2921. 'My lord, you are a prince of God in the midst of us' means the Lord as regards Divine good and truth with them. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lord' and of 'a prince of God', and from the meaning of 'in the midst of us'. The fact that the expression 'lord' is used when good is the subject is clear from the Old Testament Word, for there Jehovah is sometimes called Jehovah, sometimes God, sometimes Lord, sometimes Jehovah God, sometimes Lord Jehovih, sometimes Jehovah Zebaoth, and always for a hidden reason which cannot be known except from the internal sense. In general when the celestial things of love, that is, when good, are dealt with, the name Jehovah is used, but when the spiritual things of faith are dealt with, the name God is used. And when both together are dealt with, the names Jehovah God are used. When however the Divine power of good, that is, when omnipotence is the subject, Jehovah Zebaoth (or Jehovah of Hosts), and also the Lord, are used; so that the names Jehovah Zebaoth and the name the Lord have the same sense and meaning. From this also, that is to say, from the power of good, men and angels are called 'lords', and in the contrary sense those are called servants or slaves who have no power at all or else have a power received from their lords. From these considerations it becomes clear that here 'my lord' in the internal sense means the Lord as regards good, which in what follows below will be illustrated from the Word. 'A prince of God' however means the Lord as regards the power of truth, that is, as regards truth, as becomes clear from the meaning of 'a prince' or 'princes' as first and foremost truths, dealt with in 1482, 2089, and from the fact that the phrase 'a prince of God' is used, for the name God is used when truth is dealt with but the name Jehovah when good is dealt with, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822. As regards 'in the midst of us' meaning among them or present with them, this is clear without explanation.

[2] That in the Old Testament Word the names Jehovah Zebaoth and the name Lord have the same sense and meaning is clear in Isaiah,

The zeal of Jehovah Zebaoth will do this; the Lord has sent a word into Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. Isaiah 9:7-8.

Elsewhere in the same prophet,

A mighty king will have dominion over them, said the Lord, Jehovah Zebaoth. Isaiah 19:4.

In Malachi,

Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says Jehovah Zebaoth. Malachi 3:1.

More plainly, in Isaiah,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Woe is me! For I am cut off; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah Zebaoth. And I heard the voice of the Lord. Isaiah 6:1-3, 5, 8.

From these places it is evident that Jehovah Zebaoth and the Lord have the same meaning.

[3] But 'the Lord Jehovih' is used more particularly when the help of omnipotence is sought and prayed for, as in Isaiah,

Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovih will come with might, and His arm will exercise dominion for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will pasture His flock like a shepherd. Isaiah 40:9-11.

For further examples of this use of 'the Lord Jehovih', see Isaiah 25:8; 40:10; 48:16; 50:4-5, 7, 9; 61:1; Jeremiah 2:22; Ezekiel 8:1; 11:13, 17, 21; 12:10, 19, 28; 13:8, 13, 16, 18, 20; 14:4, 6, 11, 18, 20-21; Micah 1:2; Psalms 71:5, 16; and many other places.

[4] What is more, in the Old Testament Word 'the Lord' entails the same as 'Jehovah', that is to say, 'the Lord' is used when good is dealt with, and therefore also the Lord is distinguished from God in the same way as Jehovah is from God; as in Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deuteronomy 10:17.

In David,

Confess the God of gods, for His mercy is for ever; confess the Lord of lords, for His mercy is for ever. Psalms 136:1-3.

[5] But nowhere in the New Testament Word, neither in the Gospels nor in the Book of Revelation, is Jehovah used. Instead of Jehovah the name the Lord occurs - for hidden reasons to be dealt with below. The fact that in the New Testament Word the Lord is used instead of Jehovah is quite clear in Mark,

Jesus said, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your thought, and with all your strength. Mark 12:29-30.

The same is expressed in Moses as follows,

Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

Here it is evident that the name 'the Lord' is used instead of Jehovah. Likewise in John,

I looked, and behold, a throne had been set in heaven, with one seated upon the throne. Around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. Each had for himself six wings round about him, and was full of eyes within. They were saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God omnipotent. Revelation 4:2, 6, 8.

This is described in Isaiah as follows,

I saw the Lord seated upon a throne, high and lifted up. Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. One called to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth. Isaiah 6:1-3, 5, 8.

In this case 'the Lord' is used instead of 'Jehovah', that is, 'the Lord God omnipotent' instead of 'Jehovah Zebaoth'. The fact that the four living creatures are the seraphim or cherubs is evident in Ezekiel 1:5, 13-15, 19 and following verses; 10:15. That in the New Testament 'the Lord' is Jehovah is also clear from many other places, as in Luke,

An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. Luke 1:11.

'An angel of the Lord' is used instead of 'an angel of Jehovah'. In the same chapter the angel told Zechariah regarding his son,

He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Luke 1:16.

'To the Lord their God' is used instead of 'to Jehovah their God'. Also in the same chapter, the angel told Mary regarding Jesus,

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David. Luke 1:32.

'The Lord God' is used instead of 'Jehovah God'. Still in the same chapter,

Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:46-47.

Here also 'the Lord' is used instead of 'Jehovah'. And again in the same chapter, Zechariah prophesied, saying,

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. Luke 1:68.

'The Lord God' is used instead of 'Jehovah God'. In the same gospel,

An angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:9.

'An angel of the Lord' and 'the glory of the Lord' are used instead of 'an angel of Jehovah' and 'the glory of Jehovah'. In Matthew,

Blessed is He coming in the name of the Lord. Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Luke 13:35; John 12:13.

'In the name of the Lord' is used instead of 'in the name of Jehovah'. There are many other places besides all these, such as Luke 1:28; 2:15, 22-24, 29, 38-39; 5:17; Mark 12:10-11.

