6884. Jehovah, the God of your fathers. That this signifies the Divine of the Ancient Church, is evident from what was said above (n. 6876), where are like words. In the external historic sense, by “the God of their fathers” is meant the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but in the internal sense is meant the Divine of the Ancient Church. That the latter, and not the former, is meant in the internal sense, can be seen from the fact that the historicals of the Word cannot enter into heaven; for the historical of the Word is natural and worldly, and those who are in heaven are in no ideas but what are spiritual, so that they understand the Word spiritually; and what is worldly, which is of the sense of the letter of the Word, is at the very threshold of heaven turned into the spiritual sense. That this is so, can in some measure be seen from the fact that man also frequently turns those things which are said into such as engage his whole thought; thus he who is in unclean things, into what is unclean; and he who is in clean things, into what is clean. Hence then it is that they who are in heaven, by “the God of your fathers” do not perceive the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob (for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not known in heaven), but the Lord who is represented by them; and therefore it is the Divine of the Ancient Church which is signified by these words.

6876. And say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you. That this signifies that the Divine of the Ancient Church will be with those of the spiritual church is evident from the signification of the “God of their fathers” as being the Divine of the Ancient Church (that “fathers” denote those who are of the Ancient Church, see n. 6050, 6075, 6846); from the representation of the sons of Israel, here meant by “you” as being those of the spiritual church (see n. 6875); and from the signification of “being sent” as being to proceed (n. 2397, 4710, 6831); here that he will be with them, for it is said of the Divine of the Ancient Church that this shall be in the spiritual church, which is represented by the sons of Israel.

[2] The Divine which was of the Ancient Church was the Lord as to the Divine Human; the Ancient Church had this from the Most Ancient, and also from the fact that Jehovah was seen by them in a human form. When therefore they thought of Jehovah, they did not think of a universal entity, of which they could have had no idea, but of the Human Divine, into which they could determine their thought; for in this way they could both think of Jehovah and be conjoined with Him by love. Those who were of the Ancient Church, and especially those of the Most Ancient, were much wiser than the men of our times, and yet they could not think otherwise of Jehovah than as of a Man, whose Human was Divine; nor did there then flow into their thought any unbecoming idea taken from the natural man, and his infirmity and evil, but that which flowed in concerning Him was all holy. The angels themselves, who so far excel men in wisdom, cannot think otherwise of the Divine, for they see the Lord in the Divine Human; they know that an angel, with whom all things are finite, can have no idea whatever of the Infinite, except by what is like the finite.

[3] That in ancient times they adored Jehovah under a human Divine is very evident from the angels seen by Abraham in human form, also afterward by Lot, and likewise by Joshua, by Gideon, and by Manoah, which angels were called “Jehovah,” and were adored as the God of the universe. At this day if Jehovah were to appear in the church as a man, men would take offence, and would think that He could not possibly be the Creator and Lord of the universe, because he was seen as a man; and moreover they would not have any other idea of Him than as of a common man. In this they believe themselves wiser than the ancients, not knowing that in this they are altogether removed from wisdom; for when the idea of the thought is directed to a universal entity altogether incomprehensible, the idea falls into nothing, and is totally dissipated; and then in its place comes the idea of nature, to which each and all things are attributed. Hence the worship of nature is at this day so common, especially in the Christian world.