Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3693speaking of the Jewish church, their “vine being of the vine ofSodom and of the fields of Gomorrah” denotes the intellectual partbeset by falsities from infernal love; “the grapes thereof grapes ofgall” and “their having clusters of bitternesses” denotes that it wassimilar with the will part therein. For as in a good sense a “grape”signifies charity, it is predicated of the will part, but of the will partwithin the intellectual part; and similarly in the opposite sense,because all truth is of the understanding and all good is of the will.[11] In Revelation:The angel said, Put forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters ofthe earth, for her grapes are fully ripe (Rev. 14:18);“to gather the clusters of the earth” denotes to destroy all things ofcharity.[12] In Matthew:By their fruits ye shall know them. Do they gather grapes ofthorns, or figs of thistles? (Matt. 7:16).And in Luke:Every tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns they do notgather figs, nor of a bramble bush do they gather the grape (Luke 6:44).As charity toward the neighbor is treated of in these passages, it issaid that they should be “known by their fruits” which are thegoods of charity; the internal goods of charity being “grapes” andthe external “figs.”[13] The law enacted in the Jewish church:When thou comest into thy companion’s vineyard, then thoumayest eat grapes according to thy soul, to thy fill; but thou shalt notput any in thy vessel (Deut. 23:24);