That is, Christ will wash our humanity, viz. the garment of the soul, in the wine of his love, and with the love wash away from the defiled Adamical flesh the earthly dross and spawn of the Serpent, that Adam had received with his desire and lust, from which the earthly man became a beast; and leave the spawn of the Serpent to the earth, and in the end burn it up with the fire of God.
60. And his mantle in the blood of the grape. The mantle is the cover which covers the washed garment, and is even the precious purple mantle of Christ, viz. the scorn, affliction, torment and suffering; when he thereby washed our sins in his blood, that is, the right blood of the grape, wherein he washed his mantle, which now he casts over our garment and covers it, viz. over our humanity, that God's anger and the devil may not touch it.
61. O man! consider this. This mantle will not be cast over the beast and the whore, to cover them, as Babel teaches, but over the washed garment that is washed in right true repentance with God's love: this garment of the soul will be covered with the mantle of Christ, which is once washed in his blood of the grape; and not whores, panders, unclean persons, covetous extortioners, unrighteous, cruel, raging, stern and proud; so long as they are such they have only the mantle of the Babylonish whore about them, and get not this holy washed mantle of Christ upon them; flatter and play the hypocrite as much as you will, yet you will not get it, except you are washed beforehand; your comforting yourself will not avail you, you must set upon it in earnest, that your she-ass may live, and your foal be essentially bound to the vine, Christ, else you are a member of the whore sitting upon the seven-headed dragon; and if you could pass through the thrones of heaven, yet you would be but a child of the dragon.
62. O Babel, Babel, what have you done, in covering the beast with this mantle, and yourself remaining under it, a wolf?
63. Also, His eyes are redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. His eyes are now the fire-flaming love, which pierce and press through the Father's anger, and look through the fiery soul, wherein the Father's anger in the fiery soul becomes a light-flaming love-fire; and so the soul's essence is thereby become a sweet, pleasant tasted, divine, red love-wine; one property in the soulish essence tasting the other in great desire of love, and the Father's property of anger flowing forth in a clear, good, pleasant relish.
64. And his teeth are whiter than milk. These white teeth are the desire of the inward spiritual man, where the holy word is together in the desire of these teeth, which white teeth of heavenly desire apprehend, eat and drink, the grape of Christ's blood; for it is the spiritual mouth, for which Christ has ordained his testament, that it should with these white teeth, eat his flesh and drink his blood (John vi. 53). This the spirit of the Covenant declares clearly and plainly by Jacob.
65. For the testament of Judah points throughout at Christ, at his person, office and kingdom. For of Judah Christ should come according to the humanity; outwardly the figure of the type stands, and inwardly, in the spiritual figure, Christ stands clearly.
The Seventy-Seventh Chapter
A Further Exposition of Jacob's Testament,
Concerning the other Eight Sons, how both
That is, Christ will wash our humanity, viz. the garment of the soul, in the wine of his love, and with the love wash away from the defiled Adamical flesh the earthly dross and spawn of the Serpent, that Adam had received with his desire and lust, from which the earthly man became a beast; and leave the spawn of the Serpent to the earth, and in the end burn it up with the fire of God.
60. And his mantle in the blood of the grape. The mantle is the cover which covers the washed garment, and is even the precious purple mantle of Christ, viz. the scorn, affliction, torment and suffering; when he thereby washed our sins in his blood, that is, the right blood of the grape, wherein he washed his mantle, which now he casts over our garment and covers it, viz. over our humanity, that God's anger and the devil may not touch it.
61. O man! consider this. This mantle will not be cast over the beast and the whore, to cover them, as Babel teaches, but over the washed garment that is washed in right true repentance with God's love: this garment of the soul will be covered with the mantle of Christ, which is once washed in his blood of the grape; and not whores, panders, unclean persons, covetous extortioners, unrighteous, cruel, raging, stern and proud; so long as they are such they have only the mantle of the Babylonish whore about them, and get not this holy washed mantle of Christ upon them; flatter and play the hypocrite as much as you will, yet you will not get it, except you are washed beforehand; your comforting yourself will not avail you, you must set upon it in earnest, that your she-ass may live, and your foal be essentially bound to the vine, Christ, else you are a member of the whore sitting upon the seven-headed dragon; and if you could pass through the thrones of heaven, yet you would be but a child of the dragon.
62. O Babel, Babel, what have you done, in covering the beast with this mantle, and yourself remaining under it, a wolf?
63. Also, His eyes are redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. His eyes are now the fire-flaming love, which pierce and press through the Father's anger, and look through the fiery soul, wherein the Father's anger in the fiery soul becomes a light-flaming love-fire; and so the soul's essence is thereby become a sweet, pleasant tasted, divine, red love-wine; one property in the soulish essence tasting the other in great desire of love, and the Father's property of anger flowing forth in a clear, good, pleasant relish.
64. And his teeth are whiter than milk. These white teeth are the desire of the inward spiritual man, where the holy word is together in the desire of these teeth, which white teeth of heavenly desire apprehend, eat and drink, the grape of Christ's blood; for it is the spiritual mouth, for which Christ has ordained his testament, that it should with these white teeth, eat his flesh and drink his blood (John vi. 53). This the spirit of the Covenant declares clearly and plainly by Jacob.
65. For the testament of Judah points throughout at Christ, at his person, office and kingdom. For of Judah Christ should come according to the humanity; outwardly the figure of the type stands, and inwardly, in the spiritual figure, Christ stands clearly.
The Seventy-Seventh Chapter
A Further Exposition of Jacob's Testament,
Concerning the other Eight Sons, how both
No commentary for this page.
There is commentary on page 1.