36. Verse 7. Behold, He cometh with the clouds, signifies that the Lord is about to reveal Himself in the Word through the internal sense. This is evident from the signification of "coming," as being, in reference to the Lord, to reveal Himself; and from the signification of "clouds," as being Divine truths in ultimates, thus the Word in the letter; for the Word as to the sense of the letter is Divine truth in ultimates; and since each thing therein contains an internal or spiritual sense, "coming with clouds" means revealing Himself through that sense. That "clouds" signify Divine truths in ultimates is from appearances in the spiritual world. There clouds appear in various kinds of light; in the inmost or third heaven in a flaming light, in the middle or second heaven in a bright white light, and in the outmost or first heaven in a light more dense; and everyone there knows that they signify Divine truth from the Lord through the angels; for when Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which is the very light of heaven, passes through the angels, it appears as a cloud, purer or denser according to their intelligence. Such clouds have oftentimes been seen by me, and what they signify has also been perceived. This is why "clouds," such as those that appear before the eyes of men in the world, signify Divine truth in ultimates; and as the Word in the letter is Divine truth in ultimates, that is what is meant by "clouds."

[2] He who does not know that "clouds" have this signification, may suppose that the Lord is about to come in clouds for the Last Judgment, and to appear in glory; according to His words in the Evangelists, where He says:

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and much glory (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).

"The consummation of the age" which is there treated of is the last time of the church; and the Lord's coming at that time is the revelation of Himself, and of Divine truth which is from Him, in the Word, through the internal sense. Elsewhere than in the Word the Lord does not reveal Himself, nor does He reveal Himself there except through the internal sense. The Word in the internal sense is also signified by "power" and "glory." (That this is fulfilled at this day, namely that the age is consummated, and the Last Judgment accomplished; and also that the Lord has come in the clouds of heaven, that is, has revealed the internal sense of the Word, may be seen in the small work on The Last Judgment, from beginning to end; also in the work on Heaven and Hell 1; also in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.249-266.

That "the consummation of the age" signifies the last time of the church, see Arcana Coelestia 4535, 10622; that "the coming of the Lord" signifies the revelation of Divine truth through the internal sense, n. 3900, 4060; that "clouds" signify the sense of the letter of the Word, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8106, 8781, 9430, 10551, 10574; that "glory" signifies Divine truth in heaven, thus the internal sense, for this is Divine truth in heaven, n. 5922, 9429[1-7], 10574. The Lord is said to be "about to come in power," because Divine truth, which is from the Lord has all power, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539.) The like is meant by the Lord's words to the high priest:

Jesus said to the high priest, 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; Mark 14:62).

"The Son of man" is the Lord as to Divine truth; "sitting at the right hand of power" is His omnipotence; "coming in the clouds of heaven" is the revelation of Divine truth respecting Him in the Word, for He has revealed Himself and has also fulfilled all things contained in the internal sense, which treats especially of the glorification of His Human.

[3] The same is signified by "clouds" in the following passages. In Daniel:

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

in Revelation:

I saw, and behold a white cloud; and on the cloud one sat like unto a man, ¹ having on his head a crown (Revelation 14:14, 16);

in Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah sitting upon a dense light cloud (Isaiah 19:1);

in David:

Sing unto God, sing praises to His name, extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Psalms 68:4);

in the same:

Jehovah appointeth the clouds His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3).

Who cannot see that these things are not to be understood according to the sense of the letter, that is, that Jehovah sits upon a cloud, that He rides upon the clouds, and that He makes the clouds His chariot? He who thinks spiritually may know that Jehovah is present in His Divine truth, for this proceeds from Him, consequently that this is what is meant by "clouds there;" so it is also said that Jehovah "appointeth the clouds His chariot;" because by "chariot" is signified the doctrine of truth (See Arcana Coelestia 2762, 5321, 8215).

