27. The faithful witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of a faithful witness, when said of the Lord, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine Human, from whom is all truth in heaven; of which more will be said in what follows. The reason why it is said, "all truth in heaven," is, because Divine truth, going forth from the Divine good of the Lord, constitutes heaven in general, and with each angel there in particular. (That such is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 126-140; and that it [viz., the Divine truth] is from His Divine Human, n. 7-12, 78-86.) The Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called the "faithful witness," because Divine truth going forth from Him in heaven bears witness of Him. This witness is universally present in Divine truth there; which is evident from the fact that the angels of the interior heaven cannot think of the Divine but as under a human form, and, consequently, of a Divine Human. The reason is, that the Divine Human of the Lord fills the whole heaven and forms it, and the thoughts of the angels proceed and flow according to the form of heaven (as may be seen in the work above mentioned, n. 59-102, 200-212, 265-275). Hence it is, that the witness of Jesus Christ signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human (concerning which see above, n. 10).

[2] From these considerations it is evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense, by witnessing and by witness in the following passages:

"John" (here, John the Baptist) "came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare witness" (John 1:7, 8, 34).

Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear witness of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth: but I receive not witness from man" (5:33, 34).

In the same: "Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth" (3:11, 31, 32).

In the same:

"Jesus said, Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true: for I know whence I came and whither I go" (8:14);

which signifies, that He bare witness of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.

In the same:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear witness of me" (15:26);

the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9818, 9820, 10330; and above, n. 25).

[4] In the same:

"Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?" (18:37, 38).

The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear witness unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, "he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." From these considerations it is evident that by, "from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness," is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.

9820. 'To sanctify him' means that a representative sign of the Divine Truth in that kingdom will therefore exist. This is clear from the meaning of 'being sanctified' or 'being made holy' as being endowed with Divine Truth from the Lord. For in the Word Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called 'Holy', because the Lord alone is Holy, as therefore is whatever emanates from Him, see 9680. So it is that the Holy [Influence] emanating from Him is called the Holy Spirit, as has been shown just above in 9818, regarding which see also the matters brought forward in the places referred to in 9229.

[2] From this it is evident what to understand when the adjective 'holy' is applied to the words 'angels', 'prophets', and 'apostles' - to 'angels' in Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; to 'prophets' in Revelation 16:6; 18:24; and to 'apostles' in Revelation 18:20. They were holy not by virtue of anything their own, only by virtue of what was the Lord's. Angels are called holy because they are recipients of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, for which reason they mean in the Word God's truths, and in general something that is the Lord's, 1925, 2821, 4085, 4295. But prophets are called holy because the Word, which is Divine Truth, and in particular teachings drawn from the Word, is meant by them, 2534, 3652, 7269; and apostles because every truth of faith and good of love in their entirety are meant by them, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397.

[3] The fact that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is Holiness itself, thus is the Lord who is its Source, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, of which for now let just the following words of the Lord in John be quoted,

Father, make them holy in Your truth; Your Word is truth. For their sakes I make Myself holy, that they also may be made holy in the truth. John 17:17, 19.

From this it is evident that the Lord is the One who makes man, spirit, and angel holy, for He alone is Holy, Revelation 15:4, and that they are holy in the measure that they receive the Lord, that is, in the measure that they receive from Him the power to believe in Him and to love Him.