328. For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in thy blood. That this signifies the separation of all from the Divine, and conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him, is evident from the signification of being slain, when predicated of the Lord, as denoting the separation of all from the Divine, for to be slain in the Word signifies to be spiritually slain, that is, to perish by evils and falsities, as may be seen above, n. 315; and because the Lord also is not with them, for He is denied, therefore by being slain, when said of the Lord, is signified not to be acknowledged (as above, n. 315), and also to be denied; and when the Lord is denied, He is, as it were, slain with them, and they are thereby separated from the Divine. For those who deny the Lord, that is, His Divine, separate themselves altogether from the Divine, for He is the God of the universe, and He is one with the Father, also the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and no one cometh to the Father but by Him, as the Lord Himself teaches; therefore those in the church who do not acknowledge His Divine, are altogether separated from the Divine, and more so they who in heart deny it.

[2] To deny it is here meant by slaying Him in themselves. This is also meant in the internal sense of the Word by their crucifying the Lord (as may be seen above, n. 83, 195); for the Jews, with whom the church then was, denied that He was the Christ, and consequently separated themselves from the Divine, and therefore they put Him to death, or crucified Him. Even at this day those do this who deny His Divine; whence it is a common remark of preachers, that they who lead an evil life, and blaspheme Him, crucify Him in themselves. This, therefore, is what is here signified by, "Thou wast slain"; and from the signification of, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," as denoting that He would conjoin us to the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. For that to redeem signifies to liberate from hell, and thereby to take them to Himself, and thus conjoin them to the Divine, will be evident from the passages in the Word, where to redeem and redemption are mentioned, which will be adduced below; and the Lord's blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from Him; and because a man by the reception of Divine truth from the Lord is liberated from hell and conjoined to Him, therefore by, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," there is signified conjunction with the Divine by the reception of the Divine truth from Him.

[3] That this sense is concealed in those words, no one can see who confines himself to the sense of the letter, for in that sense nothing else can be seen, except that by, "Thou wast slain," is meant crucified; and by, "Thou hast redeemed by thy blood," is meant that He has reconciled us to His Father by the passion of the cross; and because that sense is the sense of the letter, and it has remained unknown hitherto, that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, therefore from the sense of the letter they have made it a doctrine of the church, that the essential Divine which they call the Father, rejected the whole human race, and that the Lord, by the passion of the cross, made reconciliation, and thus that those for whom He intercedes are saved. How can he, whose understanding is in some measure enlightened, help seeing that this doctrinal is contrary to the Divine itself? For the Divine never rejects any man, for He loves all, and thence desires the salvation of all. And it is also contrary to the Divine itself to be reconciled by the shedding of blood, and to be brought back to mercy through the consideration of the passion of the cross which His own Son sustained, and that thence He has mercy, and not from Himself; and although this is contrary to the Divine essence, still they call it essential faith or justifying faith to believe this.

[4] Who also from enlightened reason can suppose that the sins of the whole world were transferred to the Lord, and taken away from every one who has that faith alone? And yet this is the doctrine of those who do not think beyond the sense of the letter. But yet, the angels who are with men, do not perceive it according to that sense, but according to the spiritual sense, for they are spiritual, and hence they think spiritually and not naturally. By redeeming man by His blood, they understand the freeing man from hell, and so claiming and conjoining him to Himself by the acknowledgment of Him, and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. That this is the case the church also may know; for it may know that no one can be conjoined to the Divine by blood, but by the reception of the Divine truth, and the application of it to the life.

