28. The Son of man symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word because prophets also were called sons of man. Prophets were also called sons of man because they represented the Lord in relation to the Word, and therefore they symbolized the doctrine of the church drawn from the Word. Prophets have no other meaning in heaven when they are mentioned in the Word. For the spiritual meaning of a prophet, as also that of the Son of man, is the doctrine of the church drawn from the Word, and when referring to the Lord it is the Word itself.

That the prophet Daniel was called son of man may be seen in Daniel 8:17.

That the prophet Ezekiel was called son of man may be seen in Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8, 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25, 4:1, 16, 5:1, 6:2, 7:2, 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15, 11:2, 4, 15, 12:2-3, 9, 18, 22, 27, 13:2, 17, 14:3, 13, 15:2, 16:2, 17:2, 20:3-4, 27, 46, 21:7, 11, 14, 17, 19, 24, 22:18, 24, 23:2, 36, 24:2, 16, 25, 25:2, 26:2, 27:2, 28:2, 12, 21, 29:2, 18, 30:2, 21, 31:2, 32:2, 18, 33:2, 7, 10, 12, 24, 30, 34:2, 35:2, 36:1, 17, 37:3, 9, 11, 16, 38:2, 14, 39:1, 17, 40:4, 43:7, 10, 18, 44:5.

It is apparent now from this that the Lord in relation to His Divine humanity is called the Son of God, and in relation to the Word the Son of man.

The word "righteous" has taken on a bit of negative shading in modern language. That may be because we hear it most often as part of the word "self-righteous," a rather scathing term for someone who thinks he is quite a good person -- almost certainly better than anyone around him -- and is in a position to judge others without being judged himself. The original word, however, is not negative at all: A righteous person is simply someone who does what is right. The spiritual meaning of "righteous" reflects that: people described as "righteous" act from a love of serving others, and that love is "righteousness." This is commonly described as "the good of charity," "charity" meaning a state of caring for others.