97. He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. That this signifies from whom is life to all in the New Heaven and the New Church, is evident from the signification of walking, as being to live; and when said of the Lord, as being life itself (concerning which more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of seven golden lampstands, as being all in the New Heaven and in the New Church (concerning which see above, n. 62). Hence it is clear that the reason why the Lord was seen in the midst of the lampstands, was, that the midst signifies the inmost; the lampstands signify heaven and the church, and walking signifies life, and to be in the midst, when said of the Lord, signifies to be in all things that are round about; therefore it was hereby represented that all the life of faith and of love in heaven and in the church is from Him (as may be seen above, n. 84. That the midst denotes the inmost and the centre from which is all influx, see Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973, 7777. That the Lord is the common centre from whom is all direction and determination in heaven, see the work, Heaven and Hell 123, 124. That the propagation of the light of heaven, which is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, from which the angels have intelligence and wisdom, takes place also from the midst into those who are round about, may be seen in the same, n. 43, 50, 189). That to walk signifies to live, and, when said of the Lord, life itself, is from appearances in the spiritual world, where all walk according to their life, the evil in those ways that lead to hell, but the good in those ways only that lead to heaven; therefore all spirits are known there from the ways wherein they walk. Ways are really seen, but by the evil only the ways that lead to hell, and by the good only the ways that lead to heaven; by this means every one is brought to his own society; it is from this circumstance that to walk signifies to live. (Concerning these ways, and concerning walking therein in the spiritual world, see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell 195, 479, 534, 590; and in the small work, The Last Judgment 48.)

[2] That in the Word ways signify truths or falsities, and that to walk signifies to live, is evident from several passages therein: a few only shall here be adduced by way of confirmation. Thus in Isaiah:

We have sinned against Jehovah "nor would they walk in his ways, neither have they heard his law" (42:24).

And in Moses:

"If ye shall keep all these commandments, by loving Jehovah your God, by walking in all his ways" (Deuteronomy 11:22).

And again:

"Thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, by loving Jehovah thy God, and walking in his ways all the days" (Deuteronomy 19:9; 26:17).

Again:

"I will set my dwelling place in the midst of you, and I will walk in the midst of you, and I will be to you for a God" (Leviticus 26:11, 12).

Again:

"Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, and therefore shall thy camp be holy" (Deuteronomy 23:14).

And in Isaiah:

"Remember now, Jehovah, that I have walked before thee in truth" (38:3).

Again:

"Entering into peace, walking in uprightness" (57:2).

And in Malachi:

"In peace and in uprightness hath he walked with me (2:6).

And in David:

"Thou hast delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living" (Psalm 56:13).

And in John:

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (8:12).

In the same:

"Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light" (12:35, 36).

And in Mark:

"The Pharisees and Scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders?" (7:5.)

And in Moses:

"If ye walk contrary