637. Clothed in sackcloth, signifies in mourning because of the non-reception of Divine good and Divine truth. This is evident from the signification of "clothed in sackcloth," as being mourning because of the vastation and desolation of Divine good and Divine truth, here because of their non-reception; for the witnesses were seen clothed in sackcloth, and they signify the Divine good, from which is every good of love and charity, and the Divine truth, from which is every truth of doctrine and faith; these appear to be in mourning when they are not received, but in joy when they are received.

[2] Likewise it is said of the sun and moon, which also signify the good of love and the truth of faith, that:

The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood (Revelation 6:12),

which signifies that every good of love was separated, and every truth of faith falsified (See above, n. 401); not that the sun in the angelic heaven, which is the Lord, ever becomes black, but that it so appears to those who receive no light from it.

[3] In ancient times, when the externals of the church consisted of mere correspondences and thence of representatives of things spiritual, mourning was represented by many things that are significative; as by sitting and lying on the ground, rolling themselves in the dust, by putting ashes on the head, rending the garments, and putting on sackcloth. "Rending the garments and putting on sackcloth" signified mourning because of the desolation of truth and good in the church, and because of the nonreception of them; for "garments" in general signified the truths of the church (See above, n. 64, 65, 195, 271, 395, 475, 476); therefore "rending the garments" signified grief because the truths of the church are hurt and as it were rent asunder by falsities; and "to be clothed in sackcloth" signifies mourning because of the deprivation of good and truth, and the consequent vastation of the church.

[4] For this reason:

When Hezekiah the king heard the words of Tartan the captain of the king of Assyria, he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth, and came to the house of Jehovah; and he sent Eliakim who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah (2 Kings 19:1, 2; Isaiah 37:1, 2).

This was done because the "king of Assyria" here signifies the perverted rational, or the rational that perverts the truths and goods of the church and destroys them by falsities; all the words of Tartan the captain of the king of Assyria, involve such things; and because the desolation and vastation of the church was seen to be imminent, to exhibit mourning and grief on this account they rent their garments and covered themselves with sackcloth.

[5] Likewise:

When Benhadad the king of Syria besieged Samaria, and there came a great famine, the king rent his clothes, and as he passed by upon the wall the people saw that, behold, sackcloth was upon his flesh within (2 Kings 6:30).

This has a similar signification as above, namely, the imminent desolation and devastation of the church; for this reason the king rent his garments and had sackcloth upon his flesh, which was a representative sign of mourning and grief.

[6] Mourning for like reasons is signified also by the following:

Jacob, when he believed that Joseph was torn to pieces, rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days (Genesis 37:34).

So when Ahab, by the advice of Jezebel his wife, had taken away the vineyard of Naboth, and had heard the hard words of the prophet respecting that matter, he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, yea, he lay in sackcloth, and went softly (1 Kings 21:27).

The king of Nineveh also, when he heard the words of Jonah, arose up from his throne, and laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth, and sat upon ashes, and proclaimed a fast, and that man and beast should be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:5, 6, 8).

So also Daniel set his face to the Lord God, to seek by supplication and prayer in fasting, sackcloth, and ashes (Daniel 9:3).

When Abner was slain, David said to Joab and to all the people that were with him, that they should rend their clothes and gird them with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner; and David himself walked behind the bier (2 Samuel 3:31).

This makes clear that in the Jewish and Israelitish church mourning was represented by "rending the clothes and being clothed in sackcloth;" and this because grief of mind and mourning of heart, which were interior things, were represented at that time by external things, which because of their correspondences with spiritual things were significative.

[7] That the representation of mourning by sackcloth signified especially mourning because of the desolation of truth and vastation of good in the church, and also, in particular, repentance, with mourning of heart on account of evils, can be seen further from the following passages. In Isaiah:

In that day will the Lord Jehovih of hosts call to weeping and to lamenting, and to baldness, and to girding on sackcloth (Isaiah 22:12).

This chapter treats of the vastation of the church in respect to Divine truth; its mourning is described by "baldness" and by "putting on sackcloth."