[5] The Lord's deliverance [of man] from hell was accomplished by His assuming the Human, and thereby subjugating the hells, and reducing all things in the heavens into order, which could have been done in no other way than from the Human, for the Divine operates from primaries by means of ultimates, thus from Himself by those things that are from Himself in ultimates, these being in the Human. This is the operation of the Divine power in heaven and in the world. (But concerning this matter some particulars may be seen above, n. 41; also in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 315; and in the Arcana Coelestia 5897, 6239, 6451, 6465, 8603, 9215, 9216, 9824, 9828, 9836, 10044, 10099, 10329, 10335, 10548.) The Lord's deliverance [of man] from hell was also accomplished by His glorifying His Human, that is, by making it Divine, for thus and in no other way could the hells be kept in subjection for ever; and because the subjugation of the hells and the glorification of His Human was accomplished by temptations admitted into His Human, the passion of His cross was the last temptation and complete victory. By bearing the sins of all, is signified that He admitted into Himself all the hells when tempted, for all sins and evils come up therefrom, and enter into and are with man; therefore by bearing them is signified His admitting the hells into Himself when tempted; and by His taking away sins, is signified that He subjugated the hells, in order that evils may thence no more arise in those who acknowledge the Lord and receive Him, that is, the Divine truth proceeding from Him in faith and life, and are thus conjoined to the Lord. It is said that by "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood," is signified conjunction with the Divine by the acknowledgment of Him, and the reception of Divine truth from Him; and because the church is founded upon this, I wish in a few words to state how conjunction is thereby effected.

[6] The chief thing is to acknowledge the Lord, His Divine in the Human, and His Omnipotence in saving the human race; for by that acknowledgment man is conjoined to the Divine, because there is no Divine elsewhere; for there is the Father, the Father being in Him, and He in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches; therefore those who look to another Divine near Him, or at His side, as those are accustomed to do who pray to the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son, turn aside from the way and worship a Divine elsewhere than in Him. And, moreover, they think nothing at that time concerning the Lord's Divine, but solely concerning His Human, which nevertheless cannot be separated, for the Divine and the Human are not two but a single person conjoined like soul and body, according to the doctrine received by the churches from the Athanasian Creed. To acknowledge the Divine in the Lord's Human, or the Divine Human, is the chief thing of the church, by this there is conjunction; and because it is the primary it is also the first thing of the church. Because this is the first thing of the church, the Lord therefore, when He was in the world, so often asked those whom He healed, "Believest thou that I am able to do this?" and when they answered that they did believe, He said, "Be it done according to your faith." This He so often asked that they might first believe that He had Divine Omnipotence from His Divine Human, for without that faith the church could not be begun, and without that faith they could not be conjoined with the Divine, but must have been separated from it, and, consequently, they could not receive any thing good from Him.

[7] Afterwards the Lord taught how they would be saved, namely, that they should receive Divine truth from Him; and this is received, when it is applied to, and implanted in, the life by doing it; therefore the Lord so often said, that they should do His words. From these considerations it is evident that these two things, namely, to believe in the Lord and to do His words, make one, and that they can by no means be separated; for he who does not the Lord's words does not believe in Him; nor also does he believe in Him who supposes that he does believe in Him and does not do His words; for the Lord is in His words, that is, in His truths, and from them the Lord imparts faith to man. From these few remarks, it can be known that conjunction with the Divine is effected by the acknowledgment of the Lord and by the reception of Divine truth from Him. This, therefore, is what is signified by the Lamb redeeming us to God by His blood. That by the Lamb is signified the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 314. Concerning this circumstance more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297; and from the Arcana Coelestia there, n. 300-306, as also at the end of this work, where the Lord is particularly treated of. That blood signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and that salvation through His blood signifies through the reception of Divine truth from Him, will be explained in the following article.

[8] That to redeem, however, signifies to deliver and set free, and when predicated of the Lord to deliver and free from hell, and thus to claim and conjoin to Himself, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:

"Who cometh from Edom, travelling in the multitude of his strength? I who speak in justice, mighty to save. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. In all their want he suffered want, and the angel of his faces preserved them; in his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity" (63:1, 4, 9).

The Lord is here treated of, and His temptation-combats, by which He subjugated the hells. By Edom, from which He cometh, is signified His Human, and also by the angel of His faces. His Divine power from which He fought, is signified by travelling in the multitude of His strength; the casting down into hell of those who rose up against Him, and the elevation of the good into heaven, are meant by justice, therefore, by these words, "I who speak in justice, mighty to save. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." His Divine love from which He did those things, is described by, "In all their want he suffered want, and the angel of his faces preserved them; in his love and his pity he redeemed them; and he took them, and carried them all the days of eternity." Hence it is evident that by the redeemed and by those whom He redeemed, are signified those whom He delivered and saved from the fury of those who are from hell.

