5319. 'And clothed him in robes of fine linen' means an outward sign denoting the celestial of the spiritual, 'robes of fine linen' being truths going forth from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'robes' as truths, dealt with in 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248. The reason 'robes of fine linen' means truths going forth from the Divine is that a robe made of fine linen was absolutely white and at the same time shining, and truth going forth from the Divine is represented by robes which have that kind of brightness and splendour. And the reason for this is that heaven derives its brightness and splendour from the light that flows from the Lord; and the light that flows from the Lord is Divine Truth itself, 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 1776, 3195, 3222, 3339, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3862, 4415, 4419, 4526, 5219. This explains why, when the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His clothing appeared as the light, Matthew 17:2; glistening, intensely white like snow, as no fuller on earth could bleach them, Mark 9:3; and dazzling, Luke 9:29. It was Divine Truth itself going forth from the Lord's Divine Human that was represented in this manner. But they are exterior truths that are represented in heaven by the brightness of robes, whereas interior truths are represented by the brightness and splendour of the face. This is why 'being clothed in robes of fine linen' at this point means an outward sign denoting truth going forth from the celestial of the spiritual, for this was what the Lord's Divine consisted in at this time.

[2] There are other places too in the Word where truth going forth from the Divine is meant by 'fine linen' and 'robes of fine linen', as in Ezekiel,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shed you with badger, and swathed you in fine linen, and covered you in silk. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your robes were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth. Ezekiel 16:10, 13.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used in these verses to mean the Ancient Church. The truths of this Church are described by robes made of embroidered cloth, fine linen, and silk, and by being adorned with gold and silver. 'Embroidered cloth' means truths existing as facts, 'fine linen' natural truths, and 'silk' spiritual truths.

[3] In the same prophet,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, which too is used to mean the Ancient Church, but so far as cognitions of good and truth are concerned. 'Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, which was its sail' means truth obtained from factual knowledge, which was the outward sign of that Church.

[4] In John,

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over Babylon, since no one buys their wares any more, wares of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and bronze, and iron, and marble. Revelation 18:11-12.

All the specific commodities mentioned here mean the kinds of things that have to do with the Church and so truth and goodness. Here however they are used in the contrary sense because they are spoken of in reference to Babylon. Anyone may see that such commodities would never have been listed in the Word which has come down from heaven unless each one held something heavenly within it. What other reason can there be for a list of worldly wares when Babylon, meaning an unholy Church, is the subject? Similarly in the same book,

Woe, woe, the great city, you that were clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, covered ¹ with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. Revelation 18:16.

[5] The fact that each commodity means something Divine and heavenly is quite evident in the same book where it states what fine linen is, namely the righteous acts of the saints,

The time of the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. At that time she was given fine linen, clean and shining, to wear; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8.

'Fine linen' is 'the righteous acts of the saints' for the reason that all those with whom truth received from the Divine exists are clothed with the Lord's righteousness. For their robes which are bright and shining are products of the light which flows from the Lord. Therefore in heaven truth itself is represented by 'brightness', 3301, 3997, 4007; and people who are being raised to heaven from a state of vastation are seen to be clothed with brightness because they are at this point casting off the robe of their own righteousness and putting on that of the Lord's righteousness.

[6] So that truth from the Divine might be represented in the Jewish Church, they were commanded to use cotton or fine linen in Aaron's vestments, and also in the curtains around the Ark, referred to in Moses as follows,

You shall make in chequered pattern for Aaron a tunic of cotton, and you shall make a turban of cotton. Exodus 28:39.

They made tunics of cotton, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons. Exodus 39:27.

You shall make the Dwelling-place, ten curtains - fine-twined cotton, violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet. Exodus 26:1; 36:8.

You shall make the court of the Dwelling-place. The hangings for the court shall be of fine-twined cotton. Exodus 27:9, 18; 38:9.

The screen for the gate of the court, the work of an embroiderer, violet and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine-twined cotton. Exodus 38:18.

Cotton is fine linen, which they were commanded to use because each object in the Ark and around the Ark, also every detail of Aaron's vestments, were representative of spiritual and celestial realities. From this one may see that a person has only a meagre understanding of the Word if he does not know what such things represent, and scarcely any understanding at all if he thinks that the Word possesses no holiness other than that which presents itself in the letter.

