665. The spirit of life from God entered into them, signifies enlightenment and the reception of Divine truth from the Lord with some for the beginning of the New Church. This is evident from the signification of "the spirit of life from God," as being the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "entering into them," namely, into the "witnesses" that were slain and cast forth, as being enlightenment and reception of influx, namely, of Divine truth, which is signified by "the spirit of life;" it means also with some for establishing the New Church, as is evident from the following verse, where it is said that "they went up into heaven in the cloud," thus it is meant with some, for "the two witnesses" signify the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, also they mean those with whom these goods and truths are, for all such are "witnesses."

[2] When the end of the church is at hand then it is provided by the Lord that a New Church shall succeed, for without a church in which is the Word and in which the Lord is known, the world cannot subsist; for without the Word, and thence the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord, heaven cannot be conjoined to the human race, nor therefore can the Divine proceeding from the Lord flow in with new life; and without conjunction with heaven and through that with the Lord, man would not be a man, but a beast. This is why a New Church is always provided by the Lord when an old church comes to its end. Why the beginning only of the New Church and not yet its establishment is meant, shall be told in the explanation of the following verse.

[3] That "the spirit of life from God" or "the Spirit of God," and "the Holy Spirit," mean the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which is called the Divine truth, from which is all wisdom and intelligence, has been said and shown above (n. 24, 183, 318). This Divine proceeding is what enlightens man and flows into him when he is being reformed and regenerated, thus when the church is commencing and being established with him, as can be plainly seen from the passages quoted above from the Word n. 183, also from this in Ezekiel:

Jehovah said unto me, Prophesy about the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus the Lord Jehovih hath said, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these slain, that they may live. And when I had prophesied the spirit entered into them, and they revived and stood upon their feet, a very great army (Ezekiel 37:9, 10).

[4] This treats of "the dry bones" seen by the prophet upon the face of the valley, which signify the house of Israel, as is plainly declared in verse 11 of that chapter. "The house of Israel" signifies the church, and that house or church is here compared to "dry bones" because it had no good of love or truth of doctrine. The establishment of a New Church by the inbreathing of a new life, or by regeneration, is described by the "sinews, flesh, and skin," with which the bones were clothed and encompassed, and especially by the "spirit" that entered into them, and from which they lived; the "spirit" in them here signifies also the reception of the influx of Divine truth and consequent spiritual life. The prophet said to the wind, "Come from the four winds, O spirit," because "the four winds" signify the four quarters in the spiritual world, and the four quarters there signify the goods of love and the truths of doctrine in the whole complex. (On the signification of these see above, n. 417, 418, 419, 422, and in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-150.)

24. And from the seven spirits, signifies the Divine in heaven. This is evident from the signification of "seven," as being what is full, and therefore all, and from its being predicated of the holy Divine things that proceed from the Lord (See above, n. 20); also from the signification of "spirits," as being those of whom heaven consists; for all these are called "spirits of God," since the Spirit of God is the Divine proceeding, or Divine truth united to Divine good in heaven and the church (Arcana Coelestia 9818); and the Divine proceeding or Divine truth united to Divine good, forms and creates the angel, and thus makes him [what he is] according to quality and quantity of reception (See the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12).

From this it is evident that by "the seven spirits" (of which more below), are not meant seven spirits, but all who are in heaven; as by the "seven churches" are not meant seven churches, but all who are in truths from good, or who are of the church (See above, n. 20). When this is understood, an arcanum is opened, namely, the meaning of "Jehovah God" in the Word; which is, that by "Jehovah" is meant the Divine Esse, and by "God" the Divine Existere in heaven. The Divine that is meant by "God" is the Divine Existere in heaven, because the Divine in heaven is in many; therefore in the Hebrew language, God is called "Elohim," in the plural; for the same reason angels are called gods, not that they are gods, but because the Divine of the Lord that is in them is meant by "God."

(That in the Word the Lord is called Jehovah from Esse or Essence, and God from Existere or Existence, see Arcana Coelestia 300, 3910, 6905; also that the Divine Esse is Divine good, and that the Divine Existere is Divine truth, n. 3061, 6280, 6880, 6905, 10579; and in general, that good is esse, and truth is existere therefrom, n. 5002. That angels are called gods from the reception of Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord, n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8192; and that Divine truth united to Divine good in heaven, is called, in one phrase, Divine truth, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 140)