Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 4036The cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie downtogether, and the suckling shall play on the hole of the viper (Isa.11:7–8);speaking of the Lord’s kingdom, and specifically of the state ofpeace or innocence therein. A “suckling” denotes innocence; thatnothing of evil can befall those who are in innocence is signified bya “suckling playing on the hole of a viper”; “vipers” are they whoare most crafty. This chapter plainly relates to the Lord. In Joel:Sound the trumpet in Zion, gather the people, sanctify thecongregation, assemble the elders, gather the babes and those that suckthe breasts (Joel 2:15–16);“elders” denotes the wise; “babes and those that suck the breasts,”the innocent.[8] In the following passages also by “infants” is meantinnocence, but in these that it was destroyed. In Jeremiah:Wherefore commit ye great evil against your souls, to cut off fromyou man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, sothat I shall leave you no remains? (Jer. 44:7).Lift up thy hands to him upon the soul of thy little children, thatfaint for hunger in the head of all the streets (Lam. 2:19).In Ezekiel:Pass through Jerusalem, and smite, let not your eye spare, neitherhave ye pity, the old man, the young man, and the maiden, and thelittle child (Ezek. 9:5–6).In Micah:The women of my people ye drive out of everyone’s house ofdelights, from the babes thereof they take away mine honor forever(Micah 2:9).