6804. 'And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob' means on account of being joined to the Church through the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'the covenant' as a joining together, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', with whom a covenant had been made, as the Lord's Divine Human. 'Abraham' represents the Lord in respect of the Divine itself, 'Isaac' in respect of the Divine Rational, and 'Jacob' in respect of the Divine Natural, see 1893, 2011, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 3194, 3210, 3245, 3251, 3305 (end), 3439, 4538, 4570, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6425. When Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned in the Word those patriarchs are not meant in the spiritual sense, as may be recognized from the consideration that names never pass through into heaven. Only what is really meant by the people who are referred to - real things, the essential nature of real things, and the states of real things, that is to say, aspects of the Church, of the Lord's kingdom, and of the Lord Himself - passes through.

[2] But in addition to this the angels in heaven never fix their thoughts on specific persons; that would restrict their thoughts and remove them from that all-inclusive perception of real things that lies behind angelic speech. This explains why the things that the angels in heaven say are indescribable, far surpassing human thought, whose range does not extend to seeing things in their totality but is restricted to particular aspects. When one reads therefore in Matthew 8:11 that many will come from the east and the west and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, the angels perceive the Lord's presence and the way people make the truth and goodness emanating from His Divine Human their own. Also when one reads in Luke 16:22 that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom, the angels perceive that he was carried into heaven, where the Lord is present. This too goes to show that 'a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' means in the internal sense being joined through the Lord's Divine Human.

[3] The fact that the Divine Human is 'a covenant', that is, the actual joining together, may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

I will give You as a covenant of the people', a light of the nations. Isaiah 42:6.

In the same prophet,

I have given You as a covenant of the people, ¹ to restore the land, to share out the devastated inheritances. Isaiah 49:8.

In the same prophet,

Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, and let your soul live. So will I make with you an eternal covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a prince and lawgiver to the peoples. ² Isaiah 55:3-4.

In Malachi,

Suddenly there comes to His temple the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. Malachi 3:1

In the second Book of Samuel,

He has established an eternal covenant for Me, to be set in order for all and to be kept safe. 2 Samuel 23:5.

[4] These places plainly refer to the Lord and to the joining of the human race to the Lord's Divine Being itself through His Divine Human. In respect of His Divine Human the Lord is the Mediator, and no one can come to the Divine Being itself within the Lord, called the Father, except through the Son, that is, the Divine Human, as is well known in the Church. Thus the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the actual joining together. Can anyone in his thought begin to comprehend the Divine Being itself? And if he cannot do this in thought how can he be joined to the Divine itself in love? But the Divine Human anyone can comprehend in thought and be joined to in love.

[5] The meaning of 'a covenant' as a joining together may be seen in the fact that covenants between countries join them together. They are bargains made by both parties which must be kept if their alliance is to remain intact. These bargains or agreements are also called a covenant. On man's side the bargains or agreements that are called 'a covenant' in the Word are in a restricted sense the ten commandments or the Decalogue. In a wider sense they are all the statutes, orders, laws, testimonies, and commandments that the Lord decreed from Mount Sinai through Moses; and in an even wider sense they are the Books of Moses. The contents of these books were what the children of Israel were required on their side to carry out. On the Lord's side it is mercy and election.

[6] The ten commandments or the Decalogue are a covenant.

This is clear from the following places: In Moses,

Jehovah declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the ten words which He wrote on two tablets of stone. Deuteronomy 4:13, 23.

And since the two tablets of stone on which the ten commandments had been written were placed in the ark, Exodus 25:16, 21, 22, 31:18; 32:15, 16, 19; 40:20, the ark was called the ark of the covenant, Deuteronomy 31:9, 24-26; Joshua 3:3, 6, 14; 4:7; Judges 20:27; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 8:21. In the last of these references Solomon says,

I have made a place there for the ark, where there is the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers.

And in John,

The temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. Revelation 11:19.

[7] All the judgements and statutes which the Lord commanded the people of Israel through Moses are called a covenant; so too are the actual Books of Moses. In Moses,

According to the tenor ³ of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. Exodus 34:27.

What are called a covenant here were many regulations regarding sacrifices, feasts, and unleavened bread. In the same author,

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. Exodus 24:7-8.

In the second Book of Kings,

Josiah the king of Judah read before them all in the house of Jehovah the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of Jehovah. And he made a covenant before Jehovah, to establish the words of the covenant that were written in that book. And all the people took a stand on the covenant. The king commanded all the people to keep the Passover to Jehovah their God, in accordance with what was written in the book of the covenant. 2 Kings 23:2-3, 21.

