608. And sware by him that liveth unto the ages of the ages.- That this signifies truth from His own Divine, is evident from the signification of swearing, as denoting asseveration and confirmation, and when stated of the Lord, as denoting truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of, "him that liveth unto the ages of the ages," as denoting the Divine from eternity, which alone lives, and which is the source of life to all in the universe, both to angels and men. That this is the signification of him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, may be seen above (n.289, 291, 349). That to swear signifies asseveration and confirmation, but, in the present case, truth, because from the angel, by whom the Lord is meant, is evident from this fact, that to swear is to assert and confirm the truth of a statement, and when done by the Lord, means Divine verity. For oaths are taken only by those who are not interiorly in truth itself, that is, by those who are not interior but only exterior men; therefore they are never taken by angels, and much less therefore by the Lord. But the reason why He is said to swear in the Word, and why the sons of Israel were allowed to swear by God, is, that they were merely exterior men, and because when the asseveration and confirmation of the internal man, comes into the external, it takes the form of an oath. And in the Israelitish church all things were external, and these represented and signified things internal. The case is similar also in regard to the Word in the sense of the letter. It is therefore evident that by the angel swearing by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, is not meant that he thus sware, but that he said in himself that it was the truth, and that this falling into the natural sphere, became, according to correspondences, changed into the form of an oath.

[2] Now because to swear is only an external act corresponding to the confirmation of the mind of the internal man, and consequently signifies it, therefore in the Word of the Old Testament it is said to be lawful to swear by God, and even God Himself is said to take an oath. That this signifies confirmation, asseveration, and the absolute truth, or that a thing is true, is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength" (62:8).

And in Jeremiah:

"Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by his soul" (51:14; Amos 6:8).

And again, in Amos:

"The Lord Jehovih hath sworn by his holiness" (4:2).

And again, in the same prophet:

"The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob" (8:7).

And in Jeremiah:

"Behold, I have sworn by my great name" (44:26).

Jehovah swearing by His right hand, by His soul, by His holiness, and by His name, signifies by the Divine Truth; for the right hand of Jehovah, the arm of His strength, His holiness, His name, and His soul, mean the Lord as to Divine Truth, thus Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord. The signification of the excellency of Jacob is similar, for the mighty one of Jacob means the Lord as to Divine Truth.

[3] That to swear, when stated of Jehovah, signifies confirmation from Himself, or from His Divine, is evident in Isaiah:

"By myself have I sworn, the word has gone out of my mouth, and shall not be recalled" (45:23).

And in Jeremiah:

"I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation" (22:5).

Because swearing, when stated of Jehovah, signifies Divine Truth, therefore it is said in David,

"Jehovah hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it" (Psalm 132:11).

[4] Jehovah God, or the Lord, never swears, for it does not belong to God Himself, or the Divine Truth, to swear; but when God, or the Divine Truth, wills to have anything confirmed before men, then that confirmation, passing into the natural sphere, becomes an oath or takes the solemn formula of an oath in the world. It is therefore evident, that although God never swears, yet in the sense of the letter of the Word, which is the natural sense, it may be said that He swears. This therefore is the signification of swearing when stated of Jehovah or the Lord in the preceding passages, and also in the following.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass" (14:24).

And in David:

"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. O Lord, thou swearest unto David in truth" (Psalm 89:3, 35, 49).

And again:

"Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent" (Psalm 110:4).

And in Ezekiel:

"I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine" (16:8).

And in David:

"Unto whom I sware in my anger" (Psalm 95:11).

And in Isaiah:

"I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth" (54:9).

And in Luke:

"To remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham" (1:72, 73).

And in David:

"He was mindful of his covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath with Isaac" (Psalm 105:8, 9).

And in Jeremiah:

"That I may establish the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers" (11:5 32:22).

"The land which I sware to give to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 1:35 10:11; 11:9, 21; 26:3, 15; 31:20; 34:4).

[5] From these things it is evident what is meant by the angel lifting up his hand to heaven, and swearing by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages.

Similarly in Daniel:

"I heard the man (vir) clothed in linen, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and sware by him that liveth unto the ages of the ages" (12:7).

This signifies affirmation before the angels concerning the state of the church, that what follows is Divine Truth.

[6] Since the church instituted with the sons of Israel was a representative church, in which all things that were commanded were natural things, representing and consequently signifying spiritual things, therefore the sons of Israel, with whom the church was, were allowed to swear by Jehovah, and by His name, also by the holy things of the church, and this represented, and therefore signified, internal confirmation, and also truth. This will be evident from the following passages.

Thus in Isaiah:

"He who blesseth himself in the earth let him bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth let him swear by the God of truth" (65:16).

And in Jeremiah:

"Swear by the living Jehovah, in truth, in judgment, and in justice" (4:2).

And in Moses:

"Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear in his name" (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20).

And in Isaiah:

"In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt swear to Jehovah of hosts" (19:18).

And in Jeremiah:

"If in learning they will learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, Jehovah liveth" (12:16).

And in David:

"Every one that sweareth by" God "shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak a lie shall be stopped" (Psalm 63:11).

