Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no silver, come, buy and eat, and buy wine and milk without silver Isa. lv 1.

It shall come to pass in that day the mountains shall drip new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk Joel iii 18 [H.B. iv 8]; Amos ix 13, 14.

Joy is taken away from Carmel, and in the vineyards there is no singing, wine is not being trodden in the winepress, I have made hedad* to cease Isa. xvi 10; Jer xlviii 32, 33.

By 'Carmel' is signified the spiritual Church, because vineyards were there.

[2] Howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth, the vinedressers have howled Joel i 5, 10, 11.

Much the same, Hos. ix 2, 3; Zeph. i 13; Lam. ii 11, 12; Micah vi 15; Amos v 11; Isa. xxiv 6, 7, 9, 11.

He washes his garments in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes; red-eyed from wine Gen. xlix 11.

These things [are said] of the Lord, 'wine' signifying Divine Truth. In consequence of this signification the Holy Supper has been instituted by the Lord, in which the bread signifies the Lord as to Divine Good, and the wine the Lord as to Divine Truth, and with the recipients the bread signifies holy good, and the wine holy truth, from the Lord; and He therefore said:-

I say unto you, that from now on I am not going to drink of this product of the vine until the day when I shall drink it with you in My Father's kingdom Matt. xxvi 29; Luke xxii 18.

Because 'bread' and 'wine' used to signify those things, therefore, also:-

Melchizedek, going to meet Abram, brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest to the Most High God, and he blessed Abram Gen. xiv 18, 19.

[3] By 'the meal-offering' and 'the drink-offering' in the sacrifices similar things were signified, concerning which [see] Exod. xxix 40; Lev. xxiii 12, 13, 18, 19; Num. xv 2-15; xxviii 6, 7, 18 to the end; xxix 1-11 seq. The meal-offering was of fine flour of wheat and was consequently in place of bread, and the drink-offering was of wine. From these things it can be established what is signified by these words of the Lord:-

They do not put the new wine into old wine-skins, but they put the wine into new wine-skins, and both are preserved Matt. ix 17; Luke v 37.

The 'new wine' is the Divine Truth of the New Testament, thus of the New Church, and the 'old wine' is the Divine Truth of the Old Testament, thus of the Old Church. The like is signified by these words of the Lord** at the marriage in Cana of Galilee:-

Every man first serves the good wine, and when they have had enough, the worse; thou hast kept back the good wine until now John ii 1-10.

[4] The like was signified also by the 'wine' in the Lord's parable about the one wounded by robbers,

That the Samaritan poured oil and wine into his wounds. Luke x 33, 34,

for by 'one wounded by robbers' are understood those who have been wounded by the Jews spiritually by means of evils and untruths, to whom the Samaritan gave help by 'pouring oil and wine into his wounds', that is, by teaching good and truth, and so far as he was able, healing. Holy truth is signified by 'new wine' and 'wine' elsewhere in the Word also, as [in] Isa. i 21, 22; xxv 6; xxxvi 17; Hos. vii 4, 5, 14; xiv 6-8; Amos ii 8; Zech. ix 15, 17; Ps. civ 14, 15. Consequently, by a 'vineyard' in the Word is signified a Church that is in truths from the Lord. [5] That wine signifies holy truth can also be established from its opposite sense, in which it signifies falsified and profaned truth as in these places:-

Whoredom, wine and new wine, have invaded the heart. Their wine has gone, committing whoredom they have committed whoredom Hos. iv 11, 17, 18.

'Whoredom' signifies the falsification of truth, in like manner wine and 'new wine' here.

A cup in the hand of Jehovah, and He has mixed it with wine, He has filled it with the mixture and poured it out, and they shall suck out the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the land shall drink Ps. lxxv 9.

A cup of gold is Babel in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole land drunk, the nations have drunk of the wine thereof, therefore they are mad Jer. li 7.

Babylon has fallen, because she has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom: if any one shall adore the beast, he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God mixed with undiluted wine in the cup of the growing anger of God Rev. xiv 8, 10.

Babylon has made all nations to drink of the wine of her whoredom Rev. xviii 3.

Great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the growing anger of the wrath of God Rev. xvi 19.

Those inhabiting the land have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom Rev. xvii 1, 2.

[6] By the 'wine' that Belshazzar the king of Babel and his great men and wives and concubines drank out of the vessels of the Jerusalem temple, and at the same time:-

They praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone Dan. v 1-4;

nothing else is signified than the holy truth of the Word and the Church profaned, and therefore there was writing upon the wall, and the king was slain that night (vers. 25, 30). Truth falsified is also signified by 'wine' [in] Isa. v 11, 12, 21, 22; xxviii 1, 3, 7; xxix 9; lvi 15, 12; Jer. xiii 12, 13; xxiii 9, 10. The like is signified by the drink-offering that they used to offer to idols, Isa. lxv 11; lvii 6; Jer. vii 18; xliv 17-19; Ezek. xx 28; Deut. xxxii 38. That 'wine' signifies holy truth, and in the opposite sense profaned truth, is the result of correspondence; for angels, who perceive all things spiritually, when 'wine' is read in the Word by a man, understand no other thing. There is such a correspondence between the natural thoughts of men and the spiritual thoughts of angels. It is similar with the wine in the Holy Supper. This is why introduction into heaven is effected by means of the Holy Supper (n. 224 at the end). * This is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning 'shouting', perhaps equivalent to the English 'hurrah'. ** These words were spoken by the ruler of the feast.