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926. (Verse 1) And I saw another sign in heaven. That this signifies revelation from the Lord concerning the state of the church immediately before the Last Judgment, is evident from the signification of a sign, as denoting revelation, and from the signification of heaven, as denoting the Lord, of which we shall speak presently.
The reason why a sign signifies revelation is, that by a sign are meant those things that were seen by John, and are afterwards related; and those things seen by him involve arcana concerning the state of the church immediately before the Last Judgment. For, in general, whatever appears in heaven is wholly similar to what exists in our material world in its three kingdoms. And those things appear before the eyes of the angels just like those of the three kingdoms seen by men in the world. Gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, stones precious and not precious, ground, earths, mountains, hills, valleys, waters, fountains, and other things pertaining to the mineral kingdom appear there. Parks, gardens, forests, fruit-trees of every kind, lawns, corn-fields, plains full of flowers, herbs, and grasses of every kind appear there; also things derived from them, as oils, wines, all kinds of juices, and other things belonging to the vegetable kingdom. Animals of the earth, fowls of the heaven, fishes of the sea, reptiles, and these of every kind, appear there; and they are so much like those on our earth, that they cannot be distinguished. I have seen them, and could not perceive any difference.
[2] But still there is this difference, that the things that appear in heaven are from a spiritual origin; while those in our world are from a material origin. And the things that are from a spiritual origin affect the senses of the angels, because they are spiritual, as those that are from a material origin affect the sense of men, because they are material. For spiritual things are in harmony with those who are spiritual; and material things are in harmony with those who are material. It is said, that they are from a spiritual origin, because they exist from the Divine which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun; and the Divine proceeding from the Lord as a Sun is spiritual. For the Sun there is not fire, but it is Divine love, appearing before the eyes of the angels, as the sun of the world before the eyes of men. And whatever proceeds from the Divine love is Divine, and is spiritual. What proceeds in general appears as light, and is felt as heat; but still that light is spiritual, and also the heat. For that light is Divine wisdom, and is called Divine truth; and that heat is Divine love, and is called Divine Good. Therefore that light inwardly enlightens the understanding of the angels; and that heat inwardly fills the will of the angels with the good of love. From this origin are all the things that exist in the heavens; and they appear in forms like those in our world in its three kingdoms, as said above. That they appear in such forms is the result of the order of creation, that is to say, those things which belong to wisdom and love in the angels, when they descend into a lower sphere - in which the angels are as to their bodies, and as to the sensations thereof - are presented in such forms and types; these are correspondences.
[3] These things are said in order that it may be known what is meant by the sign which John says he himself saw; also what is meant by the sign mentioned in chapter xii. (vers. 1 and 3), namely, that it denotes revelation by such things as exist in heaven from a Divine spiritual origin, and thence contain in them Divine arcana; in the present case, arcana concerning the state of the church immediately before the Last Judgment. For there were seen seven angels with seven golden vials, clothed in linen pure and glistening white, and girt about the breasts with golden girdles. There was also seen a glassy sea mingled with fire; and there were seen those who had victory over the beast, having harps; the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was also seen; and there were heard songs, in which they glorified the Lord. All these things are called a sign which he saw, because they are significative. But the things signified by them can be seen only from correspondences; and because Divine arcana are therein, they cannot be seen unless the Lord reveals them.
[4] It is said, a sign from heaven, by which is meant revelation from the Lord. The reason why it denotes from the Lord is, because heaven is the Lord. There are indeed angels of whom heaven consists, but still the angels are not heaven, but the Lord; for it is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which is called Divine Good and Divine truth, from which the angels have all love and all wisdom. The angels are angels from love and from wisdom; and they have love and wisdom from the Lord; and because these are from the Lord, they are the Lord's, consequently are the Lord with them, as is evident from the Lord's words to His disciples.
That they are in the Lord and he in them (John 14:20) and that he hath his abode in the Word from himself with them (vers. 22-24).
Since therefore heaven is from the angels, and the angels are angels from the Lord, it follows that heaven is the Lord.