[8] In Jeremiah:

The lion is gone up from the thicket, and the destroyer of nations journeyeth; he hath gone forth out of his place to make the land a waste; thy cities shall be destroyed, that there shall be no inhabitant; for this gird ye with sackcloth, lament, howl (Jeremiah 4:7, 8).

"The lion from the thicket" signifies the falsity of evil destroying the truths of the church; and "the destroyer of nations" signifies the evil of falsity destroying the good of the church; the "land that they will make a waste" signifies the church, and the "cities that shall be destroyed" signify the truths of doctrine; "to gird with sackcloth" signifies mourning on this account, therefore it is added "lament and howl."

[9] In the same:

O daughter of My people, gird thee with sackcloth and roll thee in ashes; make thee mourning for an only one, a lamentation of bitterness, for the waster shall suddenly come upon us (Jeremiah 6:26).

"Daughter of the people" means the church; "to gird herself with sackcloth and roll herself in ashes" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the good and truth of the church; the destruction of these or the vastation of the church is meant by "the waster shall suddenly come." Evidently grievous mourning and grief because of the destruction of good and truth is signified by "gird thee with sackcloth and roll thee in ashes," for it is added "make thee mourning for an only one, a lamentation of bitterness."

[10] In the same:

Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah; gird ye with sackcloth, lament, and wander among the walls; for their king is gone into exile, his priests and princes together (Jeremiah 49:3).

This is said of the sons of Ammon, who signify such as are in natural good and falsify the truths of the church; those who are such in the church are meant by "the daughters of Rabbah;" mourning because of the destruction of truth by falsifications is signified by "Gird ye with sackcloth, lament, wander among the walls," "walls" signifying truths falsified; that the truth of the church perished in consequence is signified by "their king is gone into exile," "king" signifying the truth of the church, and "to go into exile" signifying to be destroyed. That the goods of the church and all truths therefrom likewise perished, is signified by "priests and princes together," "priests" signifying the goods of the church, and "princes" the truths therefrom.

[11] In Lamentations:

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the earth, they keep silence, they have cast up dust upon their head, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem bend their head down to the earth (Lamentations 2:10).

"To sit upon the earth," "to keep silence," "to cast up dust upon the head," and "to make the head to bend down to the earth," were all signs representative of mourning and grief because of the vastation of the church by evils and falsities. "The elders of the daughter of Zion" signify those that are wise and intelligent in the church, and in an abstract sense wisdom and intelligence; "daughters of Zion and the virgins of Jerusalem" signify those in the church who are in the affection of good and truth, and in an abstract sense these affections themselves.

[12] In Ezekiel:

The shipmasters shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep over thee in bitterness of soul, with bitter lamentation (Ezekiel 27:31).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good, and therefore also the knowledges of truth and good which belong to the church; here mourning on account of the destruction of these is described. "Shipmasters" signify all who bring and communicate these knowledges; "to make bald" signifies mourning on account of the destruction of all things of intelligence; "to gird with sackcloth" signifies mourning because the ability to know truth is also destroyed. Because mourning is what is described, it is added, "they shall weep over thee in bitterness of soul, with bitter lamentation. "

[13] In the Gospels:

Woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13).

"To repent in sackcloth and ashes" means to grieve and mourn because of the nonreception of Divine truth, and because of the falsities and evils that obstruct.

[14] In Joel:

Howl as a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth; gird ye and lament, ye priests; howl, ye ministers of the altar; come, pass the night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withholden from the house of your God (Joel 1:8, 13).

Here "to be girded with sackcloth" and "to pass the night in sackcloth" signify mourning because the good and truth of the church are destroyed, for the "meal offering" signifies the good of the church, and the "drink offering" its truth.

[15] In Amos:

I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as a mourning for an only one, and its latter end as a bitter day (Amos 8:10).

"Sackcloth upon the loins" signifies mourning because the good of love is destroyed, for this is signified by the "loins;" and "baldness upon the head" signifies mourning because the understanding of truth is destroyed.

[16] In Isaiah:

Upon all the heads of Moab is baldness, every beard shaven; in its streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl, flowing down in weeping (Isaiah 15:2, 3).

In Jeremiah:

Every head baldness, and every beard shaven; upon all hands gashes, and upon the loins sackcloth; upon all the roofs of Moab and in its streets mourning everywhere (Jeremiah 48:37, 38).