[6] Among the hidden reasons why people called Jehovah the Lord were the following: If when the Lord was in the world they had been told that He was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, see 1736, they would not have accepted it because they would not have believed it. And there is the further reason that as regards the Human the Lord did not become Jehovah until He had in every respect united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, see 1725, 1729, 1733, 1745, 1815, 2156, 2751. These became fully united after the final temptation, which was that of the Cross; and it was for this reason that after the Resurrection the disciples always called Him Lord, John 20:2, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25; 21:7, 12, 15-17, 20; Mark 16:19-20; and Thomas said,

My Lord and my God. John 20:28.

And as the Lord was the Jehovah mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, therefore He also told the disciples,

You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If therefore I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers' feet. John 13:13-14, 16.

These words mean that He was Jehovah God, for in this instance He is called 'Lord' as regards good, but 'Master' as regards truth. That the Lord was Jehovah is also meant by the angel's words to the shepherds,

To you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11.

'Christ' is used instead of 'Messiah', 'Anointed One', and 'King', 'the Lord, instead of 'Jehovah' - 'Christ' having regard to truth, 'the Lord' to good. Anyone who does not examine the Word carefully cannot know this, for he believes that our Saviour was called Lord because this was an everyday expression that was used to offer respect to Him, as to others, when in reality He was so called by virtue of His being Jehovah.

10659. 'Because in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt' means because then there was deliverance from hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'the month of Abib' as the beginning of a new state, as immediately above in 10658; and from the meaning of 'coming out of Egypt' as deliverance from molestation by falsities, thus also from hell, dealt with in 9292, and in the places referred to in 8866, 9197. From all this it becomes clear that the feast of Passover, which was also called the feast of unleavened bread, was established for a remembrance of the Lord's deliverance of mankind from hell. This deliverance was accomplished by the Lord's subduing of the hells and glorifying of His Human, see just above in 10655.

[2] The majority of people within the Church believe that the Lord came into the world to reconcile the Father through the passion of the Cross, after which those for whom He interceded would be accepted. They also believe that He released mankind from damnation by the fulfillment - by Himself alone - of the law, which otherwise would have condemned everyone; and thus that all who held to that belief with confidence and assurance would be saved. But those with any enlightenment from heaven can see how wrong it is to think that the Divine, who is Love itself and Mercy itself, could cast the human race away from Himself and condemn them to hell; that He had of necessity to be reconciled by the passion of His Son on the Cross; that His Mercy was not aroused by anything other than this; that afterwards no one would be condemned for the way he lived, provided he held with confidence to belief in that reconciliation; and that all salvation is accomplished through faith or belief instilled out of mercy. Those who think and believe such things cannot see anything at all; they speak but have no understanding of anything. Mysteries therefore is what they call those things which are to be believed but not by any means understood. From this it follows that any enlightenment from the Word showing that the situation is different from what they suppose it to be is rejected; for light from heaven cannot enter where such dimness resulting from contradictory ideas prevails. The word 'dimness' is used to describe that which is not understood at all.

[3] But to those who receive enlightenment the Lord imparts an ability to understand the things they believe. Those who acknowledge the Lord and love to lead a life in keeping with His commandments are the ones who are enlightened when they read the Word and who have an understanding of it, not those who say they believe and do not lead such a life. For the Lord flows into a person's life and from this into his belief, but not into a person's belief separate from his life. What those who are enlightened by the Lord through the Word understand is that the Lord came into the world to subdue the hells and to restore everything there and in the heavens to order, which could not by any means have been accomplished except through His Human; for He was able from the Human, but not from the Divine without the Human, to fight against the hells. Their understanding is that He also came into the world to glorify His Human, in order that through that glorified Human all things restored to order by Him might be maintained forever in that condition. From this comes the salvation of mankind. For every person is surrounded by the hells; each one is born into evils of every kind, and where evils exist, so do the hells. And unless these had been thrown back by the Lord's Divine Power no one at all could have been saved. These are the things which the Word teaches and which are discerned by all who let the Lord into their life, these, as stated above, being people who acknowledge Him and love to lead a life in keeping with His commandments. See what has been quoted and shown from the Word in 9937, 10019, 10152, 10579, and many other places.

[4] Being led away from evils, being regenerated, and so being saved is all an act of Mercy. This Mercy however does not operate by direct intervention, as people believe, but indirectly, that is, in those who depart from evils and so let the truth of faith and the good of love from the Lord into their life. The direct intervention of mercy, which everyone would experience if no more than God's good pleasure were necessary, is contrary to Divine order; and what is contrary to Divine order is contrary to God, since order begins in God and what is Divine and His in heaven constitutes order. When people accept order in themselves they are saved, and this comes about solely as a result of their leading a life in keeping with the Lord's commandments. The regeneration of a person takes place to the end that he may accept the order of heaven within himself; and that regeneration is accomplished by means of faith and the life of faith, which is charity. Anyone who has that order within him is in heaven, and also presents a kind of image of heaven; but anyone who does not have it is in hell and presents a kind of image of hell. One cannot by any means be changed and transformed into the other by any direct intervention of mercy, since they are opposites; for evil is the opposite of good, and good has life and heaven within it, whereas evil has death and hell within it. The impossibility for one to be transformed into the other is the Lord's teaching in Luke,

Abraham said to the rich man in hell, Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass across from here to you cannot, nor can those who are there pass across to us. Luke 16:26.

Furthermore if the direct intervention of mercy were possible all people in the world, however many, would be saved, and hell would not exist; for the Lord, being Love itself which desires the salvation of all and the death of none, is Mercy itself.