7573. 'And Jehovah gave forth voices' means the departure and severance of communication with those governed by good and guided by truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'voices', which are claps of thunder, as God's truths which enlighten and perfect those in heaven, but frighten those in hell and subject them to vastation; and since they devastate the latter they mean the departure and severance of communication with those governed by good and guided by truth, this being the way in which they are devastated. The situation in all this is evident from what has been stated already in 7502, 7541, 7542, 7545, 7554. In these places it was shown that those who have belonged to the Church and consequently absorbed cognitions of truth and good from the Word, yet have led an evil life, have a line of communication with heaven through the truths and forms of good which they have brought with them from their time in the world, where they were in the Church. (A person brings with him into the next life whatever he knew in the world, indeed whatever he saw, heard, thought, spoke, willed, or did, see 2474, 2475, 2481-2486, 7398). This communication is what is taken away when they undergo vastation; and when communication has been taken away, so are truths and forms of good, and cognitions of them, removed. For whatever spirits, and indeed angels know flows in from the Lord by way of heaven, thus through communications that are made, see 6053-6058, 6180, 6215, 6307-6717, 6466-6495, 6613-6626. All this shows what is meant by a departure and severance of communication with those who are guided by truth and governed by good. The situation with God's truth in heaven and in hell - the truth that is meant by 'voices' - is like that with claps of thunder on earth. On high mountains claps of thunder are heard as no more than a gentle, quiet sound; but on the land lying below they are heard as a frightening crash. In the same way God's truth in heaven is gentle and mild, whereas in hell it is frightening.

[2] The meaning of 'voices', which are claps of thunder, as God's truths that enlighten and perfect those in heaven, and that frighten those in hell and subject them to vastation, is evident from the following places: In Isaiah,

You will have joy of heart, as when one marches with a pipe to come to the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel. Then Jehovah will cause His glorious voice ¹ to be heard, and will cause His arm to see repose, in the indignation of [His] anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, [in] scattering, and deluging, and hailstones. For by the voice of Jehovah Asshur will be dismayed. Isaiah 30:29-31.

Here 'the voice of Jehovah' stands for God's truth which enlightens and perfects those who are governed by good but frightens those under the influence of evil and subjects them to vastation. In Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the sun and moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining; and Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, His camp is exceedingly great; for that which executes His word is uncountable. For great is the day of Jehovah, and extremely frightening. Joel 3:16.

Here the meaning is similar.

[3] In the same prophet,

Jehovah will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem will give forth His voice; and the heavens and the earth will be shaken. But Jehovah will be a shelter for His people, and a fortification for the children of Israel. Joel 3:16.

'The voice of Jehovah' likewise stands for God's truth. It is given forth 'from Jerusalem' because that city means the Lord's spiritual kingdom, inhabited by those who are moved by truth to be governed by good and moved by good to be guided by truth.

[4] In David,

Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice, hail, and coals of fire, so that He sent His arrows and scattered them, and many thunder-bolts, and threw them into confusion. Psalms 18:13-14.

'Giving forth voice, hail, and coals of fire' stands for the devastation of truth and good by means of falsities and evil desires. In the same author,

The clouds dropped water, the skies gave voice, also Your arrows went out, the voice of Your thunder into the earth; the lightnings lit up the earth. Psalms 77:16-18.

'A voice' stands for God's truth which enlightens those who belong to the Church.

[5] In the same author,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, the God of glory causes it to thunder, Jehovah is over great waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is majestic; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars, Jehovah breaks to pieces the cedars of Lebanon; the voice of Jehovah strikes as flames of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve, and strips the forests bare. Psalms 29:3-11.

Here 'the voice of Jehovah' stands for God's truth and the power it has. Thus it also stands for the Word since this is God's truth.

[6] In John,

A mighty angel coming down called out with a loud voice; and when he called out, seven thunders uttered their voices. I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them. Revelation 10:3-4.

'Voices' stands for God's truth, 'thunders' for those who convey it, bringing it from heaven to earth. No one can fail to see that 'thunders and 'voices' mean things that are Divine, not thunders and crashes. And since they mean Divine things and are called Jehovah's voices it is evident that they are Divine Truth. This was why, when Jehovah came down on Mount Sinai and proclaimed Divine Truth, there were voices, lightnings, and thunders, Exodus 19:16; 20:18, and why He spoke out of the midst of the fire, Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22-24.

Poznámky pod čarou:

7541. 'For this time I am sending all My plagues' means that it would be possible for the evil things yet to come to rush in on them all together. This is clear from the meaning of 'plagues' as evils, in this instance the evil things that had yet to come until they were completely cast into hell, which is why it says 'all' the plagues; and from the meaning of 'sending' as irrupting, for plagues or evil things are not sent by Jehovah or the Lord but irrupt from evil itself. For in the next life evil carries punishment with it and holds it so to speak within itself, 696, 967, 1857, 6559. This then is why 'I am sending all My plagues' means that all the evil things would rush in on them.

[2] Order requires that one plague should follow another and that for this reason the casting of the evil into hell should be done in stages. That is why the explanation here says merely that it would be possible for them to rush in all together. Since the member of the Church has no knowledge of what life is like after death he thinks that after life in the body a person is either raised instantly to heaven or cast instantly into hell. But in fact what happens to him takes place in stages, though considerably varying periods of time and states are involved in the process. In the case of the good who are to be raised to heaven evil is separated from them in successive stages, and they are filled at each stage with good according to their ability acquired in the world to receive it. But in the case of the evil who are to be cast into hell good is separated from them in successive stages, and they are filled at each stage with evil according to their ability acquired in the world to receive it. Furthermore a person in the next life goes on entering new states and undergoing changes. Those who are being raised to heaven are constantly being made more perfect, both then and afterwards for evermore. But those who are being cast into hell suffer bad experiences, both then and afterwards - experiences which become repeatedly grimmer, till they reach the point at which they do not dare to inflict harm on another. And after they have been cast into hell they remain there forever. They cannot be released from there because no desire for someone else's good can be imparted to them, only a refusal to do harm to someone, from fear of punishment; for the desire to do it will never forsake them.