"Moab" signifies those who are in natural good and who adulterate the goods of the church; that such have no understanding of truth or knowledge [scientia] of truth is signified by "upon all the heads of Moab baldness, and every beard shaven," also by "upon its roofs and in its streets he shall howl" and "there shall be mourning;" "upon all hands gashes" signifies things falsified; mourning because of these things is signified by "to gird with sackcloth," and "to howl," and "to flow down in weeping."

[17] In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass in place of spices there shall be rottenness, and in place of a girdle tatters, and in place of braided work baldness, and in place of a robe a girding of sackcloth, in place of beauty burning; thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy might in the war (Isaiah 3:24, 25).

This is said of "the daughters of Zion," by whom the church in respect to the affections of celestial good is signified, therefore "the daughters of Zion" signify the affections of good that belong to the celestial church. The loss and dissipation of these through the pride of self-intelligence is here described by the various things with which these daughters adorn themselves; the change of these affections into opposite and unbeautiful affections is signified by "in place of spices there shall be rottenness, in place of a girdle tatters, in place of braided work baldness, in place of a robe a girding of sackcloth, and in place of beauty burning;" "rottenness" signifies the vital perishing; "in place of a girdle tatters" signifies the dissipation of perceptions of truth instead of their union; "in place of braided work baldness" signifies imbecility instead of knowledge [scientia]; "in place of beauty burning" signifies foolishness instead of intelligence, "burning" signifying insanity from the pride of self-intelligence, which is foolishness, and "beauty" signifying intelligence. That the truths of the understanding will perish by falsities, even till there is no resistance against evils, is signified by "thy men shall fall by the sword and thy might in the war," "sword" meaning falsity destroying the truth.

[18] "Sackcloth" has a similar meaning in the following passages. In Ezekiel:

All hands are relaxed, all knees go into waters, whence they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and terror shall cover them, and upon all faces shall be shame, and upon all heads baldness (Ezekiel 7:17, 18).

In David:

I, when they were sick, made sackcloth my vesture, I afflicted my soul with hunger (Psalms 35:13).

When I wept in the fast of my soul it became to me a reproach; when I made sackcloth my garment I became a byword to them (Psalms 69:10, 11).

In Job:

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have put my horn in the dust; my face has been soiled by weeping (Job 16:15, 16).

In Isaiah:

I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering (Isaiah 50:3).

And in David:

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, thou hast loosed my sackcloth and hast girded me with joy (Psalms 30:11).

In these passages, too, "sackcloth" signifies mourning; and "to gird sackcloth over the body instead of the vesture" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the truth of the church; and "to gird sackcloth upon the loins and upon the flesh" signifies mourning because of the destruction of the good of the church; for "the vesture" signifies the truth of the church, and "loins and flesh" signify the good of the church.

[19] That "girding with sackcloth" was merely representative and thus significative of mourning and repentance, but was not in itself mourning and repentance, is evident in Isaiah:

Is such the fast that I shall choose, the day for a man to afflict his soul, to bow down his head as a rush, and to lie down in sackcloth and ashes; wilt thou call this a fast, and the day of Jehovah's good pleasure? Is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to break thy bread to the hungry, and to bring the afflicted exiles to the home, and when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? (Isaiah 58:5-7)

And in Joel:

Turn ye back unto me with your whole heart, and in fasting and in weeping and in lamentation, and rend your heart and not your garments (Joel 2:12, 13).

3704. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational; and since it is in the Rational that the Human has its beginnings, 2194, and so is that from which and through which the Human has its being, 'the God of Isaac' therefore means here the Lord's Divine Human. Since every single thing in heaven, every single thing with man, and indeed every single thing in the whole natural order has reference to good and truth the Lord's Divine too is therefore distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth - the Lord's Divine Good being called 'the Father', and His Divine Truth 'the Son'. Yet the Lord's Divine is nothing else than Good, indeed it is Good itself; but Divine Truth is the Lord's Divine Good as it presents itself visually in heaven, that is, to angels. In this it is like the sun. Essentially the sun is nothing else than fire; but the light which one sees coming from it is not in the sun but flowing from it. For the Lord as regards Divine Good is represented by the sun, and also in the next life He is the Sun for the whole of heaven, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2495, 3636, 3643, and the Lord as regards Divine Truth is represented by the light, and also in the next life He is the Light for the whole of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2776, 3138, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643.