[7] When angels with whom truth from the Divine is present are seen by anyone they are clothed so to speak in fine linen, that is, in shining brightness, as is evident in John where 'a white horse' is referred to,

The One seated on a white horse was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word. His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses; they were clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:11, 13-14.

These words show quite plainly that 'fine linen' is an outward sign denoting truth from the Divine, for 'the One seated on a white horse' is the Lord as to the Word; indeed those words state quite explicitly that He is the Word. The Word is truth itself received from the Divine, and 'a white horse' is the internal sense of the Word, see 2760-2762. Consequently truths received from the Divine are meant by 'white horses', for such truths constitute the whole of the internal sense of the Word. This was why His armies were seen 'on white horses' and why 'they were clothed in fine linen, white and clean'.

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2009. That 'no longer will your name be called Abram' means that He will cast off the human, and that 'your name will be Abraham' means that He will put on the Divine, is clear from the meaning of 'name', also from the meaning of 'Abram', and after that of 'Abraham'. When the phrase 'your name will be' is used in the Word it means the nature of, that is, what a person's nature is going to be like, as is clear from what has been brought forward in Volume One, in 144, 145, 1754. And since 'names means the nature of, a name includes everything in its entirety within that person, for in heaven no attention is paid to someone's name, but when anyone is referred to by name, or when a name is used, a mental picture of his nature comes up, that is, of all that is his, with him and in him. This is why 'name' in the Word means the nature of. To make this matter clearer to the understanding let further confirmatory quotations from the Word be introduced, such as in the Blessing in Moses,

Jehovah bless you and keep you; Jehovah make His face ¹ shine upon you and be merciful to you; Jehovah lift up His face ¹ upon you and give you peace.

So shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel. Numbers 6:24-27.

From this it is evident what 'name' and 'putting Jehovah's name upon the sons of Israel' means, namely that Jehovah blesses, keeps, enlightens, is merciful, and gives peace, and that such is Jehovah's or the Lord's nature.

[2] In the Ten Commandments,

You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who has taken His name in vain. Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11.

Here taking God's name in vain does not mean His name but every single thing deriving from Him, and so every single thing belonging to the worship of Him, which must not be treated with disdain, still less be blasphemed and defiled by what is filthy. In the Lord's Prayer,

Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven so on earth. Luke 11:2.

Nor in this instance is 'name' used to mean name but all things that belong to love and faith, for these are God's, or the Lord's, and derive from Him. Since the latter are holy, the Lord's kingdom comes, and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven, when they are upheld as being holy.

[3] That 'name' means such things is clear from all the places in the Old Testament Word and in the New where the word 'name' is used, as in Isaiah,

You will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name, make His deeds known among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4.

Here 'calling on the name of Jehovah' and 'making mention that it is exalted' does not in any way mean making the name itself an object of worship, or believing that Jehovah is called on by the mere uttering of His name, but by knowing His nature, and so every single thing that derives from Him. In the same prophet,

Therefore in the Urim give honour to Jehovah, in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Isaiah 24:15.

Here 'in the Urim give honour to Jehovah' means worship based on the holy things of love, 'in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel' worship based on the holy things of faith.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah our God, in You alone will we make mention of Your name. Isaiah 26:13.

And in the same prophet,

I will stir up one from the north, and he will come, from the rising of the sun he will call on My name. Isaiah 41:25.

Here 'making mention of' and 'calling on the name of Jehovah' is worshipping from the goods of love and the truths of faith. Those 'from the north' are people outside the Church who do not know the name of Jehovah but who do nevertheless call on His name when they are leading charitable lives one with another and venerate some deity as the Creator of the universe, for it is the worship and what constitutes it, not the name, that calling on Jehovah entails. That the Lord is also present with gentiles, see 932, 1032, 1059.

[5] In the same prophet,

The nations will see your righteousness and all the kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah will announce. Isaiah 62:2.

Here 'you will be called by a new name' stands for becoming a different person, that is to say, as a result of being created anew or regenerated, and so stands for becoming such. In Micah,

All the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and eternally. Micah 4:5.

'Walking in the name of its god' clearly stands for worship that is profane, while 'walking in the name of Jehovah' stands for true worship. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun and even to its setting, great is My name among the nations; and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure minchah, for great is My name among the nations. Malachi 1:11.

