Apocalypse Explained # 298
298. The right hand, when said of the Lord, signifies both omnipotence and omniscience, because there the south is at the right in heaven, and the north is at the left; and by the south is signified Divine truth in light, and by the north Divine truth in shade. And because Divine good has all power by means of the Divine truth, therefore by the right hand, when said of the Lord, omnipotence is signified; and because as Divine good has all intelligence and wisdom by means of Divine truth, and to the right in heaven is Divine truth in light as has been said, therefore, by the right hand, when said of the Lord, is also signified omniscience. That the south is at the right in heaven and that there Divine truth is in light, and that those who are there are in intelligence and wisdom; and that the north is at the left there, and that there Divine truth is in shade, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, where the four quarters in heaven are treated of (n. 141-153). That all power is from Divine good by means of Divine truth, may be seen in the same work, where the subject treated of is concerning the power of the angels of heaven (n. 228-235): also, that all intelligence and wisdom are from Divine good by means of Divine truth, may be seen in the same work, where the subject treated of is concerning the wisdom of the angels of heaven (n. 265-275): and concerning the wise and simple in heaven (n. 346-356).
[2] That the right hand, when said of the Lord, signifies both omnipotence and omniscience, and when said of men, power and wisdom, is evident from the following passage.
In David:
"The north and the right hand thou hast created them; Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is thy hand, and thy right hand shall be exalted. Justice and judgment are the support of thy throne; mercy and truth shall stand together before thy faces" (89:12-14).
That by the right hand is here meant the south, is evident, for it is said, the north and the right hand, thou hast created; and the south signifies the Divine truth in light, thus in the highest sense (in which the Lord is spoken of) the omnipotence and omniscience, which Divine good has by means of Divine truth, as has been said above. Because both, omnipotence as well as omniscience, are signified, it is therefore said, Tabor and Hermon, justice and judgment, mercy and truth. Tabor and Hermon here signify those who are in Divine good and in Divine truth: justice and judgment signify Divine good and Divine truth, and similarly mercy and truth; by both together, in the spiritual sense, is signified Divine good by Divine truth. Omnipotence and omniscience, which Divine good has by means of Divine truth, are signified by "Thou hast a mighty arm," and by "strong is Thy hand, and Thy right hand shall be exalted."
[3] Again:
"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget" (Psalms 137:5).
Jerusalem signifies the church as to the doctrine of Divine truth; and the right hand of Jehovah, Divine truth in light, because those are at the right hand of the Lord in heaven who are in light and in wisdom from Divine truth, as was said above: hence it is evident why it is said, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget."
[4] Again:
"I was foolish and ignorant. But I am always with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou guidest me by thy counsel, and afterwards receivest me in glory" (Psalms 73:22-24).
Forasmuch as by the right hand, when said of man, is signified wisdom which is from Divine truth, it is therefore said, "I was foolish and ignorant; Thou guidest me in thy counsel, and afterwards receivest me in glory." To guide by counsel, is to lead by means of Divine truth: and to receive in glory, is to bless with intelligence: for glory, when said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth and Divine wisdom, but when said of man, it signifies intelligence therefrom.
[5] Again:
"Jehovah is thy keeper; Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night" (Psalms 121:5, 6).
To be a shade on the right hand, signifies to be a defence against evil and falsity. Shade is used there for a shady place to preserve from hurt, and the right hand for power and wisdom from Divine truth, which would be hurt by evil and falsity unless the Lord defended. Because these things are signified, therefore it is said, "the sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." By the sun is there signified the love of self, and thence all evil; and by the moon the falsity of evil. (That these things are signified by the sun and moon, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 122, 123; and in the Arcana Coelestia 2441, 7078, 8487, 9755, 10130, 10189, 10420, 10702).
[6] Again:
"Let thy hand, Jehovah, be before the man of thy right hand, before the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself" (Psalms 80:17).
"Let thy hand, Jehovah," means for a guard from omnipotence and omniscience: "the man of the right hand" for whom there is a guard, signifies the wise; and "the son of man," the intelligent, both by means of Divine truth.
[7] Again:
"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty, in thy grace and in thine honour. In thine honour, mount up, ride on the Word of truth, of meekness, and of justice; thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Kings' daughters are among thine excellent; at thy right hand shall stand the queen in the best gold of Ophir" (45:3, 4, 9).
These things are said concerning the Lord. To gird the sword upon the thigh, signifies Divine truth combating from Divine good; wherefore it is said, "O mighty, in thy grace and in thine honour": by grace is signified Divine truth; and by honour, Divine good (as may be seen above, n. 131, 288). It is also likewise said, "In thine honour, mount up, ride on the Word of truth." In honour to mount up, signifies to combat from Divine good, and to ride upon the Word of truth signifies to combat from Divine truth, thus from Divine good by means of Divine truth. The Lord's omnipotence and omniscience are signified by "Thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things." "The kings' daughters among the excellent," signify affections of truth, and "the queen who is at the right hand in the best gold of Ophir," signifies heaven and the church, and those therein who are in truths from good, the right hand denoting truth in light, and gold of Ophir the good of love.
[8] Again:
"The saying of Jehovah unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his anger" (Psalms 110:1, 5; Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42, 43).
That these things are said concerning the Lord is well known. Thereby is described the Lord's combat in the world against the hells, and the subjugation which was effected from Divine good by means of Divine truth. The right hand there signifies Divine truth; wherefore it is said, "until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet." By enemies are signified the hells: by making them the footstool of the feet is signified to subjugate entirely. The same is signified by "the Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his anger": the day of anger denoting a state of combat, and kings those who are in falsities from evil. (That the Lord, when He was in the world, put on Divine truth from Divine good, and that He thereby subjugated the hells, and disposed all things in the heavens into order, may be seen in the small work concerning the Last Judgment 46: and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293, 294, 301, 303.)
