468. Be unto our God unto the ages of ages, signifies unto the Lord to eternity; for "our God" means "He who sitteth upon the throne, and the Lamb," and these two mean the Lord alone; "who sitteth upon the throne" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the Lamb," the Lord in relation to Divine truth (as was said and shown above, n. 460; and "unto the ages of ages" in reference to the Lord signifies eternity. The expression "unto the ages of ages" is used, and not "to eternity," because "ages of ages" is a natural expression, but "to eternity" a spiritual expression, and the sense of the letter of the Word is natural, while the internal sense is spiritual, and the latter is contained within the former. It is the same elsewhere in the Word.

Thus in Daniel:

To the Son of man there was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; His dominion is a dominion of an age, which shall not pass away (Daniel 7:14).

In Isaiah:

Trust ye in Jehovah, for in Jah Jehovah is the rock of ages (Isaiah 26:4).

In the same:

Israel hath been saved by Jehovah with a salvation of ages; ye shall not be ashamed to the everlasting ages (Isaiah 45:17).

My salvation shall be for an age, and My righteousness shall not be broken. My righteousness shall be for an age, and My salvation for generation and generations (Isaiah 51:6, 8).

In David:

Before the mountains were brought forth, and before the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, thou art God (Psalms 90:2).

The mercy of Jehovah is from age to age upon them that fear Him (Psalms 103:17).

In Revelation:

To Him be the might unto the ages of the ages. Behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 1:6, 18).

Again:

Unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the strength, unto the ages of the ages; and they worshiped Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 5:13, 14).

Again:

And sware by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, who created heaven (Revelation 10:6).

And again:

The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's; and He shall reign unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 11:15).

And many other passages. Moreover, "age" in the Word signifies the time from antiquity, as well as time even to the end; it also has a similar signification as world; but these significations of "age" will be treated of elsewhere.

1204. And her smoke goeth up unto the ages of the ages signifies that the falsity of evil that pertains to such is forever condemned to hell. This is evident from the signification of "smoke," as being the falsity of evil (See n. 539, 889, 1131); also from the signification of "going up unto the ages of the ages," as meaning to be in hell forever, consequently to be condemned to hell. (That "the ages of the ages" signifies eternity may be seen n. 289, 468.)

(Continuation)

How the spiritual flows in and acts upon plants and produces such a tendency, effort, and action, cannot be comprehended by any understanding, unless the following are first unfolded: 1. Nothing in nature exists and subsists except from the spiritual and by means of it.

2. Nature in itself is dead, being created that the spiritual may be clothed by it with forms that may serve for use, and thus may be terminated.

3. There are two general forms, the spiritual and the natural; the spiritual is such as belongs to animals, and the natural is such as belongs to vegetables.

4. In everything spiritual there are three forces, an active force, a creative force, and a formative force.

5. From the spiritual by means of these forces both plants and animals, both those which appear in heaven and those which are in the world, have their existence.

6. These two classes have the same origin and thus the same soul, the difference being only in the forms into which the influx flows.

7. And that origin is in use. Until these propositions are explained, the cause of so many wonderful effects in the vegetable kingdom cannot be seen by the understanding.