1. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW JERUSALEM.

IT is stated in Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24), "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride before her husband. The city had a wall, great and high; having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The city itself lay four-square, and the length thereof was as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breadth and the height thereof were equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. The wall thereof was of jasper; the city itself, however, was pure gold, like unto pure glass; and the foundations of the wall of the city were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the lamp thereof. The nations that were saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and their honour into it."

The man who reads these words, understands them only according to their literal sense; namely, that the visible Heaven with the Earth will perish, and a new heaven take its rise; and that the holy city Jerusalem will come down upon the new earth, and that it will be according to its measures, as described. But the angels understand these words altogether differently; namely, each word which the man understands naturally they understand spiritually; and as the angels understand them, such is their signification and this is the internal, that is, the spiritual sense of the Word.

By the new heaven and the new earth in the internal or spiritual sense in which are the angels, is understood a new Church, in the heavens, as well as on earth: the Church, in either world, will be discussed below.

By the city Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven is meant the heavenly doctrine of that Church; by the length, breadth, and height, which are equal, are meant all the goods and truths of that doctrine in the aggregate; by its wall, the truths protecting it; by the measure of the wall, which is a hundred forty and four cubits, and which is the measure of a man, which is that of an angel, are meant all those protecting truths in the aggregate, and their quality.

By the twelve gates which are of pearls are meant the introductory truths; and the same is signified by the twelve angels on the gates; by the foundations of the wall, which are of every precious stone, are meant the knowledges of which that doctrine is founded.

By the twelve tribes of Israel are meant all the things of the Church in general and in particular and the same meant by the twelve Apostles.

By gold like unto pure glass, of which are the city and the street, is meant the good of love, from which doctrine with its truths is translucent.

By the nations that are saved, and the kings of the earth who shall bring glory and honour into the city, are meant all those belonging to the Church who are in goods and truths.

By God and the Lamb is meant the Lord in respect to the very Divine and the Divine Human.

Such is the spiritual sense of the Word, to which the natural sense, which is that of the letter, serves as a basis; but still these two senses, the spiritual and the natural, make one through correspondences.

That such a spiritual meaning is contained in all the above expressions, we have no occasion to show here, because it is not within the design of the present work; but it may be seen demonstrated in the Heavenly Arcana, in the following places: That by Earth, in the Word, is signified the Church, especially when by the earth or land is meant the land of Canaan, Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; because in the spiritual sense by earth or land is meant the nation which is in the land, and its worship,Arcana Coelestia 1262.

That by the people of the land are meant those who are of the spiritual Church, Arcana Coelestia 2928.

That a new heaven and a new earth signify something new in the heavens and on earth, with respect to goods and truths, and thus with respect to those things which belong to the Church in either world, Arcana Coelestia 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373.

What is meant by the first heaven and the first earth, that passed away, may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment and the Destruction of Babylon, from beginning to end, but particularly from The Last Judgment 65-72.

That Jerusalem signifies the Church with respect to doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 402, 3654, 9166.

That Towns and Cities signify the doctrines which belong to the Church and religion, Arcana Coelestia 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

That the Wall of a city signifies the protecting truth of doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 6419.

That the Gates of a city signify the truths which are introductory to doctrine, and by means of doctrine into the Church, Arcana Coelestia 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493.

That by the Twelve Tribes of Israel were represented, and hence signified, all the truths and goods of the Church, in general and in particular, thus all things belonging to faith and love, Arcana Coelestia 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335.

That the same is signified by the Lord's Twelve Apostles, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 2553, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397.

That when it is said of the Apostles, that they shall sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel, the meaning is, that all are to be judged according to the truths and goods of the Church, and thus by the Lord, from Whom they are, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 6397.

That Twelve signifies all things in the aggregate, Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; that the same is signified by a hundred and forty-four, because that number arises by multiplying twelve by twelve, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That twelve thousand also has the same signification, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That all numbers in the Word signify things, Arcana Coelestia 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253.

That numbers when multiplied have the same signification as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, Arcana Coelestia 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

That a Measure signifies the quality of a thing with respect to truth and good, Arcana Coelestia 3104, 9603, 10262.

That the Foundations of a wall signify the knowledges of the truth on which doctrinals are founded, Arcana Coelestia 9643.

That what is Quadrangular, or Square, signifies what is perfect, Arcana Coelestia 9717, 9861.

That Length signifies good and its extension, and Breadth, truth and its extension, Arcana Coelestia 1613, 9487.

That Precious Stones signify truths from good, Arcana Coelestia 114, 9863, 9865.

What the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim signify, both in general and in particular, Arcana Coelestia 3862, 9864, 9866, 9905, 9891, 9895. What the Jasper of which the wall was built signifies, Arcana Coelestia 9872.

That the Street of the city signifies the truth of doctrine from good, Arcana Coelestia 2336.

That Gold signifies the good of love, Arcana Coelestia 113, Arcana Coelestia 1551-1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881.

That Glory signifies the Divine Truth, such as it is in heaven, and intelligence and wisdom from it, Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5292, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574.

That Nations signify those in the Church who are in good, and hence, in the abstract sense, the goods of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1366, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 9255-9256.

That Kings signify those in the Church who are in truths, and, therefore, abstractly, the truth of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044.

That the ceremonies observed at the coronation of kings involve such things as belong to the Divine Truth - which things are treated of - but that the knowledge of these things, at this day, is lost, Arcana Coelestia 4581, 4966.

1413. 'To the land which I will cause you to see' means the spiritual and celestial things that were to be brought to view. This is clear from the meaning of 'a land', 662, 1066, and indeed from the meaning here of 'the land of Canaan' which represents the Lord's kingdom, as becomes clear from many places in the Word. For this reason the land of Canaan is called the Holy Land, and also the heavenly Canaan. And since it represented the Lord's kingdom, it also represented and meant the celestial and spiritual things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, and here those that belong to the Lord Himself.

6280. As regards 'the redeeming angel' - that the Lord's Divine Human is meant - this is clear from the consideration that by His assumption of the Human and making it Divine the Lord redeemed man, that is, delivered him from hell, on account of which, in respect of His Divine Human, the Lord is called the Redeemer. The reason why the Divine Human is called an angel is that the word 'angel' means one who has been sent, and the Lord's Divine Human is called 'the One who has been sent', as is evident from quite a number of places in the Word, in the Gospels. Furthermore the Divine Human that existed before the Lord's Coming into the world was Jehovah Himself flowing in by way of heaven when He was declaring His Word. Jehovah was above the heavens, but what passed from Him through the heavens was the Divine Human at that time; for by means of Jehovah's flowing into heaven a human image was presented, and the Divine itself as present by this inflowing was the Divine Man. This is the Divine Human which has existed from eternity and is called the One who has been sent, by which is meant that which goes forth and which is one and the same as 'the angel' spoken of here.

[2] But because Jehovah was no longer able to reach men by flowing into them through that Divine Human of His, for the reason that they had distanced themselves so far away from that Divine, He took on a human form and made it Divine. Then by flowing in from this into heaven, He could reach right out to those members of the human race who would accept the good of charity and the truth of faith from His Divine Human, which had thus been made visible, and so could deliver them from hell - a deliverance which could not possibly have been accomplished in any other way. This deliverance is what is called Redemption, and the Divine Human itself effecting that deliverance or redemption is what is called 'the redeeming angel'.

[3] But the Lord's Divine Human, it should be recognized, is above heaven - as the Divine itself is - since the Lord is the Sun that gives heaven its light; thus heaven is far below Him. The Divine Human present in heaven is the Divine Truth going forth from Him, which is the light radiating from Him as from the sun. In Essence the Lord is not Divine Truth, for that Truth is what goes forth from Him like light from the sun; rather, His Essence is Divine Goodness itself, which is one with Jehovah.

[4] The Lord's Divine Human is also called 'the angel' in other places in the Word, for example when He appeared to Moses in the bramble-bush, described as follows in Exodus,

When Moses came to the mountain of God, to Horeb, the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the middle of a bramble-bush. Jehovah saw that Moses turned aside to see, therefore God called to him from the middle of the bramble-bush. And He went on to say, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Exodus 3:1-2, 4, 6.

It is the Lord's Divine Human that is referred to here by the name 'the angel of Jehovah'. He was really Jehovah, which he is also explicitly called. Jehovah's presence there within His Divine Human may be recognized from the consideration that the Divine itself could not become visible except through the Divine Human, as the Lord's words in John declare,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And in another place,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

[5] The Lord's Divine Human is also called 'an angel' where the leading of the people into the land of Canaan is the subject, referred to in Exodus as follows,

Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Take notice of his face; for he will not tolerate your transgression, since My name is within him. Exodus 23:20-21, 23.

Here 'an angel' is the Divine Human. This is evident from the fact that it says 'since My name is within him', that is, Jehovah Himself is within him. 'My name' means Jehovah's essential nature, present in the Divine Human. For more about the meaning of 'the name of Jehovah' as the Lord's Divine Human, see 2628; and for more about the meaning of 'the name of God' as His essential nature, and so everything in its entirety by which God is worshipped, 1724, 3006.

[6] In Isaiah,

In all their affliction He suffered affliction, and the angel of His face delivered them; because of His love and His compassion He redeemed them, and took them and carried them all the days of eternity. Isaiah 63:9.

'The angel of Jehovah's face' is plainly the Lord's Divine Human, for it says that 'He redeemed them'. In Malachi,

Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says Jehovah Zebaoth. But who can endure the day of His Coming, and who will stand when He appears? Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years. Malachi 3:1-2, 4

'The angel of the covenant' quite clearly means the Lord's Divine Human, for the subject is the Lord's Coming. 'Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah' means that worship offered out of love and faith in Him will be acceptable then. It is perfectly plain that 'Judah' is not used in these verses to mean Judah, or 'Jerusalem' to mean Jerusalem, for neither at that time nor any later time was the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem acceptable. 'The days of eternity' are the states of the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial Church, while 'former years' are the states of the Ancient Church, which was a spiritual one, see 6239. Furthermore 'angel' in the Word does not mean in the internal sense any angel but some Divine attribute within the Lord, 1925, 2319, 2821, 3039, 4085.