The idea of “lifting” is used in a number of different ways in the Bible. In general, according to Swedenborg, it means connecting with a higher spiritual state for strength or enlightenment, though as with many verbs the context makes a great deal of difference.
One of the most common uses comes as people lift up their eyes, which usually means coming into a state of perceiving what is true from the Lord. Lifting a hand or a rod means wielding power, making it common in the performance of miracles. Lifting the feet means elevating the most natural, external aspects of our day-to-day lives. Lifting objects means elevating them to higher uses, or sometimes just to protect them (Noah’s Arks was “lifted up” in this sense). And so forth.
In the negative sense, people can lift things up – towers or other human structures – representing a deeper state of the love of self.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2148
- That ‘he lifted up his eyes’ means that He saw within Himself is clear from the meaning of ‘lifting up the eyes’. By ‘eyes’ in the Word is meant interior sight, or the understanding, as becomes clear from the places quoted in 212, and therefore by ‘lifting up the eyes’ is meant seeing and perceiving the things which exist above oneself. Things that are interior are expressed in the Word by those that are higher, as in the expressions ‘looking upwards’, ‘lifting up the eyes to heaven’, and ‘thinking high things’ – the reason being that man imagines heaven to be on high, or up above himself, though in fact it is not on high but exists in things that are internal; when the heavenly things of love are present in a person, his heaven exists within him, see 450. From this it is plain that ‘lifting up the eyes’ means seeing within oneself.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4339
- ‘Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw’ means the perception and the attention of the good of truth, meant by ‘Jacob’. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lifting up the eyes and seeing’ as perception and attention. For ‘lifting up the eyes’ is an external action which corresponds to a raising of the mind, an internal activity, and so corresponds to perception, while ‘seeing’ corresponds to consequent attention. Also, ‘Jacob’ at this point represents the good of truth, see just above in 4337.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3761
- ‘Jacob lifted up his feet’ means a raising up of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lifting up’ as a raising up, and from the meaning of ‘the feet’ as the natural, dealt with below. The raising up meant here is the subject of the chapter itself, namely a raising up from external truth towards internal good. In the highest sense the subject is how the Lord according to order raised His Natural even up to the Divine, rising up step by step from external truth towards internal good. In the representative sense it is how the Lord according to a similar order makes man’s natural new when regenerating him.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7703
- ‘And it lifted the locusts’ means the end of that state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘locusts’ as falsity in outermost parts, dealt with in 7643. And what is meant by ‘lifting’ the locusts is taking away the state which involves this falsity, thus the end of that state; this is similar to what has appeared before, where [the end of] ‘the hail’ is spoken of, 7597, 7610.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5124
- ‘Pharaoh will lift up your head’ means that which has been provided and therefore decided. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lifting up the head’ as reaching a decision, and in the highest sense as providing; for a decision taken by the Divine and the carrying of that decision into effect is Providence. ‘Lifting up the head’ was an expression commonly used by the Ancients when it was decided that those who were bound, that is, those in prison, should either be allowed to live or else be condemned to death. When they were allowed to live the expression ‘lifting up the head’ was used, as also in the second Book of Kings,
Evil-merodach king of Babel, in the year he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from the prison-house; and he spoke to him that which was good, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babel. 2 Kings 25:17, 28.
Similarly in Jeremiah,
Evil-merodach king of Babel, in the [first] year of his reign, liftedup the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him from the prison-house. Jer. 52:31.
But when someone was condemned to death the expression ‘liftingup the head from upon him’ was used, as in verse 19 further on which refers to the baker,
In yet three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from upon you.
[2] This phrase expressing the decision that someone should live or be put to death originated with the Ancients, among whom representatives existed; it originated in their representation of those who were bound in prison or the pit. Because those in prison represented people undergoing vastation beneath the lower earth, 4728, 4744, 5038, ‘lifting up the head’ therefore meant their release from this condition. For when they are released they are raised or brought up from that vastation to heavenly communities, see 2699, 2701, 2704. Being brought or raised up implies advances made towards interior things, for the expression raised up or high is used to refer to things that are interior, 2148, 4210. And because advances made towards interior things are meant, an advance towards heaven is meant, since heaven exists within interior things. Such is the meaning of ‘lifting up the head’. But ‘lifting up the head from upon someone’ meant his condemnation to death, for in this case those who were above the ones in the pit or undergoing vastation were raised up to heaven, while those in the pit were sent down into the nether regions. These things meant by this phrase expressing the decision whether one should live or be put to death are the reason for its usage in the Word. From this it is evident that ‘lifting up the head’ means that which has been decided; and as this is meant, that which has been provided is meant in the highest sense, since the Divine makes provision for that on which He has made a decision.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5328
- ‘Or his foot’ means all power in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘foot’ as the natural, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4931-4952. Here power within the natural is meant because ‘lifting up the foot’, like ‘lifting up the hand’, means power, though ‘lifting up the hand’ means power in the spiritual, whereas ‘lifting up the foot’ means power in the natural; for the parts within the body that are above the feet correspond to spiritual things. This is especially evident from the Grand Man or the three heavens.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 791
- 18:21 Then a mighty angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus shall Babylon, that great city, be forcefully thrown down, and not be found anymore.” This symbolically means that by a powerful influx of the Lord from heaven, the Roman Catholic religion will be cast headlong into hell, together with all its adulterated truths of the Word, and angels will never see it again.