In David,

If your sons keep My covenant and My testimony which I have taught them, their sons also will sit even forever on your throne. Psalms 132:12.

[8] A covenant is a joining together through love and faith.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers, for they made My covenant invalid. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Jeremiah 31:31-33.

'Putting the law in their midst, and writing it on their heart' is endowing with faith and charity, faith and charity being the means by which the joining together described by 'I will be their God, and they will be My people' is effected. In the same prophet,

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not any more turn away from them, and I will do good to them. But I will put My fear into their heart so that they do not depart from Me. Jeremiah 32:40.

A joining together through love, which is a covenant, is meant by 'I will put My fear into their heart so that they do not depart from Me'.

[9] In Ezekiel,

I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. And I will bless ⁴ them and will multiply them, and I will set a sanctuary in their midst, and it will be My dwelling-place among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Ezekiel 37:26-27.

Here a joining together through love and faith, which are a covenant, is described by 'a sanctuary in their midst' and 'dwelling-place among them', and by 'I will be their God, and they will be My people'. In the same prophet,

When I passed by you and saw you, behold, it was your time, the time of love; ⁵ and I entered into a covenant with you, so that you would be Mine. Ezekiel 16:8.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Ancient Church is meant, 'entering into a covenant, so that you would be Mine' plainly being a marriage or spiritual joining together. Since 'a covenant' means a joining together a wife is also called in Malachi 2:14 the wife of a covenant, while a joining together that exists among brothers is called in Amos 1:9 a covenant of brothers. 'A covenant' is also used in David to mean a joining together,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant. Psalms 89:3.

[10] The agreement in a covenant on the Lord's side is mercy and election. This is clear in David,

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth to those keeping His covenant and His testimonies. Psalms 25:10.

In Isaiah,

The mountains will depart and the hills be removed, but My mercy will not depart from you, nor the covenant of My peace be removed, said Jehovah, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10.

In Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God keeping covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to the thousandth generation. Deuteronomy 7:9, 11.

In the same author,

If you keep My covenant, you will be to Me a peculiar treasure from among all peoples. Exodus 19:5.

In the same author,

I will have regard for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and confirm My covenant with you. Leviticus 26:9.

'Having regard for them' is viewing with mercy. 'Making them fruitful and multiplying them' is endowing with charity and faith, and those endowed with them are called 'the elect'. Thus the words used here have to do with election and so do those which say that they will be 'a peculiar treasure'.

[11] In the representative Church they also had signs of the covenant. These served to remind people of the joining together. Circumcision was one such sign, Genesis 17:11; for circumcision was a sign meaning purification from filthy loves. After these loves are removed, heavenly love is introduced, through which a joining together is effected. The sabbath too is called an eternal covenant, Exodus 31:16; and of the loaves of the presence it is said that to the children of Israel they should be for an eternal covenant, Leviticus 24:8-9. Blood in particular was a sign, as is clear in Moses,

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. Then Moses took the blood of the sacrifice of a peace-offering and sprinkled it over the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you, upon all these words. Exodus 24:7-8.

In Zechariah,

Through the blood of your covenant I will let out the bound ones from the pit in which there is no water. Zechariah 9:11.

'The blood' was the covenant or sign of the covenant because it meant a joining together through spiritual love, that is, through charity towards the neighbour. This was why, when the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, He called His blood 'the blood of the new covenant', Matthew 26:28. From all this one may now see what 'the covenant' is used to mean in the internal sense of the Word.

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63. (Verse 13) And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man. That this signifies the Lord, from whom is the all of heaven and of the church, is evident from the signification of "in the midst," as denoting in the inmost (see Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and, because all things proceed from the inmost as light from the centre into the circumferences, therefore, "in the midst," signifies from whom. This is evident also from the signification of the seven lampstands, as denoting the New Heaven and the New Church (concerning which see above, n. 62); and from the signification of the Son of man, as denoting the Lord as to the Divine Human, and also as to Divine truth, because this proceeds from His Divine Human. From these considerations it is evident that the Lord appeared in the midst of seven lampstands, because from Him proceeds the all of heaven and of the church; for the good of love and the good of faith constitute heaven and the church, and that these are from the Divine is known in the Christian world, and because they are from the Divine, they are from the Lord, because the Lord is the God of heaven, and because the Divine of the Lord makes heaven (see the work, Heaven and Hell 2-6, and n. 7-12; and that this is His Divine Human, n. 78-86).

