereof are grapes of gall, they have clusters of bitternesses(Deut. 32:32);