Apocalypse Explained # 273
273. Verse 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunders and voices, signifies illustration, understanding, and the perception of the Divine truth in the heavens from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "lightnings, thunders, and voices," as predicated of Divine truth; "lightnings" referring to its illustration, "thunders" to its understanding, and "voices" to the perception of it; that these things are thereby signified will be made clear by passages in the Word where they are mentioned. But let something first be said in respect to the origin of these significations. All things that appear before the eyes of men in the visible heaven, as the sun, the moon, the stars, the air, the ether, light, heat, clouds, mists, showers, and many more, are correspondences; they are correspondences for the reason that all things in the natural world correspond to those in the spiritual world. These are also correspondences in heaven where the angels are, because like things are seen by them but there they are not natural but spiritual (as can be seen from what is shown respecting them in the work on Heaven and Hell, On the Sun and Moon in Heaven, n. 116-125; On Light and Heat in Heaven, n. 126-140; and in general, On the Correspondence of Heaven with all Things of the Earth, n. 103-115; and on Appearances in Heaven, n. 170-176), Therefore "lightnings" and "thunders" also are correspondences; and because they are correspondences, they have the like significance as the things have to which they correspond. Their significance in general is Divine truth received and uttered by the highest angels; which, when it descends to the lower angels sometimes appears as lightning, and is heard as thunder with voices. From this it is that "lightning" signifies Divine truth in respect to illustration; "thunder" Divine truth in respect to understanding; and "voices" Divine truth in respect to perception. It is said in respect to the understanding and in respect to the perception, since what enters into the mind through the hearing is both seen and perceived; seen in the understanding, and perceived through communication with the will. (What perception is, strictly, such as the angels in heaven have, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 140.)
[2] From this then it is that "lightnings" and "thunders" in the Word signify Divine truth in respect to illustration and in respect to the understanding, as can be seen from the following passages. In David:
Thou hast with Thine arm redeemed Thy people. The clouds poured out waters; the skies gave forth a voice; Thine arrows also went forth; the voice of Thy thunder into the world; the lightning lightened the world (Psalms 77:15, 17-18).
Here the establishment of the church is treated of; "the clouds poured out waters" signifies truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the skies gave forth a voice" (that is, the higher clouds), signifies truths from the spiritual sense of the Word; "the arrows that went forth" (meaning thunderbolts, from which there is an appearance as of arrows from a bow and which are present when there are thunders and lightnings) signify Divine truths; "the voice of thunder into the world" signifies Divine truth in respect to perception and understanding in the church; and "the lightnings lightened the world" signifies Divine truth in respect to illustration thence; "the world" signifies the church.
[3] In the same:
A fire shall go before Jehovah, and burn up His enemies round about; His lightnings shall lighten the world (Psalms 97:3-4).
From these words also it is clear that "lightnings" signify Divine truth in respect to illustration, for it is said "His lightnings shall lighten the world."
[4] In Jeremiah:
The Maker of the earth by His power, He prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence stretcheth out the heavens; at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He maketh the vapors to go up from the end of the earth, He maketh lightnings for the rain (Jeremiah 10:12-13; 51:16; Psalms 135:7-8).
Here again the establishment of the church is treated of. That "the voice of thunder" signifies Divine truth in respect to perception and understanding, and "lightnings" Divine truth in respect to illustration, can be seen from its being said, "The Maker of the earth prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence stretcheth out the heavens;" and then, "at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens," and "He maketh lightnings for the rain;" "earth" and "world" signifying the church; "waters in the heavens" spiritual truths; "rain" these truths when they descend and become natural; "lightnings" their illustration.
[5] In the second book of Samuel:
Jehovah thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave forth His voice and sent forth His arrows and scattered them, lightning, and discomforted them (2 Samuel 22:14-15).
Thunders are here described by "thundering from heaven" and by "giving forth a voice," flying thunderbolts by "arrows," and all these signify Divine truths, and "lightning" their light; and as these vivify and illustrate the good, so they terrify and blind the evil, which is meant by "He sent forth arrows and scattered them, lightning, and discomfited them;" for the evil cannot bear Divine truths, nor any light at all from heaven, therefore they flee away at their presence.
[6] Likewise in David:
Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice; and He sent forth His arrows and scattered them, and many lightnings and discomfited them (Psalms 18:13-14).
Lighten forth lightning and scatter them; send forth Thine arrows and discomfit them (Psalms 144:6).
That "thunders" and "lightnings" signify Divine truth in respect to the understanding and illustration is still further evident from the following passages.
In David:
In distress thou didst call and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place with thunder (Psalms 81:7).
In Revelation:
I heard one of the four animals saying, as with a voice of thunder, Come and see (Revelation 6:1).
Again:
And the angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there followed thunders and voices and lightnings (Revelation 8:5).
Again:
The angel cried with a great voice, as a lion, and when he cried the seven thunders uttered their voices (Revelation 10:3-4
Again:
The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in the temple the ark of the covenant; and there followed lightnings and voices and thunders (Revelation 11:19).
Again:
I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder (Revelation 14:2).
And again:
I heard the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, as the voice of vehement thunders, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord our God, the Almighty, hath received the kingdom (Revelation 19:6).
Moreover, since "thunders" and "lightnings" signify Divine truths, when Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai to promulgate these truths:
There were voices and lightnings, and also the voice of a trumpet (Exodus 19:16).
That "the voice of a trumpet" signifies Divine truth in respect to revelation, see above (n. 55, 262);
A voice out of heaven to the Lord was heard as thunder (John 12:28-29).
That James and John were called Boanerges, sons of thunder (Mark 3:14, 17).
2 Samuel 23
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Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:
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"The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me. His word was on my tongue.
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The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, 'One who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God,
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shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through clear shining after rain.'
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Most certainly my house is not so with God, yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for it is all my salvation, and all [my] desire, although he doesn't make it grow.
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But all of the ungodly shall be as thorns to be thrust away, because they can't be taken with the hand,
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But the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. They shall be utterly burned with fire in their place."
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These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb Basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, against eight hundred slain at one time.
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After him was Eleazar the son of Dodai the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines who were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away.
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He arose, and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand froze to the sword; and Yahweh worked a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to take spoil.
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After him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. The Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.
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But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and Yahweh worked a great victory.
13
Three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
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David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
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David longed, and said, "Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"
16
The three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Yahweh.
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He said, "Be it far from me, Yahweh, that I should do this! Isn't it the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.
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Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. He lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name among the three.
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Wasn't he most honorable of the three? therefore he was made their captain: however he didn't attain to the [first] three.
20
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he killed the two [sons of] Ariel of Moab: he went down also and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.
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He killed an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.
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These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.
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He was more honorable than the thirty, but he didn't attain to the [first] three. David set him over his guard.
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Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
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Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
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Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
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Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
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Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
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Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
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Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash.
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Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
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Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
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Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite,
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Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
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Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
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Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
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Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers to Joab the son of Zeruiah,
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Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
