Like other common verbs, the meaning of “fall” is highly dependent on context in regular language, and is highly dependent on context in a spiritual sense as well. People fall on their faces in prayer, fall in battle, fall on others to attack them and fall on each other’s necks in greeting. Stars fall from the sky, mountains fall on people, cities fall, and even faces fall. There’s a lot of falling, in very different circumstances.
In a very general sense, falling shows the contrast between higher and lower spiritual states. This is dramatic at times: The “fall” of a city or nation illustrates the complete destruction of the spiritual state the city or nation represents, and when people’s faces fall it shows them moving away from the Lord into lower spiritual states. In other cases it can be quite subtle: Swedenborg says that when people fall on their faces in prayer it illustrates humility, an acknowledgement of their own low spiritual state in the presence of the Lord.
An interesting case is the description of people “falling on each other’s necks” in greeting. Swedenborg says this corresponds to the communication between spiritual states, and the meaning is closely connected to the meaning of the face (our interiors) and the neck (the movement of interior things into exterior things). Even here, though, there is a sense of “falling” as each person puts his or her face (a more internal aspect of our spiritual selves) against the other person’s neck (a lower aspect of out spiritual selves).
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1999
- That ‘Abram fell on his face’* means adoration is clear without explanation. Falling on one’s face’ was the reverent way in which the Most Ancient Church, and as a consequence the ancients, expressed adoration. The reason they expressed it in this way was that ‘the face’ meant the inward parts, and ‘falling on one’s face’* represented a state of humiliation of those inward parts; and from this it became in the Jewish representative Church an act of reverence.
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.
* lit. faces
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4352
- ‘And fell on his neck’ means a second joining together involving everything included within that universal embodiment of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fallingon the neck’ as a closer joining together since it is a closer kind of embrace. Furthermore ‘the neck’ in the internal sense means the influx and communication of interior things with exterior, and therefore means a joining together of them, see 3542, 3603. The reason why this is a joining together of everything – or with everything – within that universal embodiment of truth is that Jacob, to whom ‘his’ refers here, means the universal embodiment of every kind of truth, 4346.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6401
- ‘And its rider will fall backwards’ means a receding from [truth]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘falling backwards’ as a receding from – a receding from truth; and from the meaning of ‘rider’ as those subject to false notions received from lowest nature.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7102
- ‘Lest perhaps He fall on us with pestilence and sword’ means to avoid the damnation of evil and falsity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lest perhaps He fall on’ as lest they run into – into damnation; from the meaning of ‘pestilence’ as the damnation of evil, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘sword’ as the vastation of truth, and also the punishment of falsity, dealt with in 2799, and so also as damnation, since the punishment of falsity, when truth has been devasted, is damnation.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9086
- ‘And an ox or an ass falls into it’ means, which perverts good or truth in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘falling’ as perverting, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘an ox’ as an affection for evil in the natural, thus evil there, dealt with above in 9065; and from the meaning of ‘an ass’ as truth in the natural, dealt with in 2781, 5492, 5741, 7024, 8078. The fact that ‘falling into a pit’ – when these words refer to good and truth in the natural, which are meant by ‘an ox and an ass’ – means perverting is evident from the contents of the next verse. These describe amendment made through truth, which can be accomplished with forms of good or truths that have been perverted, but not with those which have been wiped out. For when good or truth is perverted it still remains, but is misrepresented. ‘Falling’ also means slipping through error.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1020
- And the cities of the nations fell. That this signifies similarly everything of the doctrine of good from the Word, is evident from the signification of a city, as denoting doctrine, as shown just above. Hence cities denote doctrinals, or all things of doctrine; and from the signification of nations, as denoting those who are in the good of love, and, in an abstract sense, goods (see n. 175, 331, 625); and from the signification offalling, as denoting to be dissipated. For when cities fall, they perish; and when doctrine falls, then the truths thereof are dissipated.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 402
- Verse 13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. That this signifies that the knowledges of good and truth have perished, is plain from the signification of stars, as denoting the knowledges of good and truth (concerning which see above, n. 72); and from the signification of falling unto the earth, as denoting to perish; for when the stars fall to the earth, they perish. The same is signified by, the stars shall fall from heaven, in Matt. xxiv. 29 and in Mark xiii. 25. Any one may see that by the stars are not meant stars, for these cannot fallfrom heaven, as they are fixed or stand in their place; neither could they fall to the earth, because they are larger than the earth; therefore such things as pertain to the light of heaven, and give light, which are the knowledges of good and truth, are signified by them.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 811
- That captivity, in the Word, signifies spiritual captivity, which is to be shut out from Divine truths, that is, from the understanding of them in the Word; also destruction by falsities of evil and by evils arising from falsity, is evident from the passages in the Word where captivity is mentioned; as in the following places:
In Luke:
“They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and they shall be made captive amongst all nations; at length Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot” (xxi. 24).
The subject of that chapter is the Consummation of the Age, by which is signified the last time of the church, when there is no longer any truth remaining. By their falling by the edge of the sword is signified the destruction of truth by falsities – sword signifying the combat of falsity against the truth, and also the destruction of truth by falsities. By being made captive amongst all nations, are signified persuasions, and obsessions therefrom, by evils of every kind. For when truths are destroyed, falsities take their place, and not only falsities but evils.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 880
- That great city. That this signifies devastation and destruction as to all things of doctrine among them, is evident from the signification of falling, when said of a city, as denoting to be devastated and destroyed, as was said above (n. 879); and from the signification of a city, as denoting doctrine, with every thing belonging to it; concerning which see above (n. 223).