[2] So essentially the Lord is nothing else than Divine Good, and this applies to both essentials - to the Divine itself and to the Divine Human. Divine Truth however does not exist within Divine Good but flows from it, for as stated above, Divine Truth is the Divine Good presenting itself visually in heaven. Now because Divine Good presents itself as Divine Truth, therefore the Lord's Divine is distinguished, to enable man to grasp it mentally, into Divine Good and Divine Truth, Divine Good being called in the Word 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son'. This is the arcanum that lies behind the Lord Himself on so many occasions speaking of His Father as though He were separate from and so to speak One other than Himself, and yet at other times speaking of His being one with Himself. The fact that in the internal sense 'father' means good, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, has been shown just above in 3703, and the fact that 'son' means truth while 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of Man' mean the Lord as regards Divine Truth, in 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813. The matter is also clear from all those places where the Lord uses the name Father and calls Himself the Son.

[3] Not only in the Old Testament Word is the Lord called Jehovah - see 1343, 1736, 2921 - but He is also referred to there as 'Father', as is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

From this it is quite evident that 'the Boy born to us and me Son given to us' is the Lord, and so it is He who is called 'the Father of Eternity'. In Jeremiah,

I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9.

This refers to the Lord, who, being the God of Israel and me Holy One of Israel, see 3305, is here 'a Father to Israel'. In Malachi,

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10.

'Creating' here in the internal sense stands for regenerating, as it also does elsewhere in the Word, see 16, 88, 472. And since me Lord alone is Regenerator and Redeemer it is He who is here called 'Father' and 'God', as also in Isaiah,

You are our Father, for Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; from eternity is Your name. Isaiah 63:16.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your girdle, and will commit your dominion into his hand, so that he may be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; and he will open and none will shut, and he will shut and none will open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be the throne of his father's glory, and on him they may hang all the glory of his father's house, of sons and grandsons, every small vessel - from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isaiah 22:21-24.

From this it is quite evident that it is the Lord who in the internal sense here is represented and meant, and who is called 'a father to me inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah'. For He is the one 'on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed, who opens and none shuts, and who shuts and none opens' - see the Preface to Chapter 22. And to Him belongs 'the throne of His Father's glory', and on Him all holy things are based and from Him they are derived. Those holy things are here called 'vessels' celestial ones being called 'vessels of bowls', and spiritual ones 'vessels of stringed instruments'.

[5] Since kings and priests represented the Lord - 'kings' through their kingship representing the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and 'priests' the Lord as regards Divine Good, 3670 - priests were therefore called 'fathers', as may be seen in the Book of Judges,

Micah said to the Levite, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. Judges 17:10.

The children of Dan spoke to the same man in a similar way,

Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Judges 18:19.

Even kings called them the same, in the second Book of Kings,

The king of Israel said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? He said, You shall not smite them. 2 Kings 6:21-22.

And King Joash's words to Elisha when the latter was dying,

King Joash wept before him and said, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its riders! 2 Kings 13:14.

Kings called a priest 'father' because 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 'priests' as regards Divine Good, and also because truth in relationship to good is as son to father, for truth stems from good.

[6] This matter is very well known in the next life, and for this reason those in heaven call no one other than the Lord 'Father', and by 'Father' mentioned in the Gospels they perceive no one other than Him, see 15, 1729. All young children there, when being introduced to the good that flows from love and to the truth partnering that love, are taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as Father. And newcomers to heaven also are taught with utmost care that God is one; and if they have been from within the Church they are taught that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord - for almost everybody from the Christian world possesses the idea of three Gods, even though with the lips they used to declare that there is only one God. For once the idea of three has entered in, and each one of these is called God and is also distinguished from the other so far as attributes and functions are concerned, and are even worshipped individually, it is no longer humanly possible to think of one God. Consequently there is in the heart a worship of three Gods but on the lips that of only one.