Here 'name' is not used to mean the name but the worship; and this worship is the essential nature of Jehovah or the Lord, from which He wills to be adored.

[6] In Moses,

The place which Jehovah your God chooses out of all the tribes to put His name there, and to make His name dwell there, to that place shall you bring all that I am commanding you. Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14; 16:2, 6, 11.

Here also 'putting His name' and 'making His name dwell there' do not mean the name but the worship, and so Jehovah's or the Lord's essential nature from which He is to be worshipped. His nature consists in the good of love and the truth of faith, it being with those who are governed by such good and truth that Jehovah's name dwells. In Jeremiah,

Go to My place which is in Shiloh where I made My name dwell at first. Jeremiah 7:12.

Here similarly 'name' stands for worship, and so for doctrine concerning true faith. It may become clear to anyone that Jehovah does not dwell with somebody who merely knows and utters His name, for without any conception and recognition of His essential nature, and without any belief in it, the name by itself is a mere verbal expression. From this it is evident that the word 'name' means the nature of, and the knowledge of that nature.

[7] In Moses,

At that time Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi to serve Him and to bless in His name. Deuteronomy 10:8.

Here 'blessing in the name of Jehovah' is doing so not by means of the name but by means of those qualities associated with the name of Jehovah which have been referred to above. In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6.

Here 'name' stands for the righteousness which is the essential nature of the Lord, to whom these words refer. In Isaiah,

Jehovah called Me from the womb, from My mother's body ² He made mention of My name. Isaiah 49:1.

These words too refer to the Lord. 'Making mention of His name' is informing about His essential nature.

[8] That 'name' means the nature of is plainer still in John's Revelation,

You have a few names in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before My father and before the angels. He who conquers I will write on him the name of God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Revelation 3:4-5, 12.

Here it is quite clear that name does not mean the name but the essential nature of him who conquers. 'The name in the book of life' is nothing else. Nor is 'confessing his name before My Father', and 'writing on him the name of God and of the city, and a new name'. The same applies elsewhere to the names which are said to have been written in the book of life and in heaven, Revelation 13:8; 17:8; Luke 10:20.

[9] In heaven one person is always recognized from another by his nature or character, which is expressed in the sense of the letter as 'the name', as may also become clear to anyone from the fact that on earth the mention of anybody's name presents to another a mental picture of his nature or character by which he is known and distinguished from anyone else. In the next life those mental pictures survive but names perish. More especially is this so with angels. This is why in the internal sense 'name' means the essential nature of, or the knowledge of that nature. In the same book,

On the head of Him who sat on the white horse were many jewels. He has a name written which no one knows but He Himself. He was clad in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:12-13.

Here it is stated openly that His 'name' is The Word of God, thus the essential nature of Him who sat on the white horse.

[10] The fact that the name of Jehovah means the knowledge of His nature, that is to say, it means every good of love and every truth of faith, is quite clear from these words spoken by the Lord,

Righteous Father, I have known You, and these too have known that You have sent Me, for I made known to them Your name, and I will make it known that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:25-26.

[11] And that the name of God or of the Lord means the whole doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, which is meant by 'believing in His name', is clear from these words in the same gospel,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name. John 1:12.

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:13-15.

Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give it to you. These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:16-17.

In Matthew,

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20.

Here 'being gathered together in the Lord's name' means those who possess the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, and so who are governed by love and charity.

[12] In the same gospel,

You will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. Matthew 10:22; 24:9-10; Mark 13:13.

Here 'for My name's sake' clearly stands for doctrine's sake. The fact that a name itself is of no avail, only that which the name embodies, that is to say, everything constituting charity and faith, is quite clear from the following in Matthew,

Did we not prophesy through Your name, and cast out demons through Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name? And then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

From this it is clear that people who make worship consist in a name, as Jews do in the name of Jehovah and Christians in the name of the Lord, are not on that account worthier than any others, for the name is of no avail. But they are worthier when their characters conform to what He has commanded; and this is the meaning of 'believing in His name'. And when they say that there is salvation in no other name than the Lord's they mean in no other doctrine, that is, in none other than mutual love, which is the true doctrine of faith, and so in none other than the Lord since all love comes from Him alone, and all faith from that love.

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