63. Verse 13. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, signifies the Lord, from whom is the All of heaven and of the church. This is evident from the signification of "in the midst," as being in the inmost (See Arcana Coelestia., n. 1074, 2940, 2973); and as all things proceed from the inmost, as light proceeds from the center to the circumferences, so "in the midst" signifies from whom; also from the signification of "the seven lampstands," as being the new heaven and the new church (of which just above, n. 62; and from the signification of "the Son of man," as being the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and also in respect to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human. From this it can be seen why the Lord appeared "in the midst of seven lampstands," namely, because from Him the All of heaven and the church proceeds; for it is the good of love and of faith that makes heaven and the church, and that this good is from the Divine is known in the Christian world, and as it is from the Divine, it is from the Lord, for the Lord is the God of heaven, and the Divine of the Lord makes heaven (See the work on Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell 2-6, 7-12 that this is His Divine Human, 78-86).

[2] That the Son of man is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and also in respect to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human, is evident from those passages in the Word where the Son of man is mentioned. Thus in John:

The multitude said to Jesus, How sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus answered thee, Yet a little while is the light with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness overtake you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:34-36).

From these words it is clear that "the Son of man" and "Light" have a like signification; for when the people asked, Who is the Son of man? the Lord answered that He was the Light in which they should believe. (That "light" is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 49; thus also the Son of man. )

[3] In Luke:

Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake (Luke 6:22).

"For the Son of man's sake" is for the sake of Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord. Divine truth is the All of faith in and of love to the Lord. Because the evil deny these things, and those who deny also hate them, while the good acknowledge them, therefore it is said that the good are blessed.

[4] In the same:

The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say to you, Lo here, or Lo there. Go not away, nor pursue after (Luke 17:22-23).

"To desire [to see] one of the days of the Son of man," is to desire Divine truth, which is genuine truth, as to something thereof; the end of the church is here meant, when there will no longer be any faith, because there will be no charity, at which time all Divine truth will perish; and because Divine truth is signified by "the Son of man," it is said, "Then shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there; pursue not after."

[5] In the same:

When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith upon the earth? (Luke 18:8);

which means that when Divine truth shall be revealed out of heaven it will not be believed. Here also, "the Son of man" is the Lord in respect to Divine truth; the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 3900, 4060).

[6] In Matthew:

As the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory (Matthew 24:27, 30).

That by "the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven" is here signified the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church, see above n. 36.

[7] In the same:

I say unto you, 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).

And in Luke:

From henceforth shall the Son of man be seated at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

"The Son of man" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and in respect to Divine truth proceeding from Him; "to sit at the right hand of power" means that He has omnipotence; its being said that they were now about to see this means that Divine truth was in its omnipotence when the Lord in the world had conquered the hells and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and that thus those who received Him in faith and love could be saved (See Arcana Coelestia 9715. That to "sit at the right hand" means omnipotence, see Arcana Coelestia 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9193; that all the power of good is by means of truth, n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643. That Divine power itself is by means of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, see n. 6948; that the "clouds" in which the Son of man is to come are the Word in the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimate of order, see the preface to chapter 18 of Genesis, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that "glory" is Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429).

[8] From this it can now be seen what is signified by these words in Revelation:

I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown (Revelation 14:14).

And in Daniel:

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

Because all judgment is executed according to truth, therefore it is said, that it was given to the Lord:

To execute judgment, because He is the Son of man (John 5:27); and that:

The Son of man shall render unto every man according to his deeds (Matthew 16:27);

and that:

When the Son of man shall come, He shall sit on the throne of His glory, and shall judge (Matthew 25:31).

[9] In Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:37-38).

"Good seed" is Divine truth; it is therefore said that the Son of man soweth it; "the sons of the kingdom" are Divine truths in heaven and the church; for "son" is truth (See Arcana Coelestia 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and, in the contrary sense, falsity, which also is "the son of the evil one."

[10] In the same:

The Son of man hath not where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20);

by which is meant that Divine truth had no place anywhere, that is, with any man at that time. That the Son of man was about to suffer and be put to death (Matthew 17:12, 22-23; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31) signifies that thus they were about to treat Divine truth, consequently the Lord, who was Divine truth itself. This He also teaches in Luke:

But first must the Son of man suffer, and be rejected of this generation (Luke 17:25).

[11] In Jeremiah:

No man [vir] shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man [hominis] sojourn there (Jeremiah 49:18, 33).

And in the same:

In the cities no man [vir] shall dwell, nor shall a son of man [hominis] pass through them (Jeremiah 51:43).

He who does not know the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by "cities" here are meant cities, and that by "man," and "son of man," are meant a man and a son; and that the cities were to be so desolated that no one should be in them, but it is the state of the church in respect to the doctrine of truth that is described by these words; for "cities" are the doctrinals of the church (See Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 3216, 492, 4493); and "man" is its very truth conjoined with good (See n. 3134, 7716, 9007); therefore a "son of man" is truth.