To swear by God, signifies to speak truth, for it follows, "but the mouth of them that speak a lie shall be stopped." That they swore by God, see also Genesis 21:23, 24, 31; Joshua 2:12; 9:20; Judges 21:7; 1 Kings 1:17.

[7] Since the ancients were allowed to swear by Jehovah God, it therefore follows that it is a most serious evil to swear falsely or to lie; as is evident from these passages.

Thus in Malachi:

"I will be a witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers" (3:5).

And in Moses:

"Thou shall not swear a lie by my name, so that thou profane the name of thy God," and "thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain" (Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12; Zech. 5:4).

And in Jeremiah:

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if there be those that say, By the living Jehovah; surely they swear falsely. Thy sons have destroyed me, and sworn by no god" (5:1, 2, 7).

And in Hosea:

"Israel, swear not, Jehovah liveth" (4:15).

And in Zephaniah:

"And I will cut off them that swear by Jehovah, and that swear by their king; and them that are turned back from Jehovah" (1:4, 5, 6).

And in Zechariah:

"Love not the oath of a lie" (8:17).

And in Isaiah:

"Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which swear by the name of Jehovah, not in truth, nor in justice" (48:1).

And in David:

"He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully" (Psalm 24:4).

[8] From these passages it is clear, that the ancients, who were in the representatives and significatives of the church, were allowed to swear by Jehovah God, in order to testify truth, and by that oath it was signified that they thought what was true, and willed what was good. But it was more especially permitted to the sons of Jacob, since they were altogether natural and external men, and not internal and spiritual; and mere external or natural men desire to have the truth attested and confirmed by oaths, whereas internal or spiritual men do not desire it, yea, are averse from oaths, and account them horrible, especially those in which God and the holy things of heaven and the church are appealed to, and they are satisfied with saying and with having it said, that a thing is true, or that it is so.

[9] Since swearing is not of the internal or spiritual man, and since the Lord, when He came into the world, taught men to be internal or spiritual, and to that end afterwards abrogated the external things of the church, and opened the internal things of it, therefore he also forbad swearing by God and by the holy things of heaven and the church. This is clear from his own words in Matthew:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shall not swear, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths; I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne; neither by the earth; for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black" (5:33-36).

In this passage those holy things which must not be made use of in taking oaths are mentioned, namely, heaven and earth, Jerusalem and the head. And heaven means the angelic heaven, wherefore it is called the throne of God (that by the throne of God is meant that heaven, may be seen above, n. 253, 462, 477); the earth means the church (see above, n. 29, 304, 413, 417), it is therefore called the footstool of God's feet (that the footstool of God's feet means the church, see above, n. 606); Jerusalem means the doctrine of the church, it is therefore called the city of the great God (Dei) (that a city denotes doctrine, may be seen above, n. 223); and the head means intelligence therefrom (see above, n. 553, 577); it is therefore said, "thou canst not make one hair white or black," which signifies, that man can understand nothing of himself.

[10] Again, in the same Evangelist:

"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, because ye say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whosoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by Him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon" (23:16-22).

The reason why they were not to swear by the temple and by the altar, is, that to swear by them, was to swear by the Lord, by heaven, and by the church. For the temple, in the highest sense, means the Lord as to Divine Truth, and, in the respective sense, heaven and the church as to the same, also all worship from Divine Truth (see above, n. 220). And the altar signifies the Lord as to Divine Good, and, in the respective sense, heaven and the church as to that good, also all worship from Divine Good (see above, n. 391). And because by the Lord are meant all Divine things which proceed from Him, for He Himself is in them, and they are of Him, therefore he who swears by Him, swears by all things that are of Him. Similarly, he who swears by heaven and by the church, swears by all the holy things which pertain to them, for heaven embraces and contains them; and similarly the church; it is therefore said, that the temple is greater than the gold of the temple, because the temple sanctifies the gold, and that the altar is greater than the gift which is upon it, because the altar sanctifies the gift.

222. And I will write upon him the name of my God. That this signifies their quality according to Divine truth implanted in the life is evident from the signification of writing upon any one, when it is said to be done by the Lord, as denoting to implant in the life, concerning which we shall speak presently, also from the signification of name, as denoting the quality of their state (concerning which see above n. 148); and from the signification of God, as denoting Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven, and thus the Lord in heaven (see n. 220); for the Lord is above the heavens, for He appears to those who are in heaven as a Sun (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell. n. 116-125). The Divine proceeding from the Sun of heaven, which is called Divine truth, and which constitutes heaven in general and in particular, is what in the Word is meant by God; hence it is that the angels are called gods, and that the term for God, in the Hebrew tongue, is Elohim, in the plural. From these considerations it is clear why the Lord here says, "the name of my God;" also above, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God" (n. 219), and in what follows, "I will write upon him the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (n. 223).

The reason why writing upon any one denotes to implant in the life is, that to write is to commit anything to paper from the memory, thought and mind, in order that it may remain; therefore, in the spiritual sense it signifies that which will remain in the life of man, inscribed and implanted in him. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into the spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper, or in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when it is implanted in faith and love; for love and faith constitute the spiritual life of man.