[9] In the same:

"Thus said Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel; [Fear not;] for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine" (43:1).

That by redeeming is signified to free from hell, and to claim and conjoin to Himself, so that they may be His, is evident; for it is said, "I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine," because this is effected by reformation and regeneration from the Lord, it is therefore said, "Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel." He is called Creator because by to create in the Word is signified to regenerate, as may be seen above, n. 294. Jacob and Israel signify those who belong to the church, and are in truths from good.

[10] In the same:

"Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold! thy salvation cometh; behold! His reward is with him, and the worth of the trouble is before him; And they shall call them, A people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah" (62:11, 12).

Here also the Lord's advent is treated of, and the establishment of the church by Him. The daughter of Zion signifies the church which is in love to the Lord; His advent is meant by "Behold! thy salvation cometh; behold! his reward is with him, and the worth of the trouble is before him"; those who are reformed and regenerated by Him are meant by the redeemed of Jehovah.

[11] The reason why they are called the redeemed is, because they are freed through regeneration from evils, and are claimed by and conjoined to the Lord. In the same:

"No lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein; but the redeemed shall walk there. Thus the redeemed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing, the joy of eternity upon their head" (35:9, 10).

Here also the Lord's advent is treated of, and the salvation of those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord. That there shall not be with them falsity destroying truth, nor evil destroying good, is signified by "no lion shall be there, and the ravenous of the wild beasts shall not be found therein"; that they are delivered from evils and freed from falsities is signified by, "the redeemed shall walk there; thus the redeemed of Jehovah shall return"; their eternal felicity is signified by, "They shall come to Zion with singing, and the joy of eternity upon their head"; Zion denotes the church. What singing signifies may be seen just above, n. 326. There are two words in the original tongue by which to redeem is expressed; one signifies deliverance from evils, the other liberation from falsities; those two expressions are here. Hence it is said, the redeemed shall walk, and the redeemed of Jehovah shall return. Those two expressions are also used in Hosea (13:14); and in David (Psalms 69:18; 107:6).

[12] That to redeem signifies to deliver from evils and to free from falsities, and also to deliver and free from hell, is, because all the evils and falsities with a man arise from hell; and because they are removed through reformation and regeneration by the Lord, reformation and regeneration also are signified by to redeem or by redemption; as in the following passages.

[13] In David:

"Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercy's sake" (Psalms 44:26).

To redeem [is here used] for to set free and to reform.

Again:

"God hath redeemed my soul out of the hand of hell; and he shall receive me" (Psalms 49:15).

To redeem from the power of hell, means to free; to receive me, to claim and to conjoin to Himself, or to make them His, as servants sold and redeemed.

In Hosea:

"Out of the hand of hell will I redeem them; I will redeem them from death" (13:14).

To redeem means to deliver and free from damnation.

In David:

"Bless Jehovah, O my soul, bless his holy name; who hath redeemed thy life from the pit" (Psalms 103:1-4).

To redeem from the pit, means to free from damnation, the pit denoting damnation.

Again:

"Draw nigh unto my soul, redeem it, and because of mine enemies redeem me" (Psalms 69:18).

To draw nigh to the soul signifies to conjoin it to Himself; to redeem it signifies to deliver from evils; redeem me because of mine enemies, signifies to free from falsities, enemies denoting falsities.

Again:

"Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, whom he hath redeemed out of the hand of the restraining enemy" (Psalms 107:2).

The redeemed of Jehovah are those who are delivered from evils; "whom he hath redeemed out of the hand of the restraining enemy," are those whom He has freed from falsities.

In Jeremiah:

"I am with thee, to keep thee and to deliver thee; and I will deliver thee out of the hand of the evil, and I will redeem thee from the hand of the violent" (15:20, 21).

To redeem out of the hand of the violent means to liberate from falsities which offer violence to the good of charity; the violent signify those falsities, consequently, also those who are in them.

[14] In David

"Let Israel hope in Jehovah, for with Jehovah there is mercy, and in him is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities" (Psalms 130:7, 8).

