702. And there were lightnings, voices, and thunders, signifies that at that time in the lower parts where the evil are there were conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasonings from evils and falsities respecting goods and truths. This is evident from the signification of "lightnings, voices, and thunders," as being enlightenment, thoughts, and perceptions (of which above, n. 273; and in the contrary sense, as here, conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasoning from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church (of which above, n. 498. In a strict sense "lightnings" signify the darkenings of the understanding, "voices" reasonings, and "thunders" conclusions respecting falsity from evil, and because from these, according to the state of the interiors with them there then arise conflicts and disturbances of the affections and thoughts, and consequent reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church, therefore from logical connection with what precedes, this is what these words signify. It was evident that "the lightnings, voices, and thunders," also "the earthquake and great hail" occurred in the lower parts, since it was in the higher parts that the "temple" and "the ark of the Covenant in the temple" were seen, which signify the appearing of a new heaven where there is worship of the Lord, and a representation of Divine truth through which there is conjunction, as can be seen from the explanation above; and from this it follows that these things occurred in the lower parts through influx from the higher heavens. That such things occurred in the lower parts through influx out of the higher heavens has already been made clear. But since these are such things as do not fall into anyone's understanding except through living revelation and consequent knowledge respecting the influx of higher things into lower in the spiritual world, so as these things have been revealed to me, and have thus been made known to me, I will briefly explain this arcanum.

[2] In the spiritual world, by which are meant both the heavens and the hells, the arrangement is such that the heavens are like expanses one above another, and under the heavens is the world of spirits, and under this are the hells, one below another. Influx from the Lord takes place according to this consecutive arrangement, thus through the inmost heaven into the middle, and through this into the lowest, and from these in their order into the hells which lie beneath. The world of spirits is between, and receives influx both from the heavens and from the hells, each one there according to the state of his life.

[3] But this arrangement of the heavens and of the hells underwent changes from one judgment to another, for the reason that the men who arrived from the earth, of whom the heavens and the hells are constituted, had various affections, some more or less spiritual or internal, and some more or less natural or external. And as the Lord does evil to no one, but good to all, He permitted those who had lived a moral and as it were spiritual life in externals from custom and habit in the world, however interiorly they were conjoined with hell, to form for themselves in the world of spirits a similitude of heaven in various places; and then the heavens above them and the hells below them were so arranged that their interiors through which they were conjoined with hell might be as far as possible kept closed, while their exteriors through which they were conjoined with the lowest heaven were kept open. And then it was provided that the higher heavens should not flow in immediately, because by immediate influx their interiors which were infernal would be opened, and their exteriors which were as it were spiritual would be closed; for the influx of the higher heavens is into the interiors, which are properly the spirits' own, and not into the exteriors, which are not properly their own.

[4] But when such seeming heavens had so greatly increased that the influx from the hells had thereby begun to prevail over the influx from the heavens, and thereby the lowest heaven, which was conjoined with them, began to be weakened, then the Last Judgment was at hand, and by turns a separation was effected of the evil from the good in those new seeming heavens, and this by immediate influx from the higher heavens; and by this influx their interiors which were infernal were opened, and their exteriors which were seemingly spiritual were closed, as has been said above. From this then it is clear why it was that the "temple" appeared, and "the ark in the temple," which signifies the Divine truth by which the higher heavens were enlightened from which influx might come into the lower parts where the evil were. From this influx it came to pass that, in the lower parts where the evil were, lightnings were seen, and voices and thunders were heard, also there was an earthquake, and hail fell. The influx out of the heavens, that is, through the heavens from the Lord, is nothing else than an influx of the love of good and the affection of truth, but with the evil this is turned into such things as correspond to their evils and to the falsities therefrom, thus that correspond to their love of evil and affection of falsity; and as conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and reasonings from the evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church in which they were correspond to lightnings, voices, and thunders, therefore they are signified by these; for the state of heaven, what it was to be immediately before the Last Judgment, is what is here treated of. The conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and the reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church that arise with those who are inwardly evil but who outwardly appear good, when their interiors have been opened and their exteriors closed, are from the conflict of their interiors with their exteriors in the first stage of separation; but as soon as the exteriors have been wholly closed and they have been left to their own interiors the conflict ceases, for then they are completely in the love of their own evil and in the affection of their own falsity, and thus in the delight of their life. Therefore they then cast themselves down into hell to their like, which takes place at the day of the Last Judgment.

9410. 'He did not lay a hand' means that truth in its power is not present there. This is clear from the meaning of 'hand' as the power which comes through truth. For the meaning of 'hand' as power, see 878, 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133; for its coming through truth, 3091, 3503, 6344, 6423, 8304; and for the fact that truth derives all its power from good, that is, from the Lord through good, 6948, 8200, 9327. From all this it is evident that 'He did not lay a hand towards the children of Israel who had been set apart' means that truth in its power is not present with those restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward. The reason why truth is not present with them in its power is that they are separated from heaven and so from the Lord; for the Word joins a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord, because all the things constituting the sense of the letter of the Word correspond to the spiritual and celestial realities which exist with angels. There is no connection with the angels if the Word is understood according to the letter alone and not at the same time according to some teaching of the Church on the inner level of the Word.

