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.)

318. Which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth, signifies that all wisdom and intelligence in heaven and in the church are therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "the seven spirits of God," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which above, n. 183; and as they signify Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, they also signify the Divine wisdom or omniscience. It is evident also from the signification of "sent forth into all the earth," as being that this is the source of all wisdom and intelligence in heaven and in the church. "To be sent forth" signifies to be communicated, and "all the earth" signifies the church both in the heavens and on earth (See above, n. 304). Thence is clear why it is said that "the seven eyes of the Lamb were the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth," for "seven eyes" signify the omniscience that the Lord has from Divine good through Divine truth. From this are all wisdom and intelligence, because man cannot from himself understand truth and relish good, but only from the Lord; and all wisdom and intelligence are of truth from good. Unless wisdom and intelligence be formed from it, they are not wisdom and intelligence, but folly and insanity, which appear before the ignorant and the evil like wisdom and intelligence, because of their being able to speak and reason from the memory. For what is man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil and falsity; his own voluntary [proprium ejus voluntarium] is evil, and his own intellectual therefrom [proprium ejus intellectuale] is falsity; whatever therefore is from man's own [ex proprio] is contrary to wisdom and intelligence; and what is contrary to wisdom is folly, and what is contrary to intelligence is insanity. From this it can be seen that unless man is elevated by the Lord from his selfhood [a suo proprio], which is done when he receives Divine truth not only in the memory but also in the life, it is utterly impossible for him to be wise and intelligent. But this elevation by the Lord from the selfhood [a proprio] is not apparent to man, nor is it perceived by him while he is in the world, but it first becomes apparent when he comes into his spirit, and this takes place when his spirit has been separated from his material body; but even then it is perceived only by those who come into heaven. It is said wisdom and intelligence, because wisdom is of truth from good, for man then relishes good in truth; but intelligence is of truth through which good comes, for then man has not yet a relish for good in truth, but is affected by truth because it is truth. Those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom are in wisdom, because they are in truths from good; but those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom are in intelligence, because they are in truths through which good comes. (But of those who are in truths through which good comes, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 23; and of those who are in truths from good, n. 24 and of the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28.)