170.“且要在我父面前和我父众天使面前认他的名”表处于主的神性良善与神性真理，因而拥有天堂的生命在里面的人必被接受。“认名”就是承认某人的品质，这从前面（81，122节）所论述的“名”的含义可以证实。“父”表神性良善，“天使”表神性真理，二者皆出于主。在福音书的圣言中，主常提到“父”，无论何处，“父”均表示耶和华，主在父里面，从父而来，父在主里面，决非表示与主分离的任何神性。事实就是如此，这在《新耶路撒冷教义之主篇》和《圣治》（262-263节）两本书中有大量说明。主自己就是“父”（参看该书21，960节）。主之所以提及“父”，是因为就属灵之义而言，“父”表良善，“父神”表神性之爱的神性良善。当有人在圣言中读到“父”时，天使从不将其理解任何其它事物，也无法理解为其它事物，因为在天堂，除了主以外，没有人知道任何父，说他们从他而生，称他们是他的子女和继承人；这就是主所说的那些话（即不要称呼地上的人为父，因为只有一位是你们的父，就是在天上的父）的意思（马太福音23:9）。由此明显可知，“在父前认他的名”表他们将被接到那些处于主的神性良善之人当中。“天使”之所以表示那些处于主的神性真理之人，抽象而言，表示神性真理，是因为天使就是来自主而与他们同在的神性真理中的神性良善的接受者。
170. "'But I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.'" This symbolically means that those people are to be accepted who are governed by Divine good and Divine truths from the Lord, thus who have in them the life of heaven.
It follows from the symbolism of a name, explained in nos. 81 and 122 above, that to confess someone's name is to acknowledge his character or his being of this or that character. My Father means Divine good, and His angels mean Divine truths, both of which originate from the Lord.
In the Gospels the Lord often mentions His Father, and He everywhere means Jehovah, from whom and in whom exists all else, and who was present in Him. Never did He mean any separate Divinity apart from Him. The reality of this is something we showed many times in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, and also in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence, nos. 262, 263.
To be shown that the Father is the Lord Himself, see nos. 21 and 962 in the present work.
The Lord mentions His Father, because a father symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, goodness, and God the Father symbolizes the Divine goodness of the Divine love. Angels never understand the Father to mean anything other than the Lord when the term is encountered in the Word, nor can they understand it to mean anything else, because no one in heaven knows his father, the one from whom they are said to have been born, and whose children and heirs they are called. This is the meaning of the Lord's words in Matthew 23:9. 1
It is apparent from this that to confess someone's name before the Father means, symbolically, that he is to be accepted among those who are governed by Divine good from Him.
Angels mean people who are governed by Divine truths from the Lord, and abstractly Divine truths themselves, because angels are recipients of Divine good in the Divine truths that they have among them from the Lord.
Footnotes:
1. "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven."
170. 'And I will confess his name before the Father, and before His angels' signifies that they who are in Divine Good and in Divine truths from the Lord are to be received, thus those who have the life of heaven in themselves. That 'to confess a name' is to acknowledge the quality of anyone, or that he is such, is established from the signification of 'name,' which is treated of above (81, 122). By 'the Father 'is understood Divine Good and by 'angels' are understood Divine truths, both out of the Lord. In the Word of the Evangelists 'the Father' is often mentioned by name, and wherever this occurs Jehovah is understood, from Whom and in Whom He was, and Who was in Himself, and any Divine separate from Himself is never understood. That this is the case has been frequently shown in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE LORD; and also in ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING DIVINE PROVIDENCE 262-263. That the Lord Himself is 'the Father' may be seen (21, 960 [of this work]). The Lord referred to 'the Father' because by 'Father' in the spiritual sense good is signified, and by 'God the Father' the Divine Good of the Divine Love. The angels never understand anything else by 'the Father' when it is read in the Word; nor are they able to understand anything else, because no one in heaven knows any Father, from Whom they are said to be born, and Whose sons and heirs they are called, except the Lord. This is understood by the Lord's words, Matthew 23:9. It is plain from these considerations that by 'confess his name before the Father' is signified that they are to be received among those who are in Divine Good from Himself. Because angels are the recipients of Divine Good in the Divine truths that are from the Lord with them, by 'angels' those who are in Divine truths from the Lord are understood, and abstractly Divine Truths.
170. And I will confess His name before the Father, and before His angels, signifies that they will be received who are in Divine good and in Divine truths from the Lord, thus who have the life of heaven in themselves. That "to confess the name" is to acknowledge the quality of anyone, or that he is such, is evident from the signification of "name," as given above, (81[1-4], 122). By "Father," is meant Divine good, and by "angels" are meant Divine truths, both from the Lord. In the Word of the evangelist "the Father" is often mentioned by the Lord, by whom is everywhere meant Jehovah, from Whom and in Whom He was, and Who was in Him, and never any Divine separate from Him: this is abundantly proved indeed in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord; and also in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, (262, 263); that the Lord Himself is the Father, may be seen, (21, 960). The Lord made mention of the Father, because by "Father" in the spiritual sense is signified good, and by "God the Father" the Divine good of Divine love; the angels never understand anything else by "Father" when it is read in the Word, nor can they understand anything else, because no one in the heavens knows any Father, of whom they are said to be born, and whose sons and heirs they are called, except the Lord; this is meant by the Lord's words, (Matthew 23:9). Hence it is evident that by "confessing His name before the Father," is signified that they will be received among those who are in Divine good from Him. The reason why by "angels" are meant those who are in Divine truths from the Lord, and, abstractly, Divine truths, is because angels are the recipients of Divine good in the Divine truths which are with them from the Lord.
170. "Et confitebor nomen ejus coram Patre, et coram angelis Ejus," significat quod recipiendi sint qui in Divino Bono et in Divinis Veris a Domino sunt, ita qui vitam Caeli in se habent. - Quod "confiteri nomen" sit agnoscere quale alicujus, seu quod talis sit, constat a significatione "nominis," de qua supra (81, 122); per "Patrem" intelligitur Divinum Bonum, et per "Angelos" intelliguntur Divina vera, utraque ex Domino. In Verbo Evangelistarum a Domino saepius nominatur "Pater," et ubivis intelligitur Jehovah, a Quo et in Quo, et Quod in Ipso erat, et nusquam aliquod Divinum separatum ab Ipso: quod ita sit, multis ostensum est In Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae de Domino; et quoque in Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia 262, 263; quod Ipse Dominus sit Pater, videatur (21, 960). Dominus Patrem nominavit, quia per "Patrem" in Sensu spirituali significatur bonum, et per "Deum Patrem" Divinum Bonum Divini Amoris; angeli nusquam aliud per "Patrem," cum in Verbo legitur, intelligunt (nec possunt aliud intelligere, quia nemo in Caelis scit suum patrem), a Quo dicuntur nati, et Cujus vocantur filii et haeredes, quam Dominum; hoc intelligitur per Domini verba, (Matthaeus 23:9). Ex his patet, quod per "confiteri nomen ejus coram Patre" significetur quod recipiendi sint inter illos qui in Divino Bono sunt ab Ipso Quod per "Angelos" intelligantur qui in Divinis veris a Domino sunt, et abstracte Divina Vera, est quia Angeli sunt recipientes Divini Boni in Divinis veris quae a Domino apud illos sunt.