[4] Likewise in the following places. In Isaiah:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the higher clouds [pour down] righteousness (Isaiah 45:8);

in Nahum:

The way of Jehovah is with cloud ² and storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3);

in David:

Ascribe ye strength unto God; His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the higher clouds (Psalms 68:34);

A faithful witness in the clouds (Psalms 89:37);

in Moses:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in thy ³ magnificence upon the clouds (Deuteronomy 33:26).

From this it can be seen what is meant by:

The cloud filling the inner court (Ezekiel 10:3-4);

And the cloud resting upon the tent (repeatedly in Moses); also that:

Jesus when He was transfigured, was seen in glory, and a cloud overshadowed the three disciples, and it was said to them out of the cloud, This is my beloved son (Matthew 17:1-10; Mark 9:1-11; Luke 9:28-36).

(See also what is said about the Lord's being in a cloud in the midst of angels, in the little work on The Earths in the Universe 171.)

Poznámky pod čarou:

9481. 'In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place' means a representative of heaven where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pattern of the dwelling-place' as a representative of heaven; for 'the pattern' means a representative, and 'the dwelling-place' means heaven. The reason why 'the pattern' means a representative is that Divine realities in heaven are also manifested in visible shapes, which are representatives. For the meaning of 'the dwelling-place' as heaven where the Lord is, see 8269, 8309. What the representatives that appear in heaven are like is clear in the prophets, for example in John's Book of Revelation, in which he describes lampstands, Chapter 1:12ff; a throne with twenty-four thrones around it, and four living creatures before the throne, Chapter 4:2ff; a book sealed with seven seals, Chapter 5; horses going out when the seals were opened, Chapter 6; angels who are clothed in various ways and have bowls, Chapters 9, 10, 15, 16; a white horse, Chapter 19; and at length a new Jerusalem, its walls, gates, foundations, height, breadth, and length, Chapters 21, 22. Similar sights are also described by other prophets.

[2] All those sights are representatives such as appear unceasingly in heaven before angels' eyes, manifesting in visible shapes the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith. Such realities taken all together were represented by the tabernacle and its contents, that is, the ark itself, the table on which loaves were laid, the altar of incense, the lampstand, and everything else. Therefore when these objects, being outward forms of Divine celestial and spiritual realities, were beheld by the people while they were engaged in holy acts of worship, such realities as were represented by those objects were brought to notice in heaven. These, as stated above, were the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love to the Lord and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith in the Lord. All the representatives of that Church had that kind of effect in heaven. It should be realized that a person always has spirits and angels present with him and that a person cannot live without them. It should likewise be realized that through them the person is linked to the Lord, and that in this way the human race, and heaven too, is kept in being. From this one can see what purpose was served by the representatives and also the ritual observances of the Church established among the Israelite nation. One can also see what purpose is served by the Word, in which all things mentioned in the sense of the letter correspond to Divine realities that exist in heaven, thus in which all the objects mentioned are representative and all the words used carry a spiritual meaning. This is what brings about the linking of a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. Without that link the person would have no life whatever, for without being linked to the actual Essential Being (Esse) of life, from which the Coming-into-Being (Existere) of life emanates, no one has life.

[3] But these considerations are unintelligible to those who think that life exists essentially in a person himself and that a person lives without spirits or angels, thus without influx from the Divine by way of heaven. But in actual fact anything that is not linked to the Divine perishes and ceases to exist. Indeed nothing can ever come into being without that which is prior to itself, thus without the Divine, who is the First and is self-existent Being (Esse) or Jehovah; nor consequently can it remain in being, for remaining in being is constant coming-into-being. Because 'the dwelling-place' means heaven where the Lord is, it also means the good of love and faith, since these compose heaven; and because all good comes from the Lord, and heaven is called heaven by virtue of its love to and faith in the Lord, 'the dwelling-place' also means in the highest sense the Lord, as is evident in Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 25:30; Ezekiel 37:26-27; Psalms 26:8; 43:3; 90:1; 91:9; Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 12:5, 11; and other places. From this it is clear that the tabernacle was called Jehovah's sanctuary and dwelling-place for the reason that it represented the realities mentioned above.