[2] Because to write signifies to implant in the life, therefore also it is said of Jehovah, or the Lord, that He writes, and that He has written in a book, by which is meant what is inscribed by the Lord on man's spirit, that is, in his heart and soul, or, what is the same, in his love and faith. As, in David:

"My bone was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret; upon thy book were all the days written when they were formed, and not one of them is wanting" (Psalms 139:15, 16).

Again:

"Let them be blotted out of the book of lives, and not be written with the just" (69:28).

In Daniel:

"The people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (12:1).

In Moses:

"Blot me, I pray out of the book which thou hast written. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:32, 33).

In the Apocalypse:

"A book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals," which no one was able to open but the Lamb only (5:1).

Again:

"All whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb" shall worship the beast (13:8; 17:8).

And again:

"I saw that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (20:12, 13, 15).

And again:

And none shall enter into the New Jerusalem except "those that are written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:27).

From these passages it is not to be understood that the persons referred to are written in a book, but that all the things of faith and love are inscribed on man's spirit (as is evident from what is said upon this subject in the work, Heaven and Hell 461-469).

[3] That to write, in the Word, signifies to inscribe and implant in the life, is also evident from other passages where it is mentioned; as in Jeremiah:

"I will put my law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart" (31:33).

To put the law in the midst of them, denotes Divine truth in them, in the midst, signifies inwardly in man (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and to write it on their heart, is to impress it upon the love, for the heart signifies the love (see Arcana Coelestia 7542, 9050, 10336). In Ezekiel:

"The prophet saw the roll of a book written within and without, and there were written thereon lamentations, mourning and woe" (2:9, 10; 3:1-3).

By the roll of a book written within and without is signified the state of the church at that time, thus the quality of the life of those who belonged to the church; therefore the roll of the book here mentioned has a signification similar to that of the book of life mentioned above; and because their life was destitute of the goods of love and truths of faith, it is said, that "There was written thereon, lamentations, and mourning and woe."

By the law being written upon tables of stone, and with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4:13; 9:10),

was signified that it must be impressed on the life (Arcana Coelestia 9416); for by the law, in the strict sense, the ten precepts of the Decalogue are meant, but in a broad sense, the whole Word (see Arcana Coelestia 6752, 7463). By stone is signified truth, and there it signifies Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). The same is signified by

The words of the law being written upon the twelve stones taken out of Jordan (Deuteronomy 27:2-4, 8; Josh. 4:3, and the following verses).

[4] In Ezekiel:

"Son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions: and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, and his companions. Afterwards join them one to another into one stick, that they may both be one in my hand" 37:16, 17).

What these things signify no one can know unless he knows what was represented by Judah, and what by Joseph. By Judah was represented the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and by Joseph his spiritual kingdom; and by writing for them upon two sticks of wood, was signified the state of the love, and thence of the life of both. Their conjunction into one heaven was signified by joining them one to another into one piece, that they might be one in my hand. The signification of this is similar to that of the Lord's words,

"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd" (John 10:16).

The reason why the writing was to be upon wood was, because wood signifies good, and it is good which conjoins. (But these things will be clearer from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the spiritual kingdom before the Lord's coming was not like it was after his coming, n. 6372, 8054: that the spiritual especially were saved by the coming of the Lord into the world, and that they were then conjoined with those who were of His celestial kingdom into one heaven, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8159, 8321, 9684. That there are two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual, and three heavens, and that they are conjoined into one heaven, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28, and 29-40. That by Judah, in the representative sense, is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363: that by Joseph is signified the Lord's spiritual kingdom, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417: that by Ephraim is signified the Intellectual of the spiritual church, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296: that by wood is signified the good of love, n. 643, 3720, 8354.)

[5] In Isaiah:

"This one shall say, I am of Jehovah; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel" (44:5).

These things are said concerning the Lord and His Divine Human. By Jacob and by Israel, where the Lord is treated of, is signified His human; and that it was also Jehovah is meant by one saying, "I am of Jehovah," and by subscribing with his own hand unto Jehovah. (That, in the highest sense, Israel and Jacob denote the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 4286, 4570, 6424.)

[6] In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah the hope of Israel, all that forsake me shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed" (17:13, 14).

To be written in the earth, is to be condemned on account of the state of the life, because by earth is signified what is condemned (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2327, 7418, 8306).

[7] Hence it is evident what is signified by the Lord's writing with his finger on the earth, as recorded in John:

"The Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery; they said, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act." They asked whether, according to the law of Moses, she should be stoned. "Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the earth, and rising said, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the earth." These things being heard they went out one after another, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman to whom he said, "Where are thine accusers; hath no man condemned thee? And he said, Go and sin no more" (John 8:3-11).

By the Lord writing on the earth, is signified the same as above in Jeremiah, where it is said, "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth," namely, that they were equally condemned on account of adulteries; therefore Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

That the Lord twice wrote on the earth in the temple, signified, in the spiritual sense, their condemnation for adulteries. For the Scribes and Pharisees were those who adulterated the goods and falsified the truths of the Word, consequently of the church; and adulteries in the spiritual sense are adulterations of good and falsifications of truth (as may be seen above, n. 141, 161); therefore also He called that nation an adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38).