{1} But the poor man who lay at the rich man's
gate and longed to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich
man's table, and who was carried by angels into heaven, means the
nations that have no knowledges of good and truth and yet desired
them (Luke 16:19-31). Also the rich that were called to a great
supper and excused themselves mean the Jewish nation, and the poor
brought in in their place mean the nations outside of the church
(Luke 14:16-24). [3] By the rich man of whom the Lord says:
It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Matt.
19:24),
the rich in both the natural sense and the spiritual sense are meant.
In the natural sense the rich are those that have an abundance of
riches and set their heart upon them; but in the spiritual sense they
are those that have an abundance of knowledges and learning, which
are spiritual riches, and who desire by means of these to introduce
themselves into the things of heaven and the church from their own
intelligence. And because this is contrary to Divine order it is said
to be "easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye," a "camel"
signifying in general in the spiritual sense the knowing faculty and
things known, and a "needle's eye" signifying spiritual truth.
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