[12] As Divine truth proceeding from the Lord was signified by "the Son of man," therefore the prophets by whom it was revealed were called "sons of man" (as Daniel 8:17; and Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27). As most things in the Word have also a contrary sense, so "son of man" has a contrary signification, which is the falsity opposite to truth. Thus in Isaiah:

What art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that dies; and of the son of man, who shall be as grass (Isaiah 51:12).

And in David:

Put not your trust in princes, in the son of man, with whom there is no salvation (Psalms 146:3).

"Princes" are primary truths (See Arcana Coelestia 2089, 5044); so, in the contrary sense, primary falsities; and "the son of man" is falsity itself.

8427. 'And in the morning you will see the glory of Jehovah' means that at the beginning of a new state the arrival of the Lord is going to take place. This is clear from the meaning of 'the morning' as the beginning of a new state, dealt with immediately above in 8426; and from the meaning of 'the glory of Jehovah' as the presence and the arrival of the Lord. The reason why 'the glory' means the presence and the arrival of the Lord is that in the highest sense 'glory' is the Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord; and Divine Truth appears before angels' eyes as the light and splendour from the Sun, which is the Lord. For the meaning of 'the glory' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 5922, 8267; for its meaning intelligence and wisdom that belong to Divine Truth, 4809; and its consequently meaning the internal sense of the Word, since that sense is Divine Truth in glory, 5922.

[2] It says that in the morning they are going to see the glory of Jehovah because sunrise and its accompanying light (which in heaven brings light to angels' eyes, to both their outward and their inward sight) consequently the presence and arrival of the Lord (who is the Sun of heaven) corresponds to morning time on earth and is meant here by 'the morning'. The light from the sun then, which is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and for that reason is the Lord, is 'the glory'. From this it is evident that 'the glory' means the presence and arrival of the Lord. The fact that these are meant by 'the glory' is also evident from a number of places in the Word, such as in Moses,

The cloud covered the mountain, and the glory of Jehovah dwelt over Mount Sinai. And the cloud covered it six days. The sight of the glory of Jehovah was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. Exodus 24:15-18.

Plainly, the presence of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord, appearing as a cloud and as fire on the mountain, is here called 'the glory of Jehovah'.

In the same author,

The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. Nor could Moses enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud dwelt over it, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34-35.

Here also the Lord's presence, appearing as a cloud, is called 'the glory'.

[3] In the same author,

Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting; and they came out and blessed the people. At that time the glory of Jehovah appeared to the whole people. Leviticus 9:23-24.

In the same author,

The glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting before all the children of Israel. Numbers 14:10-12.

Likewise in Numbers 16:19, 42. In the first Book of Kings,

The cloud filled the house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah. 1 Kings 8:10-11.

In John,

The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, so that no one was able to enter the temple. Revelation 15:8.

In the same book,

He showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it; the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:10-11, 23.

Here 'the glory of God' plainly stands for light from the Lord, which is Divine Truth emanating from Him, and so is the presence of the Lord since the Lord is present in Truth coming from Him.

[4] The fact that 'the glory of Jehovah' means His presence is clear yet again in Moses,

Moses said to Jehovah, Show me, I beg You, Your glory He said to him, I will cause all My goodness to pass by before you. And when My glory passes by, it will happen, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover My hand over you until I have passed by. But when I take My hand away you will see My back parts, and My face will not be seen. Exodus 33:18-end.

Here also 'Jehovah's glory' plainly stands for His presence. In Matthew,

The disciples said to Jesus, Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming? Jesus said, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:3, 30.

The subject here is the final period of the former Church and the first of the new. 'The Son of Man' is God's truth emanating from the Lord; 'the clouds of heaven' are the Word in the sense of the letter, and 'power and glory' are the internal sense, thus Divine Truth which will be visible then. 'The Lord's coming' stands for the acceptance of God's truth by those belonging to the new Church and the rejection of it by those belonging to the old Church, see 4060 (end).

[5] The fact that the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is meant by 'the glory' is clear in Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. The glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. Isaiah 40:3, 5.

This refers to the Lord, who is 'the glory'. In John,

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory. glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

In the same gospel,

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. John 12:41.

Here 'glory' stands for the Lord. Similarly in Moses,

I am the Living One, and the whole earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah. Numbers 14:21.

Here 'the glory of Jehovah' stands for the Coming or arrival of the Lord, and for enlightenment by Divine Truth emanating from Him.

[6] 'Glory' stands for the Lord's Divinity in Isaiah,

I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 42:8.

In Mark,

... when the Son of Man comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38.

In Luke,

Ought [not] Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? Luke 24:26.

Since 'the glory of Jehovah' means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 'the glory' also means the Divine Wisdom and Intelligence that belong to Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. Wisdom and intelligence from God are meant by the glory in Ezekiel 1:28; 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-23; and there it is represented by 'a rainbow' such as one sees in a cloud.