926. Verse 1. (Revelation 15:1) And I saw another sign in heaven, signifies revelation by the Lord of the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. This is evident from the signification of a "sign," as being revelation; also from the signification of "heaven," as being the Lord (of which presently). A "sign" signifies revelation because by a "sign" are meant those things that were seen by John, and that are described in what follows; and the things seen by him involve arcana respecting the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. For in general, whatever appears in heaven has precisely the same appearance as the things which exist in our material world in its three kingdoms; and such things appear before the eyes of the angels in just the same way as the things of the three kingdoms appear before the eyes of men in the world. There appear there gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, stones precious and not precious, soil, lands, mountains, hills, valleys, waters, fountains, and other things of the mineral kingdom. There appear paradises, gardens, forests, fruit trees of every kind, lawns, fields of grain, meadows filled with flowers, plants, and grasses of every kind; also things produced from these, as oils, wines, strong drinks, and other things of the vegetable kingdom. There appear animals of the earth, flying things of heaven, fishes of the sea, creeping things, and these of every kind, and so much like those on our earth that they cannot be distinguished. I have seen them, and could see no difference.
[2] Still there is this difference, that the things seen in heaven are from a spiritual origin, but those seen in our world are from a material origin; and things from a spiritual origin affect the senses of the angels because their senses are spiritual, as those from a material origin affect the senses of men because they are material. For spiritual things are homogeneous with spiritual beings, and material things are homogeneous with material beings. It is said that they are from a spiritual origin because they exist from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord as a sun; and the Divine proceeding from the Lord as a sun is spiritual. For the sun there is not fire, but is the Divine love, which appears before the eyes of angels as the sun of the world appears before the eyes of men; and whatever proceeds from the Divine love is Divine and is spiritual. That which proceeds appears in general as light, and is felt as heat; and yet that light as well as the heat is spiritual. For that light is the Divine wisdom, and is called the Divine truth, and that heat is the Divine love, and is called the Divine good, consequently that light inwardly enlightens the understanding of angels, and that heat inwardly fills the will of angels with the good of love. From that origin are all things that exist in the heavens; and they appear in forms like those in our world in its three kingdoms, as has been said above. Their appearing in such forms is according to the order of creation, which is that when the things pertaining to the wisdom of angels and to their love descend into the lower sphere in which angels are as to their bodies and their bodily sensations they are manifested in such forms and types. These are correspondences.
[3] This has been said to make known what is meant by the sign that John declares that he saw, also by the sign mentioned in the first and third verses of the twelfth chapter, namely, that it means revelation by such things as exist in heaven from a Divine spiritual origin, and thus contain in them Divine arcana; here arcana respecting the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. For seven angels were seen "with seven golden vials, clothed in linen clean and bright, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles;" there was also seen "a glassy sea mingled with fire;" also "those who had victory over the beast, having harps;" there was also seen "the temple of the Tabernacle of the testimony;" and the songs in which they glorified the Lord were heard; all these are called the "sign" that he saw, because they were significative. But the things signified by them can be seen only by correspondences; and because they contain Divine arcana, they cannot be seen unless the Lord reveals them.
[4] It is called a "sign from heaven," which means revelation by the Lord. It is said "by the Lord" because heaven is the Lord. Heaven indeed consists of angels; and yet the angels are not heaven, but the Lord is heaven, for heaven is the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, and this is called the Divine good and the Divine truth, and from it the angels have all their love and wisdom. Angels are angels from love and wisdom, and they have love and wisdom from the Lord; and because these are from the Lord they are the Lord's, and are thus the Lord with them, as can be seen from the Lord's words to His disciples:
That they are in the Lord and He in them (John 14:20);
And that He hath His abode in them in the Word from Him (John 14:22-24).
Since, then, heaven is from the angels, and angels are angels from the Lord, it follows that heaven is the Lord.
926. [Vers. 1.] "Et vidi aliud signum in caelo." - Quod significet revelationem a Domino de statu ecclesiae proxime ante ultimum judicium, constat ex significatione "signi", quod sit revelatio, et ex significatione "caeli", quod sit Dominus (de qua sequitur).
