8443. And behold the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud. That this signifies the presence of the Lord in truth accommodated to the perception, is evident from the signification of “the glory of Jehovah,” as being the presence and the advent of the Lord (see above, n. 8427); and from the signification of “the cloud,” as being the literal sense of the Word (see the preface to Genesis 18,and in4391, 5922, 6343 at the end, 6752, 8106), thus truth accommodated to the perception, for the Word in the letter is such truth. But “the glory which is in the cloud” denotes Divine truth which is not so accommodated to the perception, because it is above the fallacies and appearances of the senses, thus it also denotes the internal sense of the Word (see the preface to Genesis 18, and5922,8427,). That “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, is because in this sense the Lord’s church and kingdom are treated of, and in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, in which sense also is the veriest Divine truth. Truth Divine is not of one degree, but of many. Truth Divine in the first degree, and also in the second, is that which proceeds immediately from the Lord; this is above the angelic understanding. But truth Divine in the third degree is such as is in the inmost or third heaven; this is such that it cannot in the least be apprehended by man. Truth Divine in the fourth degree is such as is in the middle or second heaven; neither is this intelligible to man. But truth Divine in the fifth degree is such as is in the ultimate or first heaven; this can be perceived in some small measure by man provided he is enlightened; but still it is such that a great part of it cannot be expressed by human words; and when it falls into the ideas, it produces the faculty of perceiving and also of believing that the case is so. But truth Divine in the sixth degree is such as is with man, accommodated to his perception; thus it is the sense of the letter of the Word. This sense, or this truth, is represented by the cloud, and the interior truths are represented by the glory in the cloud. This is the reason why Jehovah (that is, the Lord) so often appeared to Moses and to the sons of Israel in a cloud (see Exodus 24:15-16; 40:34-35;1 Kings 8:10-11; Matthew 24:30; and other places). The appearing of the Lord is by means of Divine truth, and moreover is Divine truth. That a “cloud” denotes truth accommodated to the perception, is from the representatives in the other life, where angelic speech of the higher heavens appears to those who are beneath as light, and also as the brightness from light; whereas the speech of the angels of a lower heaven appears as a bright cloud, in form various, and in density or rarity according to the quality of the truths. From all this it can be seen that by “the glory of Jehovah seen in the cloud” is signified the presence of the Lord in truth accommodated to the perception.