A mighty angel’s lifting up symbolizes a powerful influx of the Lord from heaven; for an angel symbolizes the Lord and His operation, an operation which takes place through heaven (nos. 258, 415, 465, 649). Here, because the angel is called a mighty angel and lifts up a great millstone, the operation symbolized is a powerful one, which means a powerful influx.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5327
- ‘And without you shall no man lift up his hand’ means that all power in the spiritual was received from the celestial of the spiritual. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hand’ as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5296. Consequently ‘no man lifting up his hand without you’ means that they had no power at all except from this, thus that all power rested with this, that is to say, with the celestial of the spiritual.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2697
- ‘Lift the boy up’ means the spiritual as regards truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the boy’ as the spiritual, in particular as regards truth, dealt with in 2677, 2687. For the member of the spiritual Church is regenerated seemingly by means of the truths of faith; but he is not aware that in fact he is regenerated by means of the good allied to truth. For that good is not observable, but presents itself solely in the affection for truth, and after that in a life according to truth. In no way can anyone be regenerated by means of truth unless good accompanies that truth, for truth devoid of good has no life. Consequently no new life at all can come through truth separated from good; but a person acquires it through regeneration.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 789
- The waverings of the member of this Church are described here first of all by the waters, that is, falsities, increasing; then by their raising the ark; further still by its being lifted above the earth; after that by the waters growing more and more and increasing greatly over the earth; and finally by the ark going over the face* of the waters. It would however take far too long and it would be superfluous to describe individual waverings. It is sufficient just to know that they are being described here. Let merely the statement be considered that the ark was lifted above the earth and went over the face* of the waters. Its meaning becomes clear to no one unless he has been told about how a person is withheld from evils and falsities. This being an arcanum it must be described briefly. Everyone in general, including a regenerate person, is such that unless the Lord withholds him from evils and falsities he hurls himself headlong into hell. The moment he is not being withheld he rushes headlong in that direction. This has been made known to me through actual experiences, and has also been represented to me by a horse, about which see 187, 188. This withholding from evils and falsities is nothing other than ‘a lifting up’ so that evils and falsities are perceived as being beneath, and man himself above. This lifting up will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be dealt with later on. It is what is meant by the statements about the ark being liftedabove the earth and about the ark going over the face* of the waters.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1306
- That ‘a tower’ means worship of self is clear from the meaning of ‘a tower’. It is worship of self when a person sets himself up above everybody else even to the point of his being worshipped. Consequently self-love, which is pride and arrogance, is called height, loftiness, and exaltedness, and everything high is used to describe it, as in Isaiah,
The eyes of man’s (homo) loftiness will be humbled, and the height of men (vir) brought low, and Jehovah alone will be exalted on that day, for the day of Jehovah Zebaoth will be against everyone that is lofty and high, and against everyone that is liftedup. and he will be humbled, and against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up and against all the oaks of Bashan, and against all high mountains, and against all hills that are lifted up, and against every lofty tower and against every fortified wall. Isa. 2:11-18.
This refers to self-love, described by the cedars, oaks, mountains, hills, and tower that are high and exalted.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1054
- ‘I see it’ means that he is such as can be regenerated. This is clear from the fact that in reference to the Lord the expression ‘seeing someone’ means knowing his character. For the Lord knows all people from eternity and has no need to see the character of anyone. When someone is such as can be regenerated, the Lord is spoken of as ‘seeing him’, as He is also said ‘to lift up His face on him’. When however he is unable to be regenerated, the Lord is not spoken of as seeing him or of lifting up His face on him, but is spoken of as ‘turning His eyes or face away from him’, though it is not the Lord who turns these away but man.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 358
- ‘The face* falling’ means change taking place as to interiors. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the face’ and from the meaning of ‘falling’. Among the ancients the face meant internal things, for it is through the face that internal things shine forth. What is more, people in most ancient limes were such that the face was in complete accord with internal things, so that anyone could see from another person’s face the character of his disposition or mind (animus aut mens). They considered it something monstrous to express one thing in the face and to be thinking another; pretence and deceit in those times were abhorrent. Consequently the face meant things that were internal. When charity shone out of the face, the face was said to be ‘lifted up’, but when the reverse happened the face was said to ‘fall’. This also explains why the Lord is referred to as lifting up His face upon man, as in the Blessing in Num. 6:26 and Ps. 4:6, which means the Lord’s gift of charity to man. What ‘the falling of the face’ means is clear in Jeremiah,
I will not cause My face to fall upon you, for I am merciful, said Jehovah. Jer. 3:12.
By ‘Jehovah’s face’ is meant mercy. When He ‘lifts up His face’ on anyone, He is from His mercy imparting charity to him. The reverse is the case when He ’causes His face to fall’, that is, when man’s face falls.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6947
- ‘What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod’ means the power of the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hand’ as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4971-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544; and from the meaning of ‘a rod’ too as power, dealt with in 4013, 4876, 4936. The reason why it is the power of the Lord’s Divine Human is that ‘Moses’ represents the Lord in respect of the law of God, which is the Word, and this is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, 6752. The power meant by ‘hand’ is the power emanating from the Lord’s Divine Rational, whereas the power meant by ‘the rod’ is the power emanating from the Lord’s Divine Natural. The reason why ‘a rod’ is the power emanating from the Lord’s Divine Natural is that a rod is like a foot in that it supports the body, and by ‘the foot’ is meant the natural, 2161, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952; and ‘lifting up the hand’ is power in the spiritual, while ‘lifting up the foot’ is power in the natural, see 5727, 5328. And since ‘hand’ and ‘rod’ have these meanings, then depending on how high the things described in the internal sense rise Moses was sometimes told, when he was to work miracles, to lift up his hand, at other times his rod.