[2] That by the Son of man is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, and also as to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human, is evident from those passages in the Word where mention is made of the Son of man. Thus in John:

The multitude said unto Jesus, "How sayest thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Jesus answered them, Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light" (12:34-36).

From these words it is clear that by the Son of man is signified the same as by light; for when they inquired, "Who is this Son of man?" the Lord answered that He was the light in which they should believe. (That light is the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 49; thus also that the Son of man is the Divine truth.) It is said in Luke:

[3] "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake" (6:22).

For the Son of man's sake is for the sake of the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord. Divine truth is the all of faith and love to the Lord; and because they who are evil deny those things, and they who deny also hate them, and the good acknowledge them, therefore it is said, that these latter are blessed. Again, in the same:

[4] "The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say to you, Behold here, or behold there; go not away, nor follow them" (17:22, 23).

To desire one of the days of the Son of man, is to desire something of genuine Divine truth. The end of the church is there meant, when there will be no longer any faith, because no charity, at which time all Divine truth will perish; and because Divine truth is signified by the Son of man, therefore it is said, "Then shall they say, Behold here, or behold there; follow them not." And in the same:

[5] "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (18:8);

that is, when Divine truth shall be revealed out of heaven, it will not be believed. The Son of man, in this place also, is the Lord as to Divine truth; the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church. (See Arcana Coelestia 3900, 4060.)

[6] And in Matthew:

"As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory" (24:27, 30).

(That by the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven, is there signified the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church, may be seen above, n. 36.)

[7] And in the same:

"I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (26:64).

And in Luke:

"Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God" (22:69).

The Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, and as to Divine truth proceeding from It; to sit on the right hand of power, means that He has omnipotence; its being said that they should see this now, means, that Divine truth was in its omnipotence when the Lord in the world had conquered the hells, and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and that thus those would be saved who should receive Him in faith and love. (See Arcana Coelestia 9715. That to sit on the right hand denotes omnipotence, may be seen Arcana Coelestia 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133; that all the power of good is by truth, n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643. That Divine power itself is by Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, see n. 6948; that the clouds in which the Son of man will come are the Word in the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimate of order, see the preface to the eighteenth chapter of Genesis, Arcana Coelestia 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that glory is the Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.)

[8] From these considerations it is now evident what is signified by these words in the Apocalypse:

"I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown" (14:14).

And in Daniel:

"I saw in the visions of the night, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of the heavens" (7:13).

Because all judgment is executed from truth, therefore it is said, that it is given to the Lord "to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:27); and that "the Son of man shall render to every one according to his deeds" (Matthew 16:27); and that "when the Son of man shall come, he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and shall judge" (Matthew 25:31).

[9] And again in Matthew, it is said:

"He who soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil" (13:37, 38).

The good seed is Divine truth, therefore it is said that the Son of man soweth it; the sons of the kingdom are Divine truths in heaven and the church; for son denotes truth (see Arcana Coelestia 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and, in an opposite sense, falsity, which also is the son of evil.

[10] In the same:

"The Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (8:20);

by which is signified, that Divine truth had not a place anywhere, or with any man, at that time. Again it is said, that the Son of man would suffer and be put to death (Matthew 17:12, 22; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31); by which is signified, that thus they would treat Divine truth, consequently the Lord, who was Divine truth itself, as He also teaches in Luke:

"The Son of man must first suffer, and be rejected of this generation" (17:25).

[11] In Jeremiah:

"No man [vir] shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man [hominis] abide there" (49:18, 33).

In the same:

In the cities "no man shall dwell, nor shall a son of man pass through them" (51:43).

He who is not acquainted with the spiritual sense of the Word, believes that by cities here are meant cities, and that by man, and by a son of man, are meant a man and a son; also, that the cities were thus to be desolated, so that no one should be in them; but it is the state of the church as to the doctrine of truth which is described by those words; for cities denote the doctrinals of the church (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493); and man is the essential truth thereof, conjoined with good (see n. 3134, 7716, 9007); thus the Son of man is truth. Because the Son of man signified Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, therefore the prophets also, through whom it was revealed, were called "sons of man," as Daniel (8:17); and Ezekiel (2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5, 6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27). As most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has the signification of a son of man, which in that sense denotes falsity opposed to truth. Thus in Isaiah:

"What art thou, that thou fearest man? he dies; and a son of man? he is as grass" (51:12).

And in David:

"Place not your trust in princes, in a son of man, with whom there is no salvation" (Psalm 146:3).

Princes denote primary truths (see Arcana Coelestia 2089, 5044); thus, in an opposite sense, primary falsities; and son of man denotes falsity itself.