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Jérémie 51:58

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58 Ainsi a dit l'Eternel des armées : Il n'y aura aucune muraille de Babylone, quelque large qu'elle soit, qui ne soit entièrement rasée; et ses portes, qui sont si hautes, seront brûlées au feu; ainsi les peuples auront travaillé inutilement, et les nations pour le feu, et elles s'y seront lassées.

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Apocalypse Explained #63

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63. Verse 13. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, signifies the Lord, from whom is the All of heaven and of the church. This is evident from the signification of "in the midst," as being in the inmost (See Arcana Coelestia., n. 1074, 2940, 2973); and as all things proceed from the inmost, as light proceeds from the center to the circumferences, so "in the midst" signifies from whom; also from the signification of "the seven lampstands," as being the new heaven and the new church (of which just above, n. 62; and from the signification of "the Son of man," as being the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and also in respect to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human. From this it can be seen why the Lord appeared "in the midst of seven lampstands," namely, because from Him the All of heaven and the church proceeds; for it is the good of love and of faith that makes heaven and the church, and that this good is from the Divine is known in the Christian world, and as it is from the Divine, it is from the Lord, for the Lord is the God of heaven, and the Divine of the Lord makes heaven (See the work on Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell 2-6, 7-12 that this is His Divine Human, 78-86).

[2] That the Son of man is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and also in respect to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human, is evident from those passages in the Word where the Son of man is mentioned. Thus in John:

The multitude said to Jesus, How sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus answered thee, Yet a little while is the light with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness overtake you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:34-36).

From these words it is clear that "the Son of man" and "Light" have a like signification; for when the people asked, Who is the Son of man? the Lord answered that He was the Light in which they should believe. (That "light" is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 49; thus also the Son of man. )

[3] In Luke:

Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake (Luke 6:22).

"For the Son of man's sake" is for the sake of Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord. Divine truth is the All of faith in and of love to the Lord. Because the evil deny these things, and those who deny also hate them, while the good acknowledge them, therefore it is said that the good are blessed.

[4] In the same:

The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say to you, Lo here, or Lo there. Go not away, nor pursue after (Luke 17:22-23).

"To desire [to see] one of the days of the Son of man," is to desire Divine truth, which is genuine truth, as to something thereof; the end of the church is here meant, when there will no longer be any faith, because there will be no charity, at which time all Divine truth will perish; and because Divine truth is signified by "the Son of man," it is said, "Then shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there; pursue not after."

[5] In the same:

When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith upon the earth? (Luke 18:8);

which means that when Divine truth shall be revealed out of heaven it will not be believed. Here also, "the Son of man" is the Lord in respect to Divine truth; the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 3900, 4060).

[6] In Matthew:

As the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory (Matthew 24:27, 30).

That by "the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven" is here signified the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church, see above n. 36.

[7] In the same:

I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64).

And in Luke:

From henceforth shall the Son of man be seated at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

"The Son of man" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and in respect to Divine truth proceeding from Him; "to sit at the right hand of power" means that He has omnipotence; its being said that they were now about to see this means that Divine truth was in its omnipotence when the Lord in the world had conquered the hells and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and that thus those who received Him in faith and love could be saved (See Arcana Coelestia 9715. That to "sit at the right hand" means omnipotence, see Arcana Coelestia 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9193; that all the power of good is by means of truth, n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643. That Divine power itself is by means of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, see n. 6948; that the "clouds" in which the Son of man is to come are the Word in the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimate of order, see the preface to chapter 18 of Genesis, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that "glory" is Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429).

[8] From this it can now be seen what is signified by these words in Revelation:

I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown (Revelation 14:14).

And in Daniel:

I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the heavens one like unto the Son of man (Daniel 7:13).

Because all judgment is executed according to truth, therefore it is said, that it was given to the Lord:

To execute judgment, because He is the Son of man (John 5:27); and that:

The Son of man shall render unto every man according to his deeds (Matthew 16:27);

and that:

When the Son of man shall come, He shall sit on the throne of His glory, and shall judge (Matthew 25:31).

[9] In Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:37-38).

"Good seed" is Divine truth; it is therefore said that the Son of man soweth it; "the sons of the kingdom" are Divine truths in heaven and the church; for "son" is truth (See Arcana Coelestia 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and, in the contrary sense, falsity, which also is "the son of the evil one."

