593. Verse 1. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, signifies the Lord as to the Word, here as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter. This is evident from the signification of a "strong angel," as being the Lord as to the Word (of which presently); it means as to the Word in its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, because it is from that sense that the Lord is called "strong," for all the strength and all the power of Divine truth exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word (of which also presently).

[2] Because it is the sense of the letter of the Word that is meant, therefore it is said that the angel was seen "coming down out of heaven." The like is said of the Word, which is the Divine truth; this comes down from the Lord through the heavens into the world, consequently it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels who are in the three heavens, and is also adapted to men who are in the natural world. For this reason the Word in its first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterward celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural; it is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, it is spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven who are called spiritual angels, and it is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and it is natural for men in the world; for so long as men live in a material body they think and speak naturally. This then is why the Word is with the angels of each heaven, but with a difference according to the degrees of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge [scientia]; and although it differs in its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word, because it is the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord that becomes Divine celestial when it comes down to the inmost or third heaven, and becomes Divine spiritual when it comes down therefrom to the middle or second heaven, and becomes Divine celestial-natural or spiritual-natural when it comes down from that heaven to the ultimate or first heaven, and when it comes down therefrom into the world becomes a Divine natural Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord Himself exist by virtue of correspondences, established from creation itself, between things higher and lower, respecting which, the Lord willing, more will be said hereafter.

[3] All strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine truth, thus in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, because this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, that is, of the spiritual and celestial (spoken of above); and as it is the containant it is also the base, and in the base lies strength itself. For if higher things do not rest upon their base they fall and are scattered. So would it be if the spiritual and celestial things of the Word did not rest upon its natural or literal sense, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, consequently the Word or Divine truth is not only in its power, but also in its fullness in this sense. (But on this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine is there in its fullness, n. 346, 567. That interior things flow in successively into exteriors, even into the most external or ultimate, and that they coexist there, see Arcana Coelestia 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216; that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous, in what order, n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099. That therefore there is strength and power in ultimates, n. 9836; that therefore responses and revelations were given in ultimates, n. 9905, 10548; that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors, n. 9824.) From this, too, it follows that everything of doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the literal sense of the Word, and that also doctrine has its power from that (See above, n. 356). This is why the "angel coming down out of heaven" is said to be "strong." That "angel" in the Word means in the highest sense the Lord, in a relative sense every recipient of Divine truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense Divine truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here, therefore, "angel" means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is Divine truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by "angel" can be seen from a like representation of the Lord Himself as to face and feet in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord:

That His face shone as the sun in his power, and that His feet were like unto burnished brass glowing in a furnace (verses Revelation 1:15, 16).

5168. 'As Joseph had interpreted to them' means as foretold by the celestial within the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'interpreting' as stating what the dream holds within itself or what lies within it, and also what was going to take place, dealt with in 5093, 5105, 5107, 5141, and so means a foretelling; and from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial within the natural, dealt with in 5086, 5087, 5106. As to what the words used here hold within them - namely the teaching that sensory impressions belonging to the understanding part were retained, whereas those belonging to the will part were cast aside - see above in 5157.

[2] This chapter deals in the internal sense with the subordination of the exterior natural, which has to be made subordinate so that it may serve the interior natural as a mirror for it, see 5165. Indeed unless it is made subordinate, interior forms of truth and good, and consequently interior thoughts possessing what is spiritual and celestial within them, do not have any place where they can be represented, for these manifest themselves so to speak in their own face or so to speak in a mirror. Therefore when no such subordination exists a person cannot possess any interior thought, or indeed any faith, since no ability exists, neither a weak nor a strong one, to grasp such matters, and therefore no discernment exists of them either. Only one thing can make the natural subordinate and bring it into a state of correspondence, and this is good that has innocence within it, a good which in the Word is called charity. Sensory impressions and factual knowledge are merely the means into which that good may flow, to present itself in a visual form and make itself available for every useful purpose it can serve. But even if it consisted of actual truths of faith, factual knowledge that has no good within it would be nothing else than scales amid filth, which fall off.

[3] But as regards the way in which good, relying on factual knowledge and the truths of faith as its means, causes exterior things to be restored to order and to be brought into correspondence with interior ones, this at the present day is less able to be understood than it was in former times. There are many reasons why this is so, the main one being that within the Church at the present day no charity exists any longer. For the final period of the Church has arrived and consequently no affection for knowing such things exists. This being so, a kind of aversion is instantly encountered when anything is mentioned which lies inside of or above sensory evidence, and consequently when anything from among such things as constitute angelic wisdom are expressed. Yet because such matters are contained in the internal sense - for what the internal sense contains is wholly suited to angels' wisdom - and because the internal sense of the Word is now being explained, those matters must be stated, however remote they may seem to be from sensory evidence.