Redemption here means liberation; Israel, the church; and to reform those who are of the church, and free them from falsities, is signified by, "He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Again:

"Let integrity and uprightness guard me; for I have waited for thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his distresses" (Psalms 25:21, 22).

To redeem Israel from distresses, means also here to free those who belong to the church from falsities which cause distress.

In Isaiah:

"Is my hand shortened, that there is no redemption, or is there no power in me to deliver?" (50:2).

That redemption denotes liberation is evident, for it is also said, "Is my hand shortened, or is there no power in me to deliver?" In David:

"God shall hear my voice; he shall redeem my soul with peace " (Psalms 55:16-18).

To redeem here means to free.

Again:

"Unto thee will I sing with the harp, thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall praise; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed" (Psalms 71:22, 23).

To redeem the soul here means to free from falsities; for by soul in the Word is signified the life of faith, and by heart the life of love; therefore to redeem the soul signifies to free from falsities, and to give the life of faith.

[15] And again:

"Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep thy commandments" (Psalms 119:134).

To deliver from the oppression of man signifies to free from the falsities of evil, for man signifies the spiritual affection of truth and thence wisdom, and in the opposite sense, as here, the lust of falsity, and thence insanity; the oppression thereof, signifies the destruction of truth by falsities.

So again:

"Into thine hand I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth" (Psalms 31:5).

To redeem here means to free from falsities and to reform by truths. Because this is signified by to redeem, therefore it is also said, "O Jehovah, God of truth."

And again:

"Mischief is in the hands of sinners, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful unto me" (Psalms 26:9-11).

To redeem here means to free from falsities, and to reform.

So again:

"He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his eyes. And he shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and he shall pray for him continually; daily shall he bless him" (Psalms 72:14, 15).

The needy are here treated of, by whom are signified those who desire truths from a spiritual affection. Concerning them it is said, that "He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence," by which is signified liberation from evils and falsities which destroy the goods of love and the truths of faith; the reception of Divine truth by them is signified by, "precious shall their blood be in his eyes"; their reformation is described by, "He shall live, and he shall give him of the gold of Sheba; and he shall pray for him continually; daily shall he bless him." The gold of Sheba denotes the good of charity; to pray for him continually, signifies that they shall continually be withheld from falsities and kept in truths; and daily shall he bless him, signifies that they shall continually be in the good of charity and faith, for this is the Divine benediction, and this is to pray for him continually.

[16] In Isaiah:

"Thus said Jehovah, Ye are sold for nought, and ye shall not be redeemed by silver; into Egypt have my people descended to dwell there as strangers, but Asshur oppressed them for nothing" (52:3, 4).

The desolation of truths by scientifics, and by the reasonings of the natural man from them, is here treated of; for by, "into Egypt have my people descended to dwell there as strangers," is signified the instruction of the natural man by means of scientifics and by the knowledges of truth. Egypt signifies scientifics and also knowledges, but such as are from the sense of the letter of the Word; and to dwell as a stranger signifies to be instructed. By Assyria oppressing them for nothing, is signified the falsification of those things by the reasonings of the natural man. Assyria signifies reasonings, and to oppress for nothing signifies falsification; for falsities are nothing, because there is nothing of truth in them, which is the case when the natural man, separate from the spiritual, draws conclusions; hence it is that it is preceded by, "Ye are sold for nought; and ye shall not be redeemed by silver." To be sold for nought signifies, from himself, or from the proprium, to alienate oneself, and to renounce falsities; and not to be redeemed by silver, signifies that they could not be delivered from the falsities of evil by truth; money signifies truth, and to be redeemed signifies to be delivered from the falsities of evil, and to be reformed.

[17] In Zechariah:

"I will gather them together, because I will redeem them; then shall they be multiplied; and I will sow them among the peoples; and I will bring them back out of the land [of Egypt], and will gather them together out of Assyria, and to the land of Gilead, and to Lebanon will I bring them" (10:8-10).

