Apocalypse Explained # 62
62. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, signifies a new heaven and a new church, which are in the good of love. This is evident from the signification of "having turned to see," as being to understand from illustration (See just before, n. 61); and from the signification of "seven," as being what is full and all, and as being predicated where the holy things of heaven and the church are treated of (See above, n. 20, 24); and from the signification of "lampstands," as being the new heaven and the new church (as will be seen in what follows); and from the signification of "gold," as being the good of love (See Arcana Coelestia 113, 1551-1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). That "seven lampstands" signify heaven and the church is evident from the last verse of this chapter, where it is said, "The seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches." That "the seven churches" signify all who are of the church of the Lord, thus the church in general, may be seen above n. 20; they also signify heaven, because heaven and the church make one; moreover, those that have the church in them have heaven in them; for the reason that the good of love and of faith makes the church with man, and makes heaven with him, as it does with angels; consequently, those that had the church, that is, the goods and truths of the church, in them in the world, come into heaven after death. (That this is so, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 12; and in the work on Heaven and Hell, (Heaven and Hell 57, 221-227). The "seven lampstands" here mean the new heaven and the new church, for these are treated of at the end of Revelation (See chapter 21), and thus the conclusion of all things therein; and because that which is last is also first, the prediction respecting these is presented at the beginning. Moreover, it is also customary in the Word to mention in the beginning things that are to take place at the end, because intermediates are thus included; for, in the spiritual sense, the first is the end for the sake of which, as that is both first and last, and to it all other things look (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 98).
[2] That "lampstand" signifies heaven and the church is evident from the description of the lampstand which was in the tabernacle, for by the tabernacle the whole heaven in the complex was represented; and by the lampstand therein, the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven (See Arcana Coelestia n. 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9548-9577, 9783). That this is so is clearly evident from John's seeing "in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man;" "the Son of man" is the Lord in respect to His Divine Human, from which is Divine truth, which is the All in all things of heaven and the church. In the spiritual heaven also lampstands appear in much magnificence; by these that heaven is represented. These it has been given me to see. From this it can be seen what is meant in the Word, in the spiritual sense, by "lampstands" and by "lamps," in the following passages. In Revelation:
I will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent (Revelation 2:5).
"To remove thy lampstand" is to take away from them heaven or the church. In Zechariah:
The angel said to the prophet, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold a lampstand all of gold, its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon, with seven pipes to the lamps (Zechariah 4:2, 3).
Here Zerubbabel is treated of, who was to lay the foundation of the house of God, and to finish it. By Zerubbabel is represented the Lord, that He was about to come and restore heaven and the church: these are the "lampstands" and the holy truths there are "the seven lamps."
[3] Because a lampstand takes its representative meaning from the lamps, and the lamps from light, which in heaven is Divine truth, so the Lord is also called "a lamp," as in Revelation:
The holy Jerusalem hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; the glory of God shall lighten 1 it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof (Revelation 21:23; 22:5).
From this also it is that David, and the kings after him, are called:
Lamps of Israel (2 Samuel 21:17; 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19);
for the Lord in respect to His royalty was represented by David, likewise by the kings of Judah and Israel. (For the representation by "David," see Arcana Coelestia 1888, 9954; and by "kings," n. 31, above.) The lampstands that were seen were of gold; because "gold" signifies the good of love, and all that proceeds from the Lord is from Divine love; consequently the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is love to Him and love towards the neighbor, which is charity (as may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 13-19). This is why the lampstand here, as well as the lampstand in the tabernacle, was of gold.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. The Greek has "did lighten," as also found in Apocalypse Revealed 897, 919, 940; though elsewhere we also find "will lighten" and "lightens."
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings # 49
49. The light of heaven that surrounds our spiritual self. The light in the heavens is immense: 1117, 1521, 1533, 1619-1632. The light in the heavens vastly surpasses earth's noonday light: 1117, 1521, 4527, 5400, 8644. I have often seen this light: 1522, 4527, 7174. For angels in the central or third heaven the light is like the light of the sun, while for angels in the second heaven it is like the light of the moon: 1529, 1530. The light in the central heaven is flamelike, while in the second heaven it is gleaming white: 9570.