[7] The truth that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord is well known in the Christian world, and yet among Christians in the next life little thought takes place regarding the Lord. Indeed His Humanity is to many people a stumbling-block, for they distinguish the Human from the Divine and do not believe that it is Divine. A person will declare himself to be righteous and so made pure and almost sanctified; but to the idea that the Lord has been glorified, that is, His Human has been made Divine, they do not give any thought. But in fact He was conceived from Jehovah Himself, and in any case nobody can be made righteous, let alone be sanctified, except from the Divine, and especially from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and meant in the Holy Supper, where it is explicitly stated that the bread is His body and the wine His blood.

[8] The truth that the Lord is one with the Father and that He has existed from eternity, rules over all, and so is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, is quite clear from the Word:

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, [He has made Him known.] John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because He had called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself except what He will have seen the Father doing, for that which He does the Son also does likewise. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so also does the Son quicken whom He will. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures; it is they that bear witness to Me. John 5:18-39.

'The Father' is used here, as has been stated, to mean the Divine Good and 'the Son' the Divine Truth, both being within the Lord. From Divine Good, which is 'the Father', nothing but what is Divine is able to proceed or come forth, and that which proceeds or comes forth is Divine Truth, which is 'the Son'.

[9] In the same gospel,

Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except Him who is with the Father, He has seen the Father. John 6:44-48.

In the same gospel,

They said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me you would know My Father also. John 8:18-19.

In the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

'The Father sent Him' means in the internal sense that He proceeds from the Father. This is so in this and other places where the Lord says that the Father sent Him. 'Light' means Divine Truth, see above.

[10] In the same gospel,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Whatever you ask in My name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:6-11, 13.

In the same gospel,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

[11] Those governed by Divine Truth are meant by the ones who 'have His commandments and do them', while those governed by Divine Good are meant by the ones who 'love Him'. This is why it is said that 'he will be loved by the Father', and 'We will come to him and make Our home with him', that is to say, Divine Good and Divine Truth will come and dwell in him. It is also the reason why the following is said in the same chapter,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me. John 14:20.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11.

From these places it is clear that the Lord talks of the Father by virtue of the Divine Good that is His, and of the Son by virtue of the Divine Truth which springs from the Divine Good. And so they are not two but one. The Lord spoke in this fashion however in order that the Word might be received both on earth and in heaven, and also because prior to His glorification the Lord was Divine truth that sprang from Divine Good, but once He had been glorified He was as to both Essences Divine Good itself in which all Divine Good and Divine Truth have their origin.

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

This becomes clear from the fact that it was the Lord who spoke through the prophets, and that both for this reason and the fact that Divine Truth came from Him He was called the Word, which is spoken of in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1-4, 14.

'The Word' stands for all truth in heaven and on earth which comes from the Divine.

[13] His existence from eternity is explicitly taught by Him elsewhere in John,

John said, This was He who though coming after me was before me, for He was before me. Among you stands one whom you do not know. He it is who is to come after me, who was before me. John 1:15, 26-27, 30.

In the same gospel,

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:62.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

In the same gospel,

He knew that He had come from God and was going to God. John 13:3.

In the same gospel,

The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father. John 16:27-28.

In the same gospel,

I have glorified You on earth; I have accomplished the work which You gave Me to do. Now therefore, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:4-5, 24.

In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Matthew 11:27.

In the same gospel, Jesus said to the disciples, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

In John,

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:35-36.

The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son. John 5:22.

In the same gospel,

Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. John 13:3.

In the same gospel, All that the Father has is Mine. John 16:15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him power over all flesh. John 17:1-2.

In the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, for I am coming to You. John 17:10-11.

In Luke,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:22.

[15] From all these places it is clear that it is Divine Good which is called 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son', and that the Lord governs every single thing in all creation from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth. This being so, manifestly so from the Word, it is astounding that people in the Christian world know and teach that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord, and yet they do not, as those in heaven do, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and so one God. The truth that the Holy Spirit, who also is worshipped as God distinct and separate from Father and Son, is the holiness of the spirit - or the holiness that proceeds from the Lord through spirits or angels, that is, from His Divine Good through the Divine Truth - will in the Lord's Divine mercy be made plain elsewhere.