1179. Verse 20. Exult over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, signifies joy of heart in heaven and in the church with those who are in wisdom and intelligence from the Word. This is evident from the signification of "exulting," as being joy of heart; also from the signification of "heaven," as being not only heaven but also the church, since the church is the Lord's heaven upon the earth; also from the signification of "apostles," as being those who teach from the Word (See n. 100, 333), therefore those who are in wisdom; also from the signification of "prophets," as being those who are in the doctrine of truth from the Word, and in an abstract sense doctrines themselves (See n. 624, therefore those who are in intelligence; for those who are in doctrine from the Word are called "intelligent," while those who teach the Word are called "wise." From all this it is clear that "Exult over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets," signifies joy of heart in heaven and in the church with those who are in wisdom and intelligence. This now follows because before the Last Judgment, or before the Babylonians were cast into hell and the world of spirits was thus delivered from them, the light by which the angels have wisdom and intelligence was intercepted. That light was intercepted and the angels thereby somewhat obscured because of the conjunction of the Babylonians with the angels of the lowest heaven; but it was otherwise when they had been cast down. (On this see what is related from things seen and heard in the work on The Last Judgment.)
(Continuation)
[2] 2. And yet the Lord provides that man may be reformed and saved by those things that he adopts as his religion. In the entire globe where there is any religion, since there must be conjunction, there are two that constitute it, namely, God and man; and there are two things that constitute conjunction, namely, the good of love and the truth of faith; the good of love is from the Lord immediately, the truth of faith is also from God, but mediately. The good of love is that through which God leads man, and the truth of faith is that through which man is led. This is the same as what has been said above. The truth of faith appears to man to be his own, because it is from those things that he acquires as if from himself. Therefore God conjoins Himself to man through the good of love, and man conjoins himself to God as if of himself through the truth of faith. Because the conjunction is such the Lord compares Himself to a bridegroom and husband, and the church to a bride and wife. The Lord flows in continually with an abundance of the good of love, but He cannot be conjoined to man in the fullness of the truth of faith, but only in that which is with man, and this varies; it can be given in greater fullness with those who are where the Word is, and in less fullness with those who are where there is no Word; and yet the fullness varies in both in proportion to their knowledge and their life according to it, and consequently it may be greater with those who have not the Word than with those who have it.
[3] The conjunction of God with man and of man with God is taught in the two tables that were written with the finger of God, and called "the tables of the covenant," "of the testimony," and "of the law." In one table is God, in the other man. All nations that have any religion have these tables; from the first table they know that God must be acknowledged, regarded as holy, and worshiped; from the other table they know that they must not steal, either openly or secretly by crafty devices; that they must not commit adultery; that they must not kill either by the hand or by hatred; that they must not bear false witness in a court of justice or before the world; and also that they must not will these things. From his table man knows the evils that must be shunned, and just so far as he knows them and shuns them as if from himself, God conjoins the man to Himself and enables him from His table to acknowledge Him, to regard Him as holy, and to worship Him, and also enables him not to will evils, and so far as he does not will evils to know truths in abundance. Thus these two tables are conjoined with man, and God's table is placed above man's table, and they are put as one table into the ark, over which is the mercy-seat, which is the Lord, and over the mercy-seat the two cherubim which are the Word and what is from the Word, in which the Lord speaks with man as he spoke with Moses and Aaron between the cherubim.
[4] Since, then, there is conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord by these means, evidently everyone who knows them and lives according to them, not merely from the civil and moral law, but also from the Divine law, will be saved; thus everyone in his own religion, whether Christian or Mohammedan or Gentile. And what is more, a man who from religion lives these truths, even if in the world he knows nothing about the Lord, nor anything else from the Word, yet he is in such a state as to his spirit that he wishes to become wise; consequently after death he is instructed by the angels and acknowledges the Lord and receives truths according to his affection and becomes an angel. Every such person is like a man who dies an infant, for he is led by the Lord and is educated by the angels. Those who from ignorance and from having been born in such a place have known nothing of worship, are after death instructed like little children, and according to their civil and moral life receive the means of salvation. I have seen such, and at first they did not appear like men; but afterwards I saw them as men, and heard them speaking sanely from the commandments of the Decalogue. To instruct such is the inmost angelic joy. From all this it is now clear that the Lord provides that every man can be saved.