[2] All the light in the heavens comes from the Lord as the sun there: 1053, 1521, 3195, 3341, 3636, 3643, 4415, 9548, 9684, 10809. The Lord is the sun of the angelic heaven, and that sun is his divine love: 1521, 1529, 1530, 1531, 1837, 4321, 4696, 7078, 7171, 7173. The divine truth that radiates from the Lord in the heavens is seen as light; it is the source of all the light in heaven, which is why that light is a spiritual light: 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684. This is why the Word refers to the Lord as "the light": 3195. Since that light is divine truth, it contains divine wisdom and intelligence: 3195, 3485, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 9548, 9684. How light from the Lord flows into the heavens, illustrated by golden haloes around the sun: 9407. The Lord is the sun for the heavens and all the light there comes from him (see Heaven and Hell 116-125); the light from that sun is divine truth and the warmth from that sun is the divine goodness that comes from divine love (Heaven and Hell 126-140).
[3] Heaven's light enlightens both the sight and the understanding of angels and spirits: 2776, 3138. The nature of the light they experience depends on their intelligence and wisdom: 1524, 3339. Evidence for this from the Word: 1529, 1530. There are as many different types of light in the heavens as there are angelic communities: 4414. Since goodness and truth come in endless varieties in the heavens, the same goes for wisdom and intelligence: 684, 690, 3241, 3744, 3745, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836. Heaven's having light and warmth means that it has wisdom and love: 3643, 9399, 9400.
[4] Heaven's light is what enlightens our understanding: 1524, 3138, 3167, 4408, 6608, 8707, 9128, 9399, 10569. When we are lifted out of the level of our physical senses, we come into a gentler light and ultimately into heavenly light: 6312, 6315, 9407. When we come into a greater understanding, we have been lifted into heavenly light: 3190. The great light that I have perceived when I have been withdrawn from worldly ideas: 1526, 6608. Our inner self sees in heaven's light, which is why we can think analytically and rationally: 1532. Heaven's light from the Lord is always present with us; it actively flows into us to the extent that we are focused on what is true for the sake of what is good: 4060, 4214. That light is proportional to the truth we have from leading a good life: 3094. Truths shine in the spiritual world: 5219. Spiritual warmth and spiritual light give us true life: 6032.
[5] This world's light is for the outer self, and heaven's light is for the inner self: 3222, 3223, 3337. Heaven's light flows into earthly light; the wisdom of our earthly self is proportional to our acceptance of heaven's light: 4302, 4408. There is a relationship of correspondence between these two kinds of light: 3225. The things that are visible in heaven's light cannot be seen in the light we have in this world, the light we call "earthly light"; and conversely, the things that are visible in earthly light cannot be seen in heaven's light: 9577. That is why people who are in this world's light alone, the light we call "earthly light," do not perceive things that exist in heaven's light: 3108. For people who have embraced false beliefs because they love evil, heaven's light is darkness: 1783, 3337, 3413, 4060, 6907, 8197. For evil people this world's light comes to have a warm glow, and the brighter it glows, the darker the things that are in heaven's light become for them: 6907. Angels cannot see this world's light: 1521, 1783, 1880.
[6] In the heavens all the light comes from the Lord and all the shade comes from the ignorance and selfhood of angels and spirits, giving rise to the modifications and variations of light and shade that are colors there: 3341. The variations of light that shone through the Urim and Thummim: 3862.
[7] The light of people who are given to a faith separate from caring is snowy and is like winter light: 3412, 3413. That light turns into mere darkness as heaven's light flows in: 3412. The light of people whose faith is merely a self-induced conviction 1 and whose lives are given to evil: 4416. What the light is like for people whose intelligence comes from themselves and what it is like for people whose intelligence comes from the Lord: 4419.
[8] There is light in the hells, but it is deceptive: 1528, 3340, 4214, 4418, 4531. The light there is like that of glowing charcoal: 1528, 4418, 4531. People in the hells look human to themselves in their own light, but in heaven's light they look like demons and monsters: 4532, 4533, 4674, 5057, 5058, 6605, 6626. In heaven's light, everything looks like what it truly is: 4674. The reason the hells are linked to "darkness" and "thick darkness" is that false thoughts and evil intent inhere in them: 3340, 4418, 4531. "Darkness" means falsities, and "thick darkness" means falsities from evil intent: 1839, 1860, 7688, 7711.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. The Latin phrase here translated "people whose faith is merely a self-induced conviction" is qui in fide persuasiva, literally, "those in persuasive faith," and is traditionally translated in the latter manner. However, the description in New Jerusalem 117-119 makes it quite clear that this faith is one deliberately and opportunistically adopted by someone in order to appear like a true believer to others, the sole purpose being the advancement of one's own interests. Thus it is more a "self-persuaded faith" than a "persuasive faith," although it is by nature adopted in order to persuade others that one holds approved views. Many careers in eighteenth-century Europe required the appearance of religious conformity. On the materialistic corruption attaching to just one such career, that of church administration, see note 1 in New Jerusalem 117. [GFD, SS]
