Apocalypse Revealed # 394
394. And the smoke of the incense for the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. (8:4) This symbolizes their protection by the Lord.
The smoke of incense ascending before God symbolizes something accepted and pleasing. Therefore David says similarly,
Let my prayers be accepted as incense before You. (Psalms 141:2)
That was because the smoke of incense was fragrant owing to the aromatic substances of which incense was composed - stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense (Exodus 30:34). Moreover, the fragrances of these aromatic substances correspond to qualities connected with spiritual love, or with charity and the attendant faith. In heaven, indeed, angels experience the most fragrant aromas corresponding to their perceptions arising from their love. Consequently we also read in many places in the Word that Jehovah smelled a sweet odor. 1
That this symbolizes protection by the Lord follows from what we said just above in no. 393.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. See Genesis 8:21
Ezekiel 47:11-12
11
But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
12
By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing.