The subject here treated of is the restoration of the church, and reformation by means of truths from good; and by, "I will gather them, because I will redeem them," is signified the dispersion of falsities, and reformation by truths; therefore it is said, "they shall be multiplied, and I will sow them among the peoples," by which is signified the multiplication and insemination of truth from good; to bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and to gather them from Assyria, signifies, to lead them away from the falsification of the truth which they have by means of reasonings from scientifics (as may be seen above). "To bring them to the land of Gilead, and to Lebanon," signifies, to the good of the church, which is the good of charity, and to the good and truth of faith; the former is the land of Gilead, and the latter Lebanon.

[18] From these things it is evident what is signified, in the spiritual sense, by Jehovah leading the people out of Egypt and redeeming them; as in Moses:

"I will free you from bondage; and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6).

So again:

"I brought you out of Egypt with a stretched-out arm, and I redeemed you out of the house of servants" (Deuteronomy 9:26-29; 13:5; 15:15; 24:18).

"Thou in thy mercy hast led forth thy people whom thou hast redeemed; thou hast brought them in the strength of thy hand to the dwelling of thy holiness" (Exodus 15:13).

And in Micah:

"I made thee ascend out of the land of Egypt, and I redeemed thee out of the house of bondage" (6:4).

In the sense of the letter it means here that they were, by the Divine power, brought out of Egypt, where they had been made servants; but, in the internal or spiritual sense, no such thing is meant, but that those who belong to the church, who are those who are reformed by the Lord, by truths and by a life according to them, are delivered and freed from evils and the falsities thence, for these are the things that make man a slave; this is the spiritual sense of those words, in which the angels are, while man is in the sense of the letter.

[19] The angels also by redemption understand deliverance from evils, and liberation from falsities, in the following passages.

In Moses:

"I will put redemption between my people and Pharaoh's people" (Exodus 8:23).

In David:

"He hath sent redemption unto his people; he hath commanded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name" (Psalms 111:9).

In Matthew:

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, but shall lose his soul? or what shall a man give as a price sufficient for the redemption of his soul?" (16:26; Mark 8:36, 37).

[20] Redemption here means deliverance from damnation. From these considerations it is evident what is signified by the Lord redeeming mankind, namely, that He has delivered and freed them from hell, and from the evils and falsities which thence continually rise up and bring man into condemnation, and that He continually delivers them and frees them. This deliverance and liberation was brought about by His subjugating the hells; and the continual deliverance and liberation, by His having glorified His Human, that is, having made it Divine, for thereby He keeps the hells continually in subjection; this, therefore, is what is signified by His redeeming man, and by His being called in the Word a Redeemer; as in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye dying men of Israel; I am he who helpeth thee, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (41:14).

In the same prophet:

"Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, because of Jehovah that is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee" (49:7).

Again:

"Our Redeemer is Jehovah Zebaoth; his name, the Holy One of Israel" (47:4).

Again:

"Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (43:14).

Again:

"That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (49:26).

Again:

"That thou mayest know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (60:16).

By the Holy One of Israel, and by the Mighty One of Jacob, who in these passages is called the Redeemer, is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, and by Jehovah His essential Divine. The reason why the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the Holy One of Israel, and the Strong and Mighty One of Jacob, is, because Israel and Jacob signify the church, thus those who are regenerated and reformed, that is, who are redeemed by the Lord, for these alone belong to the church, or constitute the Lord's church.

[21] That the Lord's Divine Human is what is called holy, is evident in Luke:

The angel said unto Mary, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (1:35).

And that the Lord as to the Divine Human is the Strong and Mighty One of Jacob, in the same:

The angel said unto Mary, "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son. He shall be great, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end" (1:30-33).

By the house of Jacob is meant the Lord's church; that it is not the Jewish nation, is evident.

[22] Because the Lord's Human was equally Divine as His essential Divine, which assumed the Human, therefore also Jehovah is called the Redeemer in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God" (48:17).

And again:

"Jehovah of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called" (54:5).

In David:

"O Jehovah my Rock, and my Redeemer" (Psalms 19:14).

In Jeremiah:

"Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name" (50:34).

In Isaiah:

"Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting" (63:16).

