53. And His countenance as the sun shining in its power. This symbolizes the Divine love and wisdom which are the Lord and which emanate from Him.

The fact that the face of Jehovah or of the Lord means the Divine itself in its essence, which is Divine love and wisdom, thus Himself, will be seen in explanations below where the face of God is mentioned. "The sun shining in its power" has the same symbolic meaning.

In the sight of angels the Lord is seen as the sun in heaven, and it is His Divine love accompanied by Divine wisdom that so appears. This may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758), nos. 116-125 and in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom, 83-172.

[2] It remains here simply to confirm from the Word that when the subject is the Lord, the sun is His Divine love and at the same time His Divine wisdom. This can be seen from the following passages:

...in (that) day... the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days... (Isaiah 30:25-26)

That day is the Lord's advent, when the old church has been destroyed and a new one is about to be established. The light of the moon is faith arising from charity, and the light of the sun is intelligence and wisdom arising from love emanating then from the Lord.

Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon wane; for Jehovah will be your everlasting light... (Isaiah 60:20)

The sun that will not go down is love and wisdom from the Lord.

...the Rock of Israel spoke to me... like the light of the morning when the sun rises... (2 Samuel 23:3-4)

The Rock of Israel is the Lord.

...his throne (shall be) as the sun... (Psalms 89:36-37)

This is said in reference to David, but David there means the Lord.

They shall fear You as long as the sun endures... In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more... Before the sun He will have the name of Son, and all nations shall be blessed in Him... (Psalms 72:5, 7, 17)

These statements, too, are made in reference to the Lord.

[3] Because the Lord appears in heaven to angels as the sun, therefore when He was transfigured,

His face shone like the sun, and His garments became... as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2)

Moreover, in Revelation 10:1 it is said of the mighty angel coming down from heaven that he was "clothed with a cloud," and "his face was like the sun," and of the woman in Revelation 12:1 that she appeared "clothed with the sun." The sun there is love and wisdom emanating from the Lord. The woman there is the church called the New Jerusalem.

[4] Since the sun means the Lord with respect to love and wisdom, it is apparent what the sun symbolizes in the following places:

Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming, cruel... The sun will be darkened at its rising, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will visit upon the world its wickedness, and upon the impious their iniquity. (Isaiah 13:9-11)

...Jehovah will visit [punishment] in the high place upon the host of the high place, and on the earth upon the kings of the earth... Then the moon will blush and the sun be ashamed. (Isaiah 24:21, 23)

When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine... and I will... bring darkness upon your land. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)

...the day of Jehovah is coming..., a day of darkness... The sun and moon (will not cause their light to shine), and the stars have diminished their brightness. (Joel 2:1-2, 10)

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great... day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:31)

...the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon have grown dark... (Joel 3:14-15)

The fourth angel sounded: and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars..., and a third of the day did not shine... (Revelation 8:12)

...the sun became as black as sackcloth of goat's hair, and the moon became as blood... (Revelation 6:12)

...the sun was... darkened because of the smoke of the pit. (Revelation 9:2)

The sun in these places does not mean the world's sun, but the sun of the angelic heaven, which is the Lord's Divine love and wisdom. These are said to be obscured, darkened, covered, or become black when falsities and evils are present in a person.

[5] It is apparent, therefore, that something similar is meant by the Lord's words when speaking of the end of the age, which is the final period of the church:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven... (Matthew 24:29, cf. Mark 13:24-25)

So, too, in the following places:

The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them. (Micah 3:6)

...in that day... I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. (Amos 8:9)

She... who has borne seven... will breath her last; her sun will go down while it is yet day. (Jeremiah 15:9)

The subject here is the Jewish Church, which will breathe its last or perish. The sun's going down means that there will no longer be any love or charity.

[6] It is said in Joshua that the sun stood still in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Aijalon (Joshua 10:12-13). This seems to be an historical statement, but in fact it is prophetic, for it comes from the book of Jasher, which was a prophetic book; for in verse 13 it says, "Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?" The same book is called a prophetic one by David in 2 Samuel 1:17, 18.

A similar statement is found in Habakkuk:

The mountains... were shaken... The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. (Habakkuk 3:10-11)

[In Isaiah:]

Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon wane. (Isaiah 60:20)

For to cause the sun and moon to stand still would be to destroy the universe.

[7] Since the sun means the Lord with respect to Divine love and wisdom, therefore in their holy worship ancient peoples turned their faces to the rising sun, and their temples also, a practice that continues to this day.

That the sun in these passages does not mean the world's sun is clear from the fact that it was profane and an abomination for people to worship the world's sun and moon (see Numbers 25:1-4, Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3, 5, Jeremiah 8:1-2; 43:10, 13; 44:17-19, 25). For the world's sun means self-love and a conceit in one's own intelligence, and self-love is diametrically opposed to Divine love, while a conceit in one's own intelligence is opposed to Divine wisdom. To worship the world's sun is also to accept nature as the creator of all things and one's own prudence as the effecter of all things, which entails a denial of God and a denial of Divine providence.

