9406. 'And under His feet' means the lowest level of meaning, which is that of the letter itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, so that the soles under the feet are the lowest things in the natural order. The reason why the lowest level of meaning in the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is meant here by 'under the feet' is that these words refer to Divine Truth or the Word, which comes from the Lord and is the Lord, as may be recognized from what has come before. And the lowest level of God's truth or the Word is the Word as it exists in the sense of the letter, that is, the natural sense since it is intended for the natural man. The fact that the sense of the letter contains an internal sense, which in comparison is spiritual and heavenly, is clear from all those things which have been shown up to now regarding the Word. But the more worldly- and bodily-minded a person is, the less he understands this, because he does not allow himself to be raised into spiritual light and from there to see what the Word is like, namely that in the letter it is natural and in the internal sense is spiritual. For it is possible to see from the spiritual world or the light of heaven what lower things down to the lowest are like, but not from below upwards, 9401 (end), and so to see that the Word in the letter is as described above.

[2] Since the Word in the letter is natural, and natural things are meant by 'the feet', the lowest level of the Word, like the lowest of the Church, is called 'the place of Jehovah's feet', also 'His footstool', ¹ as well as 'clouds and darkness' in comparison, as in Isaiah,

They will keep Your gates open continually, to bring to You the army ² of the nations, and their kings in procession. ³ The glory of Lebanon will come to You, the fir, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. Isaiah 60:11, 13.

This refers to the Lord and to His kingdom and Church. 'The army of the nations' is used to mean those with whom forms of the good of faith exist, and 'kings' to mean those with whom the truths of faith are present. For the meaning of 'nations' as those with whom forms of the good of faith exist, see 1259, 1328, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, and for that of 'kings' as those with whom truths are present, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. 'The glory of Lebanon', or the cedar, is spiritual good and truth; 'the fir, the pine, and the box tree' are corresponding, natural forms of good and truth; 'the place of the sanctuary' is heaven and the Church, and the Word as well; 'the place of the feet' is heaven, the Church, and the Word as well, on their lowest levels. The reason why the Word as well is meant is that heaven is heaven, and the Church likewise the Church, by virtue of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and Divine Truth which makes the Church and heaven is the Word. This also explains why the inmost part of the tent in which the ark containing the law was is called 'the sanctuary'; for 'the law' is the Word, 6752. In the same prophet,

The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool. Isaiah 66:1.

[3] In David,

Exalt Jehovah our God, and worship at His footstool. Holy is He! Moses and Aaron were among His priests; He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. Psalms 99:5-7.

'Jehovah's footstool' which they were to worship at is Divine Truth on its lowest levels, thus the Word. 'Moses and Aaron' in the representative sense are the Word, see 7089, 7382, 9373, 9374, and 'cloud' is the Word in the letter or Divine Truth on its lowest levels, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8781; and from all this it is evident what 'speaking in the pillar of cloud' means.

[4] In the same author,

We heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places, and we will bow down at His footstool. Psalms 132:6-7.

This refers to the Lord and the revelation of Himself in the Word. 'Finding Him in Ephrathah' means doing so in the spiritual-celestial sense of the Word, 4585, 4594, 'in the fields of the wood' in the natural or literal sense of the Word, 3220, 9011 (end). 'Footstool' stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it exists on the lowest levels of the Word.

[5] In the same author,

Jehovah bowed heaven, and thick darkness was under His feet. He made darkness His hiding-place - darkness of waters, clouds of the heavens. From the brightness before Him His clouds passed away. Psalms 18:9, 11-12.

This refers to the Lord's coming and presence in the Word. 'Thick darkness under His feet' stands for the sense of the letter of the Word, as does 'darkness of waters' and 'clouds of the heavens'. The fact that this very sense holds within itself Divine Truth as this exists in the heavens is meant by 'He made darkness His hiding-place'; and the fact that at the presence of the Lord the internal sense then appears, as it exists in heaven, and in its glory, is meant by 'from the brightness before Him His clouds pass away'. In Nahum,

The way of Jehovah is in storm and tempest, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Nahum 1:3.

Here also 'the clouds' stands for the Word in the sense of the letter, which is also meant by 'storm and tempest', in which 'the way of Jehovah' lies.

[6] When God's truth as it is in heaven shines through for a person in the actual sense of the letter, this sense is then portrayed as 'the feet', which have a shine 'like that of burnished bronze', as also in Daniel,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a Man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and His body was like tarshish; ⁴ and His face was like the appearance ⁵ of lightning, and His eyes were like fiery torches; His arms and His feet were like the shine of burnished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a crowd. Daniel 10:5-6.

Here 'a Man clothed in linen' is used to mean in the highest sense the Lord; and since the Lord is meant it is also used to mean Divine Truth emanating from Him. For Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself in heaven and in the Church. God's truth or the Lord on lowest levels is meant by 'arms and feet like the shine of burnished bronze', and also by 'the sound of His words like the sound of a crowd'; and something similar is meant in Ezekiel 1:7.

[7] The successive state of the Church on this planet so far as reception of God's truth emanating from the Lord is concerned is also meant by the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel,

The head of the statue was gold, its breast and its arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, its feet were partly iron and partly clay which did not cohere with each other. And the stone cut out of the rock smashed to pieces the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Daniel 2:32-35, 43, 45.

The first state of the Church so far as reception of God's truth emanating from the Lord is concerned is 'the gold', because 'gold' means celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 8932. The second state is meant by 'the silver', this being spiritual good, which is the good of faith in the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, 1551, 2954, 5658, 7999. The third state is meant by 'the bronze', which is natural good, 425, 1551. And the fourth state is meant by 'the iron', which is natural truth, 425, 426. 'The clay' means falsity, which does not cohere with truth and good. The smashing to pieces of the iron, bronze, silver, and gold by the stone cut out of the rock means the destruction of the Church so far as reception of truth from the Word is concerned when the sense of the letter of the Word is used to reinforce falsity and evil. This happens when the Church is in its final state, at which time it is no longer governed by any heavenly love, only by worldly and bodily love. This was how it was with the Word so far as reception of it among the Jewish nation was concerned when the Lord came into the world. And it is how it is with the Word among the majority at the present day. They are not even aware that there is anything inwardly present in the Word; and if they were told that there is and what it is like they would not accept it. Yet in most ancient times, which are meant by 'the gold', people saw within the sense of the letter of the Word nothing apart from what was heavenly, almost independently of the letter.

From all this it may now be recognized that 'the God of Israel' and what was seen 'under His feet' means the Word on its lowest level of meaning, which is the sense of the letter.

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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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