From these considerations it is now evident how what the Lord said is to be understood:

The Son of man hath come "that he may give his soul a redemption for many" (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

That is, that they might be freed and delivered from hell; for the passion of the cross was the last combat and full victory, by which He subjugated the hells, and by which He glorified His Human. (As may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-297; and 300-306)

6832. 'In a flame of fire from the middle of a bramble bush' means God's love present in true factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'a flame of fire' as God's love, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'a bramble bush' as true factual knowledge. The reason why 'a bramble bush' means true factual knowledge is that all shrubs of every kind mean factual knowledge, whereas actual plantations of trees, being larger, mean cognitions and perceptions. Because it produces flower and berries 'a bramble bush' means true factual knowledge. True factual knowledge that the Church possesses consists in nothing else than the Word as it exists in the sense of the letter and also every one of the Church's representative forms and meaningful signs that existed among the descendants of Jacob. These in the external form they take are called true factual knowledge; but in their internal form they are spiritual truths. But truths in their internal or spiritual form could not be made visible to those descended from Jacob, for the reason that they were interested solely in things of an external nature and had no wish whatever to know about anything internal. Therefore the Lord appeared in a bramble bush (when the Lord appears to people He does so in a way suited to the kind of people they are, for a person cannot receive the Divine in any way other than that which is a way suited to the kind of person he is); and therefore also, when the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai He appeared to the people' as a fire burning even to the heart of heaven, and as darkness, cloud, and pitch darkness', Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:22-25; also Exodus 19:18. He would have appeared in an altogether different way if the people below the mountain who beheld Him had not been the kind of people they were. And because those people were interested solely in things of an external nature, when Moses went in to the Lord on Mount Sinai, it is said that he went into the cloud, Exodus 20:21; 24:2, 18; 34:2-5, 'the cloud' being the external aspect of the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), and also consequently representatives in the Church which are seen in outward form.

[2] The truth that the Lord appears to each individual person in a way suited to the kind of person he is may be recognized from the consideration that the Lord appears to those in the inmost or third heaven as the Sun from which light beyond description radiates, the reason being that those there are governed by the good of love to the Lord. He appears to those in the middle or second heaven as the Moon, the reason being that there they are governed by love to the Lord in a more remote and obscure way; for they are governed by love towards the neighbour. But the Lord does not appear to those in the lowest or first heaven either as the Sun or the Moon, only as Light, a light far more brilliant than light in the world. And since the Lord appears to each in a way suited to the kind of person he is, He cannot appear to those in hell as anything other than dark cloud and pitch darkness. For as soon as the light of heaven which comes from the Lord shines into any hell, darkness and thick darkness are produced there. From all this one may now recognize that the Lord appears to each individual person in a way suited to the kind of person he is, for this is suited to the way he receives the Lord. And since the descendants of Jacob were interested solely in things of an external nature, the Lord appeared to Moses in a bramble bush, and also in a cloud when Moses went in to the Lord on Mount Sinai.

[3] The reason why 'a flame' is God's love is that love in its earliest origin is nothing other than fire or flame from the Lord as the Sun. The fire or flame of this sun is what supplies each individual person with the being (esse) of his life; it is that life-giving fire which fills a person's interiors with warmth, as one may recognize from what happens with love. To the extent that love increases in a person he warms up; but to the extent that it diminishes he cools off. This explain s why, when the Lord appeared in a vision, He appeared as fire and flame, as in Ezekiel,

The appearance of the four living creatures (who were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps. It was moving between the living creatures as a bright fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. Above the firmament that was over their heads, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and over the likeness of a throne there was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it, above. And I saw the shape of burning coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about, from the appearance of His loins and upwards. But from the appearance of His loins and downwards I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it. Ezekiel 1:13, 26-28.

[4] Nobody can deny that all the several details of this vision are signs that represent aspects of the Divine; but unless one knows what is meant by 'the cherubs', 'the burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps', 'a throne', 'the appearance of a man upon it', 'his loins from which fire emanated upwards and downwards, and the brightness radiating from the fire', one can have no knowledge of the real holiness hidden within all those several details. 'The cherubs' are the Lord's Providence, see 308; 'the throne' is heaven, or - to be exact - Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord to form heaven, 5313; 'the appearance of a man upon the throne above' is plainly the Lord's Divine Human; and 'loins' are conjugial love and all heavenly love that derives from it, 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050, 5062. This love was represented by 'the shape of burning coal, as the shape of fire, whose brightness was round about it'.