[10] In the same:

The Son of man hath not where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20);

by which is meant that Divine truth had no place anywhere, that is, with any man at that time. That the Son of man was about to suffer and be put to death (Matthew 17:12, 22-23; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31) signifies that thus they were about to treat Divine truth, consequently the Lord, who was Divine truth itself. This He also teaches in Luke:

But first must the Son of man suffer, and be rejected of this generation (Luke 17:25).

[11] In Jeremiah:

No man [vir] shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man [hominis] sojourn there (Jeremiah 49:18, 33).

And in the same:

In the cities no man [vir] shall dwell, nor shall a son of man [hominis] pass through them (Jeremiah 51:43).

He who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by "cities" here are meant cities, and that by "man," and "son of man," are meant a man and a son; and that the cities were to be so desolated that no one should be in them, but it is the state of the church in respect to the doctrine of truth that is described by these words; for "cities" are the doctrinals of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 3216, 492, 4493); and "man" is its very truth conjoined with good (See n. 3134, 7716, 9007); therefore a "son of man" is truth.

[12] As Divine truth proceeding from the Lord was signified by "the Son of man," therefore the prophets by whom it was revealed were called "sons of man" (as Daniel 8:17; and Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27). As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so "son of man" has a contrary signification, which is the falsity opposite to truth. Thus in Isaiah:

What art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that dies; and of the son of man, who shall be as grass (Isaiah 51:12).

And in David:

Put not your trust in princes, in the son of man, with whom there is no salvation (Psalms 146:3).

"Princes" are primary truths (See Arcana Coelestia 2089, 5044); so, in the contrary sense, primary falsities; and "the son of man" is falsity itself.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #8261

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8261. 'Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Jehovah' means that those belonging to the spiritual Church ascribed glory to the Lord because of their deliverance. This is clear from the meaning of 'singing a song' as ascribing glory, dealt with below - ascribing it to the Lord, since 'Jehovah' is used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5041, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6905, 6945, 6956; and from the representation of 'Moses and the children of Israel' as those who belong to the spiritual Church. For Moses together with the people represents that Church - Moses its head, since he also represents Divine Truth, and the people or the children of Israel the Church itself. For the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those who belong to the spiritual Church, see 6426, 6637, 6862, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223. The fact that they ascribed glory to the Lord because of their deliverance is evident from what was shown in the previous chapter. There it was shown that those belonging to the spiritual Church were saved solely through the Lord's Coming into the world, and that until then they had been held back on the lower earth, where they were molested by spirits steeped in falsities arising from evil and were delivered by the Lord after He had made Divine the Human within Himself. For the salvation of those belonging to the spiritual Church solely through the Lord's Coming into the world, see 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 6372; and for their being held back until then on the lower earth, and their deliverance by the Lord once He had made Divine the Human within Himself, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091(end), 7828, 7932, 8018, 8054.

[2] The reason why 'singing a song' means ascribing glory, so that 'a song' means an ascription of glory, is that in the Ancient Church, and subsequently in the Jewish Church, songs were prophetic. Their theme was the Lord, in particular His coming into the world, His destruction of the devil's crew, which was prowling around then more than at any other time, and His deliverance of faithful believers from attacks by them. And because the prophetic words of the songs contained such exploits in the internal sense, an ascription of glory to the Lord was therefore meant by them, that is, praise of Him from gladness of heart was meant. For gladness of heart is expressed primarily through singing, the gladness in singing being so to speak a spontaneous eruption into sound. So it is that in songs Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is called Mighty Man, Man of War, God of Hosts, Conqueror, Might, Fortress, Shield, and Salvation; and the devil's crew, which was destroyed, is called the enemy, who was struck, swallowed up, drowned, and cast into hell.

[3] Even in former times those who had no conception of an internal sense thought that when in their external sense songs referred to things of a worldly nature - such as enemies, battles, victories, defeats, drownings - those things were the real meaning. But people who knew that all prophetic utterances embodied realities of a heavenly and Divine nature, and that these were represented within things of a worldly nature, also knew that those utterances were referring to the damnation of the faithless and the salvation of the faithful by the Lord when He came into the world. And in those times when these people who had knowledge of this contemplated it, and were consequently affected by it, they experienced an inner gladness, whereas the others' gladness was purely outward. At the same time the angels too who resided with people ascribed glory to the Lord. Therefore those who sang and those who listened to songs experienced heavenly gladness as a result of the holy and blissful influence from heaven, gladness in which it seemed to them as though they were transported into heaven. Such was the effect the songs of the Church had among the ancients. Such also is the effect they have at the present day, for the affections of spiritual angels are especially stirred by songs which refer to the Lord, His kingdom, and His Church. The songs of the Church had that effect because, for one thing, they inspired gladness of heart, which then burst from within right out into the outermost fibres of the body, making them quiver with a glad and at the same time holy feeling, and, for another thing, because in the heavens glory is ascribed to the Lord by choirs, thus by very many harmonizing with one another. Hence also angelic speech is harmonic; it falls into rhythmic measures. Regarding choirs, see 2595, 2596, 3350, 5182, 8115; regarding angelic speech, that it falls into rhythmic measures, 1648, 1649, 7191(end). So it was that when the ancients who belonged to the Church ascribed glory to the Lord they did so through songs, psalms, and various kinds of musical instruments. For the ancients who belonged to the Church experienced a joy surpassing all other joys when they called to mind the Lord's Coming and the salvation of the human race by Him.