[9] In the Evangelists:
"Jesus said, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hands of power" (Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:61, 62; Luke 22:69).
And in Mark:
"The Lord after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God" (16:19).
To sit at the right hands of power, and at the right hand of God, signifies the omnipotence and omniscience which belong to the Lord from Divine good by means of the Divine truth.
[10] In Isaiah:
"I have strengthened thee, I have also helped thee by the right hand of my justice. I, Jehovah God, strengthening thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I help thee" (41:10, 13).
"I have strengthened thee, I have also helped thee," signifies to give power and intelligence from the omnipotence and omniscience, which are from Divine good by means of Divine truth: hence it is said, "I have upheld thee by the right hand of my justice." By the right hand is signified Divine truth, and by justice Divine good. To strengthen the right hand signifies the power and wisdom which man has thence; because both omnipotence and omniscience, which belong to the Lord from Divine good by means of the Divine truth, are here meant, He is therefore called Jehovah God; for the Lord is called Jehovah from Divine good, and God from Divine truth. (As may be seen, n. 709, 732, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010, 9167.)
[11] Again:
"Jehovah hath said to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him doors that the gates may not be shut" (45:1).
By Cyrus, in a representative sense, is meant the Lord. His omnipotence and omniscience from Divine good by means of Divine truth, from which in the world He subjugated all the hells, and afterwards keeps them subjugated for ever, is signified by "whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings": also, by "to open before him doors that the gates may not be shut." By the nations which should be subdued before Him, are signified the hells as to evils; and by the kings whose loins He should loose, are signified the hells as to falsities; by the doors which should be open before Him that the gates may not be shut, is signified that from omniscience all things are manifest to Him, and that from omnipotence He has the power of saving.
[12]By the right hand are signified the omniscience and omnipotence which belong to the Lord from Divine good by means of the Divine truth, also in the following passages:
In David:
"Jehovah continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved" (Psalm 16:8).
Again:
O God, "Thy right hand sustains me" (Psalm 18:35).
Again:
"O God, thy right hand is full of justice" (Psalm 48:10).
In Isaiah:
"My hand hath founded the earth and my right hand hath spanned the heavens" (Isaiah 47:13).
Again:
God "hath sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his strength" (62:8).
And in the Apocalypse,
The Son of man "having in his right hand seven stars" (1:16).
In David:
"The right hand of Jehovah doeth valour: the right hand of Jehovah [is] exalted" (118:15, 16).
[13] Because by the right hand, when said of angels and men, are meant the wisdom and the intelligence which they have from Divine good by means of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, therefore
The angel of the Lord was seen by Zechariah standing at the right hand of the altar of incense (Luke 1:11).
And the angel was seen in the sepulchre where the Lord was laid, sitting on the right hand (Mark 16:5, 6).
And therefore also the sheep are said [to be] placed on the right hand, and the goats on the left (Matthew 25:33, 34).
By the sheep are here meant those who are in truths from good, or in the faith of truth from the good of charity: but by the goats are meant those who are in faith without charity, which faith is called faith alone, and, regarded in itself, is no faith.
[14] On account of this signification of the right hand, when Aaron and his sons were inaugurated into the priesthood, the blood was sprinkled upon their right ear and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of the right foot (Exodus 29:20). By the blood here is signified Divine truth from Divine good; by the right ear, the perceptive [faculty] of truth from good; by the right hand and the right foot are signified the intelligence and power of truth from good in the internal or spiritual man, and in the external or natural man; and by the thumb and great toe, what is full.
[15] Because as most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has the right hand; and in that sense it signifies falsity from evil, and reasoning and combat thereof against truth from good.
As in David:
"Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies" (Psalms 89:42).
Again:
"Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood" (Psalms 144:8, 11)
In Isaiah:
"That he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (44:20).
In the Apocalypse:
"They should receive a mark in the right hand or in the foreheads" (13:16:14:9).
The right hand, when said of the evil, signifies falsity, and the resulting reasoning and combat against truth, because the quarters with those who are in evil are opposite to the quarters which are with those who are in good; and so at the right hand of the former truths are in dense darkness, but falsities as it were in the greatest light. (That the quarters in the spiritual world, with those who are in evil, are opposite to the quarters that are with those who are in good, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell (n. 151, 152): and the reason thereof, n. 122, 123.)
Psalms 89
1
I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2
I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them."
3
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,
4
'I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations.'" Selah.
5
The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh; your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6
For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh,
7
a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
8
Yahweh, God of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you.
9
You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them.
10
You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours; the world and its fullness. You have founded them.
12
The north and the south, you have created them. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
13
You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face.
15
Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.
16
In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted.
17
For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to Yahweh; our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, "I have bestowed strength on the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
20
I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil,
21
with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him.
22
No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him.
23
I will beat down his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him.
24
But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted.
25
I will set his hand also on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.
26
He will call to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation!'
27
I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28
I will keep my loving kindness for him forevermore. My covenant will stand firm with him.
29
I will also make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30
If his children forsake my law, and don't walk in my ordinances;
31
if they break my statutes, and don't keep my commandments;
32
then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
33
But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail.
34
I will not break my covenant, nor alter what my lips have uttered.
35
Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.
36
His seed will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me.
37
It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." Selah.
38
But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed.
39
You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust.
40
You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41
All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice.
43
Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven't supported him in battle.
44
You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground.
45
You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46
How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how short my time is! For what vanity have you created all the children of men!
48
What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
49
Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness?
50
Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,
51
With which your enemies have mocked, Yahweh, with which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one.
52
Blessed be Yahweh forevermore. Amen, and Amen. BOOK IV A Prayer by Moses, the man of God.
