52. 6. Jehovah himself - that is, the Lord - spoke the Word through prophets.

We read of the prophets that they had visions and that Jehovah talked with them. When they had visions, they were not focused on their bodies but on the spirit, in which state they saw things of a heavenly nature. When Jehovah talked with them, though, they were conscious of their bodies and heard Jehovah speaking.

We need to draw a clear distinction between these two states. In a visionary state, the eyes of their spirit were open and the eyes of their body were closed; and at such times they seemed to themselves to be taken from place to place while their bodies stayed where they were. Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel were in this state at times, and so was John when he wrote the Book of Revelation. They were then said to be in a vision or in the spirit. In fact, Ezekiel says,

The spirit lifted me up and brought me back into Chaldea, to the captivity, in a vision from God, in the spirit of God. In this way the vision that I saw came over me. (Ezekiel 11:1, 24)

He says that the spirit lifted him up and that he heard an earthquake and other things behind him (Ezekiel 3:12, 14). He also said that the spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven and took him off into Jerusalem in visions from God, and he saw abominations (Ezekiel 8:3 and following).

That is why (again in a vision of God or in the spirit) Ezekiel saw the four beasts that were angel guardians (chapters 1; 10), and he saw a new earth and a new temple with the angel measuring them, as we are told in chapters 40-48. He says in chapter 40:2, that he was then in visions from God; and in chapter 43:5, he says that the spirit lifted him up at that time.

The same thing happened with Zechariah. There was an angel inwardly present with him when he saw a man riding among myrtle trees (Zechariah 1:8 and following); when he saw four horns and then a man with a measuring line in his hand (Zechariah 1:18; 2:1); when he saw Joshua the high priest (Zechariah 3:1 and following); when he saw a lampstand and two olive trees (Zechariah 4:1 and following); when he saw a flying scroll and a measuring basket (Zechariah 5:1, 6); and when he saw four chariots coming from between two mountains, along with horses (Zechariah 6:1 and following).

Daniel was in the same kind of state when he saw four beasts come up from the sea (Daniel 7:3) and when he saw battles between a ram and a goat (Daniel 8:1 and following).

We read in Daniel 7:1-2, 7, 13; 8:2; 10:1, 7-8 that he saw these things in visions. We read in Daniel 9:21 that he saw the angel Gabriel in a vision and talked with him.

Much the same happened with John when he wrote the Book of Revelation. He says that he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10), that he was carried away in the spirit into the wilderness (17:3), to a high mountain in the spirit (21:10), that he saw horses in a vision (9:17), and elsewhere that he saw what he described, being therefore in the spirit or in a vision (1:2; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; and in the particular chapters that follow).

236. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. (4:5) This symbolizes enlightenment, perception, and instruction from the Lord.

Because of the flash of light that strikes the eyes, lightnings symbolize enlightenment, and because of the crash that strikes the ears, thunderings symbolize perception. And since these two together symbolize enlightenment and perception, voices then symbolize instruction.

These phenomena were seen to proceed from the throne because they emanated from the Son of Man or from the Lord in relation to the Word, and all enlightenment, perception and instruction comes from the Lord by means of the Word.

Lightnings, thunderings and voices have similar symbolic meanings elsewhere in the Word, as in the following places:

You have with Your arm redeemed Your people...; the skies sent out a voice... The voice of Your thunder was into the world; the lightnings lit up the world... (Psalms 77:15, 17-18)

(Jehovah's) lightnings light the world... (Psalms 97:4)

In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder... (Psalms 81:7)

I heard... the voice of a great multitude..., as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty has taken the kingdom. (Revelation 19:6)

[2] Because lightnings, thunderings and voices symbolize enlightenment, perception and instruction, therefore when Jehovah descended on Mount Sinai and promulgated the Law, "there were thunderings and lightnings" (Exodus 19:16). Moreover, when a voice issued from heaven to the Lord, it sounded like thunder (John 12:28-29). And because James and John represented charity and its works, and from these spring every perception of truth and good, the Lord called them "Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of Thunder'" (Mark 3:17).

It is apparent from this that lightnings, thunderings and voices have similar symbolic meanings in the following places in the book of Revelation:

I heard one of the four living creatures... with a voice like thunder... (Revelation 6:1)

I heard a voice from heaven... like the voice of loud thunder. (Revelation 14:2)

(When) the angel... threw (the censer) to the earth..., there were thunderings, voices, and lightnings... (Revelation 8:5)

When (the angel) cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. (Revelation 10:3-4)

(When) the temple of God was opened in heaven... there were lightnings, voices, and thunderings... (Revelation 11:19)

So likewise elsewhere.