[5] In Daniel,

I saw, until thrones had been placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was a flame of fire; His wheels were burning fire. A river of five issued and came forth from before Him. Daniel 7:9-10.

The Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love was seen in this vision too as a flame of fire. In John,

He who sat on the white horse, His eyes were like aflame of fire. Revelation 19:11-12.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Lord in respect of the Word, as is explicitly stated in verses 13, 16, of that chapter. Thus 'the flame of fire' is Divine Truth contained in the Word, which radiates from the Lord's Divine Goodness. In the same book,

In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe. His head and hair were white, like white wool, like snow; but His eyes were like a flame of fire. Revelation 1:13-14.

Here also 'eyes like a flame of fire' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Goodness.

[6] The meaning of 'a flame of fire' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is also evident in David,

The voice of Jehovah falls like a flame of fire. Psalms 29:7.

'The voice of Jehovah' stands for Divine Truth. In order that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good might be represented, the people were commanded to make a lampstand of pure gold with seven lamps and to place it in the tent of meeting by the table where the loaves of the presence were, and to keep the lamps burning unceasingly before Jehovah, Exodus 25:31-end; 37:17-24; 40:24-25; Leviticus 24:4; Numbers 8:2; Zechariah 4:2. The lampstand with its seven lamps served to represent Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good.

[7] In order also that Divine Good itself might be represented they were commanded to have perpetual fire on the altar,

Fire shall burn on the altar and not be put out; the priest shall kindle pieces of wood on it at every dawn. Fire shall burn unceasingly on the altar and not be put out. Leviticus 6:12-13.

The fact that the ancients were very well acquainted with the use of fire to represent Divine Love may be recognized from the spread of that representative from the Ancient Church even to nations far away whose worship was idolatrous and who, as is well known, established an everlasting sacred fire and placed in charge of it virgins, who were called the vestal virgins.

[8] In the contrary sense 'fire' and 'flame' mean filthy kinds of love, such as those of vengeance, cruelty, hatred, and adultery, and in general the cravings that spring from self-love and love of the world. This too is clear from very many places in the Word, of which let just the following be quoted: In Isaiah,

Behold, they have become as stubble, the fire has burned them; they do not save themselves from the power of the flame. ¹ There will be no coal to be warmed by [nor] fire to sit in front of. Isaiah 47:14.

In Ezekiel,

Behold, I will kindle in you a five, which will devour in you every green tree and every dry tree. The blazing flame ² will not be put out, and all faces from south to north will be scorched by it. Ezekiel 20:47.

Here 'fire' and 'flame' mean desires for what is evil and false which annihilate everything good and true in the Church, and thereby lay it waste.

[9] In Luke,

The rich man said to Abraham, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:24.

People who do not know that a person's vital heat has a different origin from that which is the source of elemental fire cannot possibly do anything else but think that by hell fire is meant fire like that found in the world. In the Word however this latter kind of fire is not meant but the fire of love, thus the fire of a person's life, emanating from the Lord as a Sun. And when this fire comes among those engrossed in pursuits contrary to it, it is turned into the fire of evil desires which, as stated above, belong to vengeance, hatred, and cruelty, and which well up from self-love and love of the world. This is the fire that torments those who are in hell, for when the restraint placed on their evil desires is relaxed, one sets upon another and they torment one another in dreadful and indescribable ways. For each has the wish for supremacy and wants to take from the other the things he has by hidden or open devices. When one or two have such desires hatreds consequently develop within the group, and these lead to the savage deeds that are performed, especially by the use of devices involving magic and the use of figments of the imagination, devices which are countless and totally unknown in the world.

[10] People who do not believe in the existence of spiritual things, especially those who worship nature, cannot at all be led to believe that the warmth present in living persons, which constitutes the actual life within them, has a different origin from that which is the source of worldly heat. For they are not even aware, let alone able to acknowledge, that there is a heavenly fire radiating from the Lord as a Sun, and that this Fire is pure love. Consequently they are unaware of countless instances in the Word in which no other kind of fire is meant; nor are they aware of countless manifestations of it in the human being, who is an organ made to receive that fire.

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