Quod "signum" significet revelationem, est quia per "signum" intelliguntur illa quae Johanni visa sunt, et quae in sequentibus memorantur; et illa quae ei visa sunt, involvunt arcana de statu ecclesiae proxime ante ultimum judicium: in genere enim quicquid apparet in caelo, apparet prorsus sicut tale quod in mundo nostro materiali ex triplici ejus regno existit; et ea coram oculis angelorum apparent prorsus sicut talia quae sunt ex illis regnis coram oculis hominum in mundo. Apparent ibi aurum, argentum, cuprum, stannum, plumbum, lapides pretiosi et non pretiosi, humus, terrae, montes, colles, valles, aquae, fontes, et reliqua quae sunt regni mineralis: apparent paradisi, horti, silvae, arbores fructiferae omnis generis, vireta, messes; campi, floribus, herbis et graminibus omnis generis referti; tum quae ex illis, ut olea, vina, sicerae, et reliqua quae sunt regni vegetabilis: apparent animalia terrae, volatilia caeli, pisces maris, reptilia, et illa ex omni genere, et in similitudine cum illis quae in nostra tellure, tali ut distingui non possint; ego illa vidi, nec potui distinguere.
[2] Sed usque differentia est haec, quod illa quae in caelo apparent, ex origine spirituali sint; at ea quae in nostro mundo apparent, ex origine materiali sint; et quae ex origine spirituali sunt, ea afficiunt sensus angelorum, quia spirituales sunt, aeque ac ea quae ex origine materiali sunt afficiunt sensus hominum, quia materiales sunt; sunt enim spiritualia homogenea cum illis qui spirituales sunt, et materialia homogenea cum illis qui materiales sunt. Dicitur quod sint ex origine spirituali, quia existunt a Divino quod procedit a Domino ut Sole, et Divinum procedens a Domino ut Sole est spirituale; Sol enim ibi non est ignis, sed est Divinus Amor, apparens coram oculis angelorum sicut sol mundi coram oculis hominum; et quicquid procedit ex Divino Amore est Divinum, et est spirituale: quod procedit, in communi apparet sicut lux, et sentitur sicut calor; sed usque lux illa est spiritualis, et quoque calor; nam lux illa est Divina Sapientia, et vocatur Divinum Verum; et calor ille est Divinus Amor, et vocatur Divinum Bonum; quare lux illa interius illustrat intellectum angelorum, et calor ille interius implet voluntatem angelorum bono amoris. Ex hac origine sunt omnia quae in caelis existunt, et apparent in formis similibus illis quae in nostro mundo ex triplici ejus regno sunt, ut supra dictum est. Quod in talibus formis appareant est ex ordine creationis, qui est quod illa quae sunt sapientiae et quae sunt amoris apud angelos, dum in sphaeram inferiorem, in qua sunt angeli quoad sua corpora, et quoad horum sensationes, descendunt, sistantur in talibus formis et typis: haec sunt correspondentiae.
[3] Haec dicta sunt ut sciatur quid intelligitur per "signum", quod Johannes dicit se vidisse; similiter per "signum", Revelation 12:1, 3; quod nempe sit revelatio per talia quae in caelo ex origine Divina spirituali existunt, et inde in se arcana Divina continent; hic arcana de statu ecclesiae proxime ante ultimum judicium: visi enim sunt "septem angeli cum septem phialis aureis, induti lino mundo et splendido, et cincti circa pectora zonis aureis"; visum etiam est "mare vitreum mixtum igne"; ac visi sunt "qui victoriam habuerunt de bestia, habentes citharas"; ac visum est "templum tabernaculi testimonii"; et audita sunt "cantica", quibus glorificaverunt Dominum; haec omnia vocantur "signum quod vidit", ex causa quia significabant: sed illa quae significant, non videri possunt nisi ex correspondentiis; et quia arcana Divina insunt, non videri possunt nisi Dominus revelet.
[4] Dicitur "signum e caelo", per quod intelligitur revelatio a Domino. Quod a Domino, est quia caelum est Dominus: sunt quidem angeli ex quibus caelum; sed usque non angeli sunt caelum, sed Dominus; est enim Divinum procedens a Domino, quod vocatur Divinum Bonum et Divinum Verum, ex quibus est omnis amoret omnis sapientia angelis; ex amore et ex sapientia angeli sunt angeli, ac amor et sapientia sunt illis a Domino; et quia sunt a Domino, sunt Domini, proinde sunt Dominus apud illos; quod etiam constat ex Domini verbis ad discipulos,
Quod illi in Domino sint, et Ipse in illis (Johannes 14:20);
et quod mansionem habeat in Verbo a Se apud illos (vers. 22-24).
Cum itaque caelum est ex angelis, et angeli sunt angeli a Domino, sequitur quod caelum sit Dominus.