FIRSTLY; that by 'blood' is signified the Lord's Divine Truth or Word, from these considerations; that 'blood' was termed 'blood of the covenant', and covenant is conjunction, and this is effected by the Lord by means of His Divine Truth, as in Zechariah:-

By the blood of thy covenant I will send forth the bound out of the pit Zech. ix 11;

and in Moses:-

Moses, after he had read the book of the law in the ears of the people, sprinkled half of the blood upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah has made with you upon all these words Exod. xxiv 3-8.

And Jesus, having taken the cup, gave it to them, saying, All drink of it, this is My blood, that of the New Covenant Matt. xxvi 27, 28; Mark xiv 24; Luke xxii 20.

By the 'blood of the New Covenant' or Testament is signified nothing but the Word, which is called 'Covenant' and 'Testament', Old and New, thus the Divine Truth there. [3] Since this is signified by 'blood', therefore the Lord gave them wine, saying, 'This is My blood', and 'wine' signifies Divine Truth (n. 316); and it is also therefore called 'the blood of grapes' (Gen. xlix 11; Deut. xxxii 14). This is still more plain from these words of the Lord:-

Amen, Amen, I say unto you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall have no life in you, for My flesh is truly food and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, abides in Me and I in Him John vi 50-58.

It is quite plain that by 'blood' here is understood Divine Truth, because it is said that he who drinks has life and abides in the Lord and the Lord in Him. That Divine Truth effects this and a life in accordance therewith, and that the Holy Supper confirms it, can be known in the Church. [4] Since 'blood' signifies the Lord's Divine Truth, which is also the Divine Truth of the Word, and this is the Covenant itself, or Old and New Testament, therefore 'blood' was the most holy representative in the Israelitish Church, in which all things jointly and severally were correspondences of spiritual things, as:-

That they used to take of the paschal blood, and put it upon the posts and lintels of their houses, that the plague might not come upon them Exod. xii 7, 13, 22.

That the blood of the burnt-offering used to be sprinkled upon the altar, on the foundations of the altar, upon Aaron, his sons, and their garments Exod. xxix 12, 16, 20, 21; Lev. i 5, 11, 15; iii 2, 8, 13; iv 25, 30, 34; v 9; viii 15, 24; xvii 6; Num. xviii 17; Deut. xii 27.

Also upon the veil that was over the ark, upon the propitiatory there, and upon the horns of the altar of incense Lev. iv 6, 7, 17, 18; xvi 12-15.

[5] A similar thing is signified by 'the blood of the Lamb' in the following [words] in the Apocalypse:-

And there was war in heaven, Michael and [his] angels fought against the dragon, and overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony Rev. xii 7, 11.

For it cannot be thought that Michael and his angels overcame the dragon by other means than by the Lord's Divine Truth in the Word; for angels in heaven cannot think of any blood, nor do they think of the Lord's passion, but of the Divine Truth and of His resurrection. Therefore when a man thinks of the Lord's blood the angels perceive His Divine Truth, and when of the Lord's passion they perceive His glorification, and then only the resurrection. That this is the case it has been given [me] to know by much experience. [6] That 'blood' signifies Divine Truth is plain also from these [words] in David:-

God will preserve the souls of the needy, precious shall their blood be in His eyes; and they shall live, and He shall give them of the gold of Sheba Ps. lxxii 13-15.

'Blood precious in the eyes of God' [stands] for the Divine Truth with them; 'the gold of Sheba' is wisdom therefrom. In Ezekiel:-

Gather yourselves to a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood; the blood of the princes of the land shall you drink, and you shall drink blood even to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you: thus will I give My glory among the nations. Ezek. xxxix 17-21.

By 'blood' here cannot be understood blood because it is said that they are going to drink 'the blood of the princes of the land' and that they are going to drink 'even to drunkenness'. The true sense of the Word results, however, when by 'blood' is understood Divine Truth: it also treats there of the Lord's Church that is going to be restored among the nations.

[7] SECONDLY that 'blood' signifies Divine Truth can be clearly seen from the opposite sense thereof in which it signifies the Divine Truth of the Word falsified or profaned; and this is plain from these passages:-

He who stops his ears lest he hear bloods, and shuts his eyes lest he see evil Isa. xxxiii 15.

Thou shalt destroy those speaking a lie, Jehovah abhors a man of bloods and deceit Ps. v 6 [H.B. 7].

Every one who is written among the living (ad vitam) in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall wash away its bloods out of the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of purifying Isa. iv 3, 4.

In the day that thou wast born, I saw thee trampled in bloods, and I said, In thine own bloods live; I have washed thee, and washed away the bloods from upon thee Ezek. xvi 5, 6, 9, 22, 36, 38.

The blind have wandered in the streets, they have been polluted with blood, and the things they are unable [to touch], they touch with their garments Lam. iv 13, 14.

The garment is polluted with blood Isa. ix 4.

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocents Jer. ii 33, 34.

Your hands are full of bloods, wash you, purify you, put away the wickedness of your doings Isa. 15, 16.

Your hands are polluted with blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken a lie, they make haste to shed innocent blood Isa. lix 3, 7.

Jehovah going forth to visit the iniquity of the land, then shall the land reveal its bloods Isa. xxvi 21.

As many as have received Him, to them He has given power that they might be the sons of God, who are not [born] out of bloods John i 12, 13.

In Babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints Rev. xviii 24.

The sea became as the blood of the dead, and the fountains of waters became blood Rev. xvi 3, 4; Isa. xv 6, 9; Ps. cv 23, 28, 29.

Something similar is signified by the fact that:-

The streams, gatherings and swamps of waters in Egypt were turned into blood Exod. vii 15-25.

The moon shall be turned into blood before the great day of Jehovah comes Joel ii 31 [H.B. iii 4].

The moon became blood Rev. vi 12.

In these places and many others 'blood' signifies the truth of the Word falsified, and also profaned; and this can be seen yet more manifestly from those passages in the Word read in [their] series. Since therefore by 'blood' in the opposite sense is signified the Truth of the Word falsified or profaned, it is plain that in the genuine sense the truth of the Word not falsified is signified. * In the Original the numbers are given as 22-24 and 25-27, but it is clear that the above sections are intended.