[2] Take for example the Lord's words to Peter,

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19.

In like manner to the disciples,

Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18.

Those who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, thus those who are separated from the true teachings of the Church, convince themselves that such power was given to Peter by the Lord, and also to the rest of the Lord's disciples. This conviction leads to the hellish heresy that certain people possess the power to let into or shut out of heaven whomsoever they please, when in fact according to the true teachings of the Church, which lie on the inward level of the Word, the Lord alone has that power. Those therefore who know the outward sense of the Word and at the same time its inward sense understand that these things spoken by the Lord had regard to faith and the truths of faith which are received from the Lord, and that such faith received from the Lord possesses that power, thus the Lord Himself, and not at all any mere human being.

[3] The truth of this may be recognized from the representation of Peter and of the twelve disciples, also from the meaning of 'rock', and from the meaning of 'keys' as well. Peter represented faith, see Prefaces to Genesis 18, 22, also 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end); the Lord's twelve disciples, like the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all aspects of faith and love, 3488, 3858, 6397; 'rock' means the Lord in respect of faith, and so faith which is received from the Lord, 8581; and 'keys' means power, as is clear from places in the Word where keys are mentioned, such as in John,

I am the First and the Last, He who lives; and I was dead, but behold, I am alive for ever and ever, and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:17-18.

In the same book,

These things says the One who is Holy, the One who is True, He who has the key of David, He who opens in order that no one may close, and closes in order that no one may open ... Revelation 3:7-8.

And in Isaiah,

I will place the key of the house of David on His shoulder, in order that He may open and none shut, and He may shut and none open. Isaiah 22:22.

In these places it is evident that 'key' means power and that the Lord alone possesses it.

[4] From all this one can see what those people are like who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, namely people who are not at all joined to heaven, nor thus to the Lord. This is so with those who explain those words addressed by the Lord to Peter and to the disciples according to their literal meaning, in that they arrogate to themselves the power to save the human race and make themselves the gods of heaven and earth, which they do on account of their insane self-love and love of the world. Anyone sound in mind may see and appreciate that a mere human being cannot absolve any sin at all, because no sin is absolved except through the development of a new life, that is, through being regenerated by the Lord. Regeneration continues right on to the end of a person's life in the world, and after that for evermore, see 8548-8553, 8635-8640, 8742-8747, 8853-8858, 8958-8968.

[5] What truth in its power is must also be stated briefly. In the Word angels are called 'powers'; and it is also well known in the Church that they are such. Yet they are not powers by virtue of anything their own, only by virtue of the Lord; for they are recipients of God's truth which emanates from the Lord. The power they have from the Lord is such that one of them can drive away a thousand of the devil's crew, confine them to the hells, and keep them in check. For God's truth emanating from the Lord fills the heavens and forms them; and if you are willing to believe it, all things were made and created through that truth. The Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God, and through which all things were created and the world was made, spoken of in John 1:1-14, is Divine Truth. Divine Truth is the one true substance from which all things come into being; but this is something few are able to understand, because at the present day the idea which people have of Divine Truth is no different from that of words coming from the lips of one who rules over all, whose orders are carried out according to those words. As for the kind of idea people ought in fact to have of Divine Truth, see 9407 (end). The omnipotence of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is described in many places in the Word, and especially in John, in the Book of Revelation,

War took place in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels, but they did not prevail, nor was their place found any longer in heaven. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:7-8, 11.

'The blood of the Lamb', it is evident, is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human, see 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 9395; and 'the word of their testimony' is God's truth which has found acceptance.

[6] People who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, that is, those who are separated from the true teachings of the Church, understand these words of prophecy in solely a literal way. That is to say, they take 'blood' to mean blood, thus the Lord's passion, when in fact Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is what is meant in those words by 'blood'. People with the true teachings of the Church are able to know that they are saved not by blood but by hearing God's truth and doing it, thus [that all are saved] who allow the Lord to regenerate them by means of Divine Truth. All who receive enlightenment from the Lord are able to know, understand, see, and perceive this, thus all who are governed by the good of charity and faith are able to do so, since it is they who receive enlightenment. I myself can certainly say that when I read the blood of the Lamb and think of the Lord's blood the angels present with me know no other than that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is what I read and that that Truth is what I think of. But let simple people hold on to the teaching they have that they are saved by the Lord's blood, so long as they are leading a life in keeping with His Divine Truth; for those who lead such a life receive enlightenment in the next life.