The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At a lower level, prophets represent people who teach from the Bible. At a higher level, they represent the Lord as He reveals himself through the Bible. Viewed in a abstract way, prophets represent the holy parts of the Bible themselves, and also represent doctrine drawn from the Bible. The reason we say "largely written by prophets" and "the holy parts of the Bible" is that not all of the books currently included in the Bible have a complete and continuous internal sense. Some -- like Job, Ruth, and Song of Solomon -- are wonderful literary pieces that got included, but which lack the systematic meanings for words and phrases. Others -- the Acts and Epistles, primarily -- are really doctrinal works, the first attempt by others to extract meaning from Jesus' life and words.

1048. 'And the bow is seen in the cloud' means when man is still such as to be able to be regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'the bow in the cloud' which is a sign or token of regeneration, as stated already. Concerning the bow in the cloud there is more to be said: The character of a person, that is, of a soul, after the body has died is known in an instant. The Lord has known that character from eternity, and knows what it is going to be into eternity. A person's character is perceived by angels the moment he comes near; a certain sphere so to speak emanates from his whole disposition, that is, from every part of him. And this sphere, astonishing though it may seem, is such that from it one perceives what faith and what charity exist with him from whom it emanates. When it pleases the Lord it is that sphere which is made visible as a bow. This sphere will in the Lord's Divine mercy be described later on. From this it becomes clear what is meant here by 'the bow when it is seen in the cloud', namely when a person is such that he can be regenerated.