280. And the third animal had a face like a man, signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guard and providence in respect to wisdom. This is evident from the signification of "the face of a man," as being the affection of truth, "face" signifying affection, and "man" the recipient of Divine truth; and because man's rational is from this, "man" signifies wisdom; for man was created that he might be rational and wise; by this he is distinguished from the brute animals; for this reason "man" in the Word signifies wisdom. "Man" signifies both the affection of truth and wisdom, because the affection of truth and wisdom act as one; for he who is in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, who is affected by truth, or who loves truth because it is truth, is conjoined to the Lord, since the Lord is in His own truths, and is His truth with man; from this man has wisdom, and from this it is that man is a man. Some suppose that man is a man by reason of his face and body, and that by these he is distinguished from beasts, but they are in an error; man is a man by reason of his wisdom, consequently so far as anyone is wise so far is he a man. Those, therefore, who are wise, appear in heaven and in the light of heaven as men, with a brightness and beauty according to their wisdom; while those who are not wise-which is true of those who are in no spiritual affection, but merely in natural affection, in which man is when he loves truth not because it is truth but because he thence receives glory, honor, and gain-these in the light of heaven appear not as men but as monsters in various forms (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 70, 72, 73-77, 80; and what wisdom is, and what non-wisdom is, n. 346-356).

[2] That "man" in the Word signifies the affection of truth and wisdom therefrom, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Lord, how long? He said, until cities be devastated that they may be without inhabitant, and the houses that there may be no man in them, and the ground be devastated to a waste. Jehovah shall remove man, and forsaken places shall be multiplied in the midst of the land (Isaiah 6:11-12).

These things were not said of the devastation of the earth, that there should no longer be cities and houses therein, or that in these there should be no inhabitant or man, but they were said of the devastation of good and truth in the church; "cities" signifying the truths of doctrine; "inhabitant" the good of doctrine; "houses" the interiors of man which are of his mind; and "man" the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom therefrom. This is signified by "the houses shall be devastated, that there may be no man in them." The "land" that shall be devastated to a waste signifies the church. From this it is clear what is signified by "removing man," and by "multiplying the forsaken places in the midst of the land;" "a forsaken place" signifying where there is no good because there is no truth.

[3] In the same:

I will make a man [virum hominem] more rare than pure gold; and [the son of] man6 than the gold of Ophir (Isaiah 13:12).

A [son of] "man" [virum hominem] signifies intelligence, and "man" [hominem] wisdom, and that these were about to be at an end is signified by their being "made rare." Intelligence is distinguished from wisdom by this, that intelligence is the understanding of truth such as the spiritual man has, and wisdom is the understanding of truth such as the celestial man has, whose understanding is from the will of good. From this it is clear what is here signified by [son of] "man" [virum hominem], and what by "man" [hominem].

[4] In the same:

The inhabitants of the earth shall be burnt up, and few men shall be left (Isaiah 24:6).

The "inhabitants of the earth" signify the goods of the church, and these are said "to be burnt up" when the loves of self and of the world begin to rule; that the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom therefrom will then be at an end is signified by "few men will be left."

[5] In the same:

The highways have been laid waste; he that passeth through the way hath ceased; he hath made void the covenant, he hath rejected the cities, he regardeth not man (Isaiah 33:8).

This treats of the devastation of the church; "the highways that are laid waste" and "he that passeth through the way who hath ceased" signify that the goods and truths which lead to heaven are no more; "he hath made void the covenant" signifies no conjunction then with the Lord; "he hath rejected the cities" signifies that they spurn doctrine; "he regardeth not man" signifies that he makes no account of wisdom.

[6] In Jeremiah:

I saw the earth, when lo, it was void and empty; and towards the heavens, and their light was not. I saw, when lo there was no man, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled away (Jeremiah 4:23, 25).

This evidently does not mean the earth, that it was void and empty, nor the heavens that there was no light thence nor that there was not a man on the earth, nor that all the fowl of heaven were fled; what is really meant can be seen only from the spiritual sense of the Word. In that sense "earth" signifies the church; that it was "void and empty" signifies that there is no good and truth in the church; the "heavens," where there is no light, signify the interiors of man's mind which are the receptacles of the light of heaven; (the "light" that is not there is Divine truth and wisdom therefrom); therefore it is said, "I saw and lo there was no man"; the "fowl of heaven which were fled away" signify the rational and the intellectual.

[7] In the same:

Behold the days come, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast (Jeremiah 31:27).

"The house of Israel and the house of Judah" signify the church in respect to truth and in respect to good; "the seed of man and the seed of beast" signify the spiritual affection of truth and the natural affection of truth; for where "man and beast" are mentioned in the Word the spiritual and the natural or the internal and the external, are signified (See Arcana Coelestia 7424, 7523, 7872).

[8] In Zephaniah:

I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea; I will cut off man from the surfaces of the earth (Zephaniah 1:3).

"To take away man and beast" means to take away the spiritual affection of truth and the natural affection of truth; "to take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea" means to take away spiritual truths and natural truths; and "to cut off man from the surfaces of the earth" means to cut off the affection of truth and wisdom.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, ye are man; I am your God (Ezekiel 34:31).

The "flock of the pasture" signifies spiritual good and truth; the "pasture" is the reception of these from the Lord; it is therefore said, "ye are man, I am your God," "man" standing for the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom.

[10] In the same:

Behold, I am with you, and I will look unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown; then I will multiply man upon you, the whole house of Israel; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. I will cause man to walk upon you, My people Israel. Thus the Lord Jehovah hath said, Because ye say, Thou hast been a devourer of man and a bereaver of thy peoples, therefore thou shalt devour man no more, and thy sword shall not bereave any more; the desolate cities shall be full of the flock of man (Ezekiel 36:9-14, 38).

The restoration of the church is here treated of; "Israel" signifies the spiritual church, or the church that is in spiritual good, which is the good of charity; this church is here called "man" from the spiritual affection of truth that makes the church; therefore it is said, "I will multiply man upon you, the whole house of Israel, and I will cause man to walk upon you, My people Israel." "The flock of man," of which "the desolate cities shall be full," signifies spiritual truths of which the doctrines of the church shall be full; "the sword which shall not bereave any more" signifies that falsity shalt no longer destroy truth.

[11] In the same:

Thy mother is a lioness, she lay down among lions; one of her whelps rose up, it learned to tear the prey, it devoured men (Ezekiel 19:2, 3, 6).

"Mother" means the church, here the church perverted; the falsity of evil destroying truth is signified by "the lioness lying down among lions;" "her whelp which learned to tear the prey and devoured men" signifies the primary falsity of their doctrine, which destroyed truths and consumed every affection of them. These things were said of the princes of Israel, by whom primary truths are signified, but here, in a contrary sense, primary falsities.

[12] In Jeremiah:

Hazor shall become an abode of dragons, a waste even forever; a man [vir] shall not dwell there, nor a son of man [hominis] sojourn in her (Jeremiah 49:33).

The church that is in falsities and in no truths is here treated of; "Hazor" signifies the knowledges of truth; the knowledges of falsity are signified by "an abode of dragons;" that there is there no truth and no doctrine of truth is signified by "a man [vir] shall not dwell there, nor the son of man [hominis] sojourn in her," "man" meaning truth, and "the son of man" a doctrine of truth.

[13] In Revelation:

He measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

That this signifies, that "the wall of the holy Jerusalem was a hundred and forty-four cubits, and that this was the measure of a man, which is that of an angel," no one can understand unless he knows what is signified by "the holy Jerusalem," by its "wall," by the number "one hundred and forty-four," likewise by "man," and by "angel." "The holy Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; "wall" signifies truth protecting; the number "one hundred and forty-four" signifies all truths from good in the complex; "man" signifies the reception of these from affection, and "angel" signifies the same; it is therefore said, "the measure of a man, which is that of an angel;" "measure" signifying quality. From this it is clear how these words are to be spiritually understood. (These things may be seen more clearly explained in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 1 .)

[14] Because "man" signifies the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom therefrom, "man" also signifies the church, because the church with man is a church from the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom therefrom. This makes clear what is meant by "Man" in the first chapters of Genesis, namely, the church that was the first of this earth and the most ancient; this is what is meant by "Adam," or "Man." The establishment of this church is described in the first chapter by the creation of heaven and earth; its intelligence and wisdom by paradise; and its fall by the eating of the tree of knowledge.

[15] But in the highest sense, by "man" is meant the Lord Himself, since from Him are heaven and the church, and the spiritual affection of truth and wisdom with each one of those who constitute heaven and the church; therefore in the highest sense the Lord alone is man; and men in both worlds, spiritual and natural, are men so far as they receive from the Lord truth and good, thus so far as they love truth and live according to it. And from this also it is that the whole angelic heaven appears as one man, and also each society there; and moreover, that the angels appear in a perfect human form. (See further on this in the work on Heaven and Hell 59-67, 68-72, 73-77, 87-102)

[16] It was on this account that the four cherubim, which signify the guard and providence of the Lord that the higher heavens be not approached except through the good of love, were seen as men, although they each had four faces; and that the Lord was seen above them as a Man. That the four cherubim were seen as men is evident in Ezekiel:

This was the appearance of the four animals; they had the likeness of a man, but each one had four faces (Ezekiel 1:5-6).

Likewise the two cherubim upon the mercy-seat were in face like men. That the Lord was seen above the four cherubim as a man is also stated in the same prophet:

Above the expanse which was over the head of the cherubim was as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above (Ezekiel 1:26).