728. And her offspring was caught up unto God and His throne, signifies the protection of the doctrine by the Lord, because it is for the New Church. This is evident from the signification of "the offspring" (or the son, a male) brought forth by "the woman arrayed with the sun, under whose feet was the moon, and upon whose head was a crown of twelve stars," as being doctrine from the Word, and indeed, the doctrine of truth, that is, the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, and finally of faith. Also from the signification of "caught up unto God and His throne," as being protection by the Lord from "the dragon" that stood before the woman about to bring forth, with the intent and desire of devouring what was brought forth. That protection by the Lord from those who are meant by "the dragon" is here signified by these words. And as that doctrine was to be the doctrine of the church that is called the New Jerusalem, therefore it is said protection because it is for the New Church. It is said "caught up unto God and His throne," "God" meaning the Lord, and "His throne" heaven; it is caught up to the Lord and to heaven because this doctrine is from the Lord, and heaven is in this doctrine.

[2] What is here said of the offspring born of the woman, who "was caught up unto God," is also said of Enoch, the son of Jared, but in these words:

Enoch walked with God, and was no more; because God took him (Genesis 5:24).

Who are here meant by "Enoch," and what "Enoch" signifies, has been disclosed to me from heaven, namely, those of the men of the Most Ancient Church who collected together the representatives and correspondences of natural things with spiritual; for the men of the Most Ancient Church were in the spiritual understanding and perception of all things they saw with their eyes, and thence from the objects in the world they saw through to the spiritual things corresponding to the objects. Because the Lord foresaw that this spiritual perception would perish with their posterity, and with that perception also the knowledge of correspondences through which the human race has conjunction with heaven, therefore the Lord provided that some of those who lived with the most ancient people should collect together the correspondences, and gather them into a manuscript; these are here meant by "Enoch," and that manuscript is what is here signified. Because that manuscript was to serve the coming churches that were to be established by the Lord after the deluge with the knowledge and cognition of the spiritual things that are in natural things, it was preserved by the Lord for their use, and was also guarded, lest the last posterity of the Most Ancient Church, who were evil, should offer injury to it. This, therefore, is what is signified in the spiritual sense by "Enoch was no more, because God took Him." From this it can be seen what is signified by "the offspring of the woman was caught up unto God and His throne."

4186. 'And all that you see is mine' means all ability to perceive and to understand. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as perceiving and understanding, dealt with in 2150, 3863, and so as all its ability to perceive and understand truth and good. The implications of all this have been discussed already and have been illustrated by the things that happen in the next life - in the description of what happens when spirits of the intermediate kind in particular are in some angelic community. At such times those spirits are not aware that the affections for good and truth flowing in from that community are anything other than their own. For that is what the communication of affections and thoughts is like in the next life; and in the measure that the spirits have become linked to that community they imagine those affections to be their own. When those same spirits are separated from that community they are extremely annoyed, and as they enter a state of annoyance they also enter the obscure state referred to above in 4184. Having no interior perception in that state they claim as their own the goods and truths which belong to that angelic community and which they too have possessed through the communication described above. It is this state that is described in the present verse.

[2] Furthermore, I have been given to know through much experience about the way in which affections for good and truth are communicated to others. Spirits of that kind have sometimes been with me, and when they have become linked to me through any degree of affection they have not been aware of the things that were mine as being anything other than their own. And I have been told that the same happens to all people, for everyone has spirits with him, who, the moment they come to him and enter his affection, are not conscious of anything at all which that person possesses - that is to say, any facet of his affection or thought - as being anything other than their own. This is the way in which spirits are linked to man, and through them the Lord governs him, 2488. A discussion of these matters from actual experience will appear below at the ends of chapters.