Every single thing that exists in nature corresponds to something spiritual, just as every single thing in the human body does (as may be seen from what is shown in two articles in the book Heaven and Hell).* But it is not known today what correspondence is. By contrast, in very ancient times the study of correspondences was the study of studies, so universal that the most ancients wrote all their tablets and scrolls in terms of things that correspond. The legends of the distant past were of just this character, and so were the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. The book of Job-which is a book of the Ancient Church-is full of things that correspond.

[2] All the ancient churches were churches in which heavenly things were expressed representatively. All their rituals, and also the ordinances according to which their worship was established, consisted of nothing but correspondent things. So, too, in the church with the sons of Jacob. The burnt offerings and sacrifices, including every aspect of them, had a correspondence. So did the Tabernacle, with everything in it, and also the holy days, such as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Feast of First Fruits, and likewise all the ordinances and decrees. And because things that correspond are the kinds of things that exist in the outmost phenomena of nature, and because all things of nature have a correspondence, and whatever has a correspondence also has a like symbolism, therefore the literal meaning of the Word consists of nothing but things that correspond.

Moreover, because the Lord spoke from His Divinity, and what He spoke was the Word, therefore He, too, spoke in terms of things that correspond. What is from a Divine origin and is in itself Divine ultimately descends into such things as correspond to Divine things in celestial and spiritual form. Thus it descends into such things as conceal celestial and spiritual things within them-things which they also symbolize.

What correspondences are may be further seen from Arcana Coelestia (The Secrets of Heaven), where the correspondences of things in Genesis and Exodus have been explained. And see, besides, the material on correspondences taken from that work and published in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, and in Heaven and Hell. The spiritual or internal meaning of the Word is simply the meaning of the letter unfolded according to correspondences, for this makes known the spiritual content that angels in the heavens perceive when a person in the world thinks naturally about what he reads in the Word.

[3] I have heard and perceived from heaven that the people of the Most Ancient Church-who are the ones meant in a spiritual sense by Adam and Eve in the first chapters of Genesis-were so affiliated with angels of heaven that they could speak with them by means of things that correspond. Consequently their state of wisdom was such that whatever they saw on earth, they perceived in a spiritual way as well, thus perceiving along with the angels. I have been told that Enoch-who is mentioned in Genesis, chapter 5**-together with his companions made from what the most ancients said a collection of correspondences and handed down a knowledge of them to their descendants. As a result, a knowledge of correspondences not only existed in many kingdoms in Asia, but was also further developed, especially in Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and the land of Canaan. From there it was carried into Greece-though in Greece it was turned into fables-as can be seen simply from stories about Olympus, Helicon and Pindus near Athens,*** and also from the story of the winged horse called Pegasus, which with its hoof broke open the spring around which the nine Muses made their home. For a mountain like Helicon by correspondence symbolizes a higher heaven, while a hill below a mountain, such as Pindus,**** symbolizes a heaven below it. The winged horse or Pegasus symbolizes an understanding enlightened by spiritual sight. A spring symbolizes intelligence and learning. And the nine Muses symbolize conceptions of truth and various kinds of knowledge. The rest of the stories composed by writers of the distant past in Greece, stories which are called myths, and which were gathered together and recorded by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, were of the same character.

[4] However, when in the course of time the representative features of the church were turned into objects of idolatrous worship, then in the Lord's Divine providence a knowledge of correspondences was gradually blotted out, and in the Israelite and Jewish nation it was entirely lost and extinguished. Indeed, the worship of that nation was completely representational, but still the people did not know what any of the representations signified; for they were altogether natural people, and therefore they were neither able nor willing to know anything about the spiritual person and his faith and love. As a consequence, neither did they know anything about correspondence.

[5] The idolatries of nations in ancient times arose from the study of correspondences among them for the reason that everything appearing on the earth has a correspondence-as, for instance, not only trees, but also animals and birds of every kind, as well as fish, and so on. The ancients, who had a knowledge of correspondences, made images for themselves that corresponded to spiritual things, and they took delight in them, because they symbolized such things as had to do with heaven and so with the church. They put images like this not only in their temples but also in their houses, not as objects of worship, but to remind them of the heavenly things which they symbolized. In Egypt they therefore set up images of calves, bulls, snakes, children, old people, and maidens, among other things, because a calf symbolized the innocence of the natural person, bulls the affections of the natural person, snakes the prudence of the sensual person, a child innocence, old people wisdom, maidens affections for truth, and so forth. After a knowledge of correspondences was there extinguished, their descendants-who did not know what these things symbolized-began to worship the images and figures set up by the ancients, first as holy objects, and finally as deities, because they were placed in and around temples.

The hieroglyphics of the Egyptians came from the same origin. So did other similar things in other nations-such as Dagon with the Philistines in Ashdod, whose upper half was like that of a man and its lower half like that of a fish. This image was invented because a man symbolizes rational intelligence and a fish natural knowledge. From the same origin arose also the worship of the ancients in gardens and in groves according to the kinds of trees growing there, as well as their sacred worship upon mountains. For gardens and groves symbolized spiritual intelligence, and each tree something relating to it. For example, an olive tree symbolized the goodness of the love in that intelligence, a vine the truth of its faith, a cedar its rationality, and so on. And a mountain symbolized heaven. It was because of this that the worship of the most ancients had been held on mountains.

It can be seen from the wise men from the cast who came to see the Lord when He was born that a knowledge of correspondences remained with many eastern people even down to the time of the Lord's advent. That is why a star went before them, and they brought with them gold, frankincense and myrrh.***** And that 'Is why the shepherds****** were told, in order that they might know He was the Lord, that this would be a sign to them: that they would see Him in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths, because there was no room in the inn.******* For the star which went before symbolized knowledge from heaven, inasmuch as stars in the Word symbolize concepts. The gold symbolized celestial good, the frankincense spiritual good, and the myrrh natural good-the three kinds of good from which everything of worship originates. The manger where the shepherds found the infant Lord symbolized spiritual nourishment, because horses, which get their nourishment from mangers, symbolize things having to do with the understanding. The inn where there was no room symbolized the Jewish Church, in which there was no spiritual nourishment at that time, because everything of the Word, and so everything of worship with them, had by then been adulterated and perverted. Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them that it was the Lord (Luke 2:12).

Nevertheless, a knowledge of correspondences was still completely nonexistent in the Israelite and Jewish nation, even though all of their worship, and all the ordinances and decrees they were given, and all the contents of their Word were nothing but correspondent forms. The reason was that that nation was idolatrous at heart, and the character of the people was such that they were not even willing to know that anything of their worship had any celestial or spiritual symbolism. For they wanted every one of those things to be holy of itself and to be so with them in its outward forms. Therefore, if spiritual and celestial things had been disclosed to them, they would not only have rejected them but also profaned them. Consequently heaven was so closed to them that they hardly knew they would live after death. The truth of this is clearly apparent from the fact that they did not accept the Lord, even though their Holy Scripture everywhere prophesied concerning Him and foretold His advent. They rejected Him for the sole reason that He taught them about a heavenly kingdom and not about an earthly kingdom. For they wanted a Messiah who would raise them up over all other nations in the entire world, and not a Messiah whose care was for their eternal salvation. Furthermore, they say that the Word contains many secrets in it, which they call mysteries, but they do not want to know that these have to do with the Lord and His kingdom. On the other hand, they do wish to know when it is said that the mysteries have to do with gold and alchemy.

[6] A knowledge of correspondences was not disclosed after that time for the reason that Christians in the early church were very simple, so that it could not be disclosed to them. If it had been disclosed, it would have been of no use to them, nor would they have understood it. In the following centuries darkness arose over the whole Christian world on account of the papist religion, which at last became a land of Babylon; and those who come from this Babylon and have confirmed themselves in its falsities are mostly natural, sensual people, who cannot and will not comprehend anything spiritual, thus neither what the correspondence of natural things to spiritual things is. For then they would also have to be convinced that Peter does not mean Peter, that the Word is Divine even to its inmost elements, and that a papal edict is of no consequence by comparison. After the Reformation, furthermore, people began to draw a distinction between faith and charity, and to worship one God in three persons, thus three Gods, whom they merely called one, and because of this heavenly truths were then kept hidden from them, to prevent them from falsifying them. For if heavenly truths had been disclosed, they would have falsified those truths and used them to support faith alone, and not one of them to support charity and love. Therefore, if the spiritual meaning of the Word had then been revealed, they would have closed heaven to themselves also by a falsification of those truths.

[7] To explain this, it should be known that everyone is permitted to understand the literal meaning of the Word in a simple way, provided he does not affirm the appearances of truth he finds there to the point that he does away with the real truth. For to interpret the Word in respect to its spiritual meaning according to falsities of doctrine closes heaven instead of opening it. It is otherwise if one interprets the spiritual meaning in accordance with truths of doctrine. This opens heaven, because that is the meaning which exists with angels, and through that meaning, therefore, a person thinks along with angels and thus joins them to him in his intellectual thought. But if a person is caught up in falsities of doctrine and tries to explore the spiritual meaning from some knowledge of correspondences, he falsifies that meaning. It is different if a person has first come into genuine truths, for the spiritual meaning agrees with truths and appears in the light of truths, because it exists in the light of heaven. But it agrees not one whit with falsities, and if anything of it were to appear to someone in falsities, darkness would result instead of the light of heaven. For angels turn away in that case, thus closing heaven to the person.

The Word's spiritual meaning is meant by the Lord's inner garment or tunic, which was without seam, and which the soldiers were not permitted to divide. The Word's natural meaning, on the other hand, or the meaning of its letter, is meant by the garments which the soldiers divided.******** Garments in the Word symbolize truths, and the Lord's garments Divine truths. That is also why the Lord's garments appeared as white as the light when He was transfigured before Peter, James and John.*********

[8] The Lord has revealed the spiritual meaning of the Word at this day because a doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed. This doctrine is contained in part in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, and now in some shorter works which are in process of publication.********** And because this doctrine and no other agrees with the spiritual meaning of the Word, therefore that meaning has now for the first time been disclosed, along with a knowledge of correspondences. That meaning is also symbolized by the Lord's appearing in the clouds of heaven with glory and power (Matthew 24:30), in the chapter in Matthew which describes the end of the age, by which is meant the final period of the church. A cloud of heaven, there and elsewhere in the Word, symbolizes the Word in its letter, the Word in its letter being relatively like a cloud in comparison to its spiritual meaning. Glory, on the other hand, there as also elsewhere in the Word, symbolizes the Word in respect to its spiritual meaning, by which Divine truth is in light. And by power is meant its force.

A revelation of the Word in respect to its spiritual meaning was also promised in the book of Revelation. That meaning is there meant by the white horse, and likewise by the great supper of God to which all come and are gathered (Revelation 19:11-17). It was also foretold that for a long time many would not accept the spiritual meaning, as is the case only with those who are caught up in falsities of doctrine - especially concerning the Lord-and who do not acknowledge truths. This is what is meant by the beast and the kings of the earth who were going to make war against Him that sat on the white horse (Revelation 19:19). By the beast is meant Roman Catholics (as in chap. 17, ver. 3, in the same book) and by the kings of the earth are meant Protestants-those who are caught up in falsities of doctrine.

The mysteries which some look for in the Word are nothing else than its spiritual and celestial meanings. * See Heaven and Hell, nos. 103-115, 87-102. ** See Genesis 5:21-24. *** Sic. **** The writer may have been thinking of a line from Ovid's Metamorphoses 7:225, ... both Pindus and, greater than Pindus, Olympus...." ***** See Matthew 2:1-11. ****** The writer first wrote "they," and afterward changed it to "the shepherds." Everything said here about the shepherds was entirely omitted in subsequent, parallel passages. ******* See Luke 2:6-12. ******** See John 19:23,24. ********* See Matthew 17:1, 2, Mark 9:2, 3, Luke 9:28,29. **********The works referred to are almost certainly The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture, The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem in accordance with the Commandments of the Decalogue, and The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding Faith, published in 1763.