10157. That I may dwell in the midst of them. That this signifies the Divine of the Lord, that it is the all in all of heaven and the church, is evident from the signification of “dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel,” when said of Jehovah, as being the presence of the Lord, and His influx through good in heaven and in the church (see n. 10153); and as His presence is there, His Divine is likewise the all in all there, for the Lord is not present with the angels of heaven, and with the men of the church, in their own; but in His own with them, thus in what is Divine, according to what was shown above (n. 10151). And when the Lord is present in His own Divine in the heavens and in the church, He is likewise all in all there; hence He is heaven itself; and hence also it is that the whole heaven bears relation to the Lord, in respect to His Divine Human; and that heaven in the complex is a man, which is called the Grand Man (of which much has been said at the end of many chapters, see the places cited in n. 9276, end,10030,end); and hence also it is that by “man” in the Word is signified the church, and likewise heaven (n. 478, 768, 3636); and that those who are in heaven, and truly in the church, are said to be “in the Lord” (n. 3637, 3638) when they are in the good of love and in the truth of faith to Him from Him.

10151. And the altar. That this signifies receptivity of the Divine from the Lord in the higher heavens, is evident from the signification of “sanctifying,” as being receptivity of the Divine from the Lord (see above, n. 10149); and from the signification of “the altar,” as being a representative of the Lord as to Divine good (n. 9964), here as to the Divine good proceeding from Him in the heavens where it is received, thus in the higher heavens, for there the Lord is received as to Divine good; but in the lower heavens the Lord is received as to Divine truth (as was shown just above, n. 10150).

[2] Be it known that whatever represented the Lord Himself also represented heaven, for the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, when received by the angels, makes heaven. Thus in respect to what is their own the angels themselves do not make heaven; but in respect to the Divine which they receive from the Lord. That this is so can be seen from the fact that each one of them there acknowledges, believes, and also perceives, that there is nothing of good from himself, but only from the Lord; and that whatever is from himself is not good; thus wholly according to the doctrine of the church, that all good comes from above. As this is so, it follows that it is the Divine of the Lord which makes the heavenly life with them, consequently heaven. From this it can be seen how it is to be understood that the Lord is the all in all of heaven; also that the Lord dwells there in His own; and likewise that by an “angel” in the Word is signified something of the Lord (as has been shown in the preceding pages throughout).

[3] So it is with the church. In respect to what is their own the men of the church do not make the church, but in respect to what is Divine which they receive from the Lord; for everyone in the church who does not acknowledge and believe that all the good of love and the truth of faith are from God, is not of the church; for he wishes to love God from himself, and to believe in God from himself, which, however, no one can do. From this also it is evident that the Divine of the Lord makes the church, as it makes heaven. Moreover, the church is the Lord’s heaven on earth; consequently the Lord is also the all in all in the church, as He is in heaven, and there dwells in His own with men, as He does with the angels in heaven. Moreover, after their life in the world, the men of the church who in this way receive what is Divine of the Lord in love and faith, become angels of heaven; and no others.

[4] That the Divine of the Lord makes His kingdom with man, that is, heaven and the church with him, the Lord also teaches in John:

The Spirit of truth shall abide with you, and shall be in you, and ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:17, 20).

The “Spirit of truth” denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, of which it is said that it “shall abide in you;” and afterward that “He is in the Father, and they in Him, and He in them,” whereby is signified that they would be in what is Divine of the Lord, and that what is Divine of the Lord should be in them. That the Divine Human is that which is there meant is plain. And again in the same:

Abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me; He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4-5).