363, 1. Love and wisdom, and the volition and discernment that come from them, constitute our very life. Hardly anyone knows what life is. When people think about it, it seems like something ethereal, something with no specific image. It seems like this because people do not know that only God is life and that his life is divine love and wisdom. We can see from this that the life in us is nothing else and that there is life in us to the extent that we accept it.

We know that warmth and light radiate from the sun and that everything in the universe is a recipient, growing warm and bright in proportion to its receptivity. The same holds true as well for the sun where the Lord is, whose radiating warmth is love and whose radiating light is wisdom, as explained in part 2. It is from these two emanations from the Lord as the sun, then, that life comes.

We can tell that life is love and wisdom from the Lord from the fact that we grow sluggish as love ebbs away from us and dull as wisdom ebbs away; and if they leave us completely, we are snuffed out.

There are many forms of love that have been given their own names because they are derivatives, such as desires, cravings, appetites, and their gratifications and delights. There are many forms of wisdom, too, like perception, reflection, memory, thought, and focus on a subject. Further, there are many forms that come from both love and wisdom, such as agreement, decision, and resolve to act, among others. All of these belong to both [love and wisdom], but they are assigned their names on the basis of what is dominant and nearer to hand.

Finally, our senses are derived from these two, our sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, with their own pleasures and satisfactions. The appearance is that our eye is seeing, but our discernment is seeing through our eye, which is why we ascribe sight to our discernment. The appearance is that our ear is hearing, but our discernment is hearing through our ear. This is why we speak of the attentiveness and listening that are actually functions of discernment as "hearing." The appearance is that our nostrils smell and that our tongue tastes, but discernment is smelling with its perceptiveness and is tasting as well; so we refer to perceptiveness as smelling and tasting, and so on. The wellsprings of all these functions are love and wisdom; we can therefore tell that these two constitute our life.

296. CHAPTER 5.

1. AND I saw the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3. And no one in heaven, neither upon the earth, nor under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon.

4. And I wept much, that no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look therein.

5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8. And when he had taken the book, the four animals and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9. And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every tribe and tongue, and people and nation;

10. And thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the animals and the elders: and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands;

12. Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13. And every created thing, which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and strength, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb to ages of ages.

14. And the four animals said, Amen. And the four-and-twenty elders fell down and adored him that liveth unto ages of ages.

THE EXPLANATION.

VERSE 1. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne," signifies the Lord as to omnipotence and as to omniscience: "a book written within and on the back," signifies the state of life of all in heaven and on earth, in general and in particular: "sealed with seven seals," signifies, altogether hidden.