3. QUESTION 3.

Was there not always in the Divine nature a Trinity to be understood as Divine Love, Divine Wisdom, and Quickening Spirit or Holy Proceeding?

ANSWER

The Divine Trinity in one Person ought to be understood as soul, body, and proceeding operation which together make one essence, since one arises from the other and consequently is part of the other. In every man there is likewise a trinity, which together constitute a single person, namely, soul, body, and proceeding operation. In man this trinity is finite, since man is but an organ of life, but in the Lord the Trinity is infinite and thus Divine, because the Lord is life itself as regards the Human too, as He teaches in John 5:26; 14:6, and elsewhere as well.

A 'sword,' as in Ezekiel 21:9-15, signifies a person so desolated that he can see nothing good and true, but only falsities and contradictions. A 'sword,' in the Word, signifies the truth of faith combating and the vastation of truth. In an opposite sense, it signifies falsity combating and the punishment of falsity.

The 'sword,' in Revelation 1:16, represents a dispersion of falsities by the Lord because the sword came out from His mouth, which means it comes from the Word. Because the Word is understood by doctrine taken from it, this is also symbolically meant. It is called a sharp two-edged sword because it pierces the heart and soul.

A 'flaming sword which turned every way,' as in Genesis 3:24, signifies divine truth in extremes, which, like the Word in its literal sense, can be turned.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 2799)