[4] The fact that prophetic songs contained internally an ascription of glory to the Lord is clear from songs in the Word, as in Isaiah,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and I will hold Your hand; I will guard You, and give You to be a covenant of the people, 1 a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of the prison, out of the dungeon-house him who sits in darkness. Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise, O end of the earth! Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice. Let the inhabitants of the rock sing. Let them give glory to Jehovah. Jehovah will go forth as a Mighty Man, as a Man of Wars He will arouse zeal; He will prevail over His enemies. Isaiah 42:6-9ff.

This refers, as is self-evident, to the Lord, to His future coming to deliver those in spiritual captivity. Therefore it says, 'Sing to Jehovah a new song' and 'Let the inhabitants of the rock sing'. A similar example occurs in the same prophet,

I have given You as a covenant of the people - to restore the land; to share out the devastated inheritances; to say to the bound, Go out; to those who are in darkness, Reveal yourselves. They will feed along the ways, and on all slopes will their pastures be. Sing, O heavens! And be exultant, O earth! And resound, O mountains, with song! For Jehovah has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted. Isaiah 49:8-10, 13ff.

This too refers to the Coming of the Lord and the deliverance of the bound.

[5] In David,

Sing to Jehovah a new song; bless His name; declare His glory among the nations. All the gods of the peoples are idols, 2 but Jehovah made the heavens. Glory and honour are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to Jehovah glory and strength; give to Jehovah the glory of His name. Say among the nations, Jehovah reigns; the world also is firmly established, and will not be moved. Jehovah comes He comes to judge the earth. Psalms 96:1-end.

In the same author,

Jehovah caused me to come up out of the pit of vastation, out of the muddy clay, and He set my feet upon a rock. And He put into my mouth a new song, praise to our God; many will see and be confident. Psalms 40:2-3.

From these quotations too it is clear that 'a song' means an ascription of glory to the Lord because of deliverance. For songs included both gladness of heart and exaltation of the Lord - gladness of heart because of the Lord's Coming and salvation then, and exaltation because of victory over spiritual enemies. Gladness of heart coupled with exaltation of the Lord is what is meant by an ascription of glory.

[6] The fact that gladness of heart was meant by 'songs' is evident in David,

Confess Jehovah with the harp, make melody to Him on a ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully with a loud note. For He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He places the depths in storehouses. Psalms 33:2-7.

In Isaiah,

The joy of timbrels will cease, the noise of merry ones will cease, the joy of the harp will cease. They will not drink wine with singing. Isaiah 24:8-9.

And in Amos,

I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. Amos 8:10.

The fact that exaltation of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, was effected by means of songs may be seen in David,

David the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song. [I will love You,] O Jehovah, my strength. Jehovah is my rock (petra), and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock (rupee) in which I trust, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my refuge. On Him who is to be praised, on Jehovah I will call; then I shall be saved from my enemies. Psalms 18:1-3.

In the same author,

Jehovah is my strength and my shield; therefore with song I will confess Him. Jehovah is their strength, and the saving strength of His anointed. Psalms 28:7-8.

In the same author,

Your salvation, O God, will bring me on high. I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with confession. Psalms 69:29-30.

[7] The fact that the Lord was the theme in their songs is also clear in John,

The twenty-four elders sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood. Revelation 5:9-10.

Also in the same author,

I saw seven angels, and those who were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints! Who would not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? Revelation 15:1-4.

'The song of Moses and of the Lamb' is a song which in this chapter is called 'the song of the Lamb' because an ascription of glory to the Lord is the theme in it.

Бележки под линия:

1. The Latin means for the people but the Hebrew means of the people, which Swedenborg has in some other places where he quotes this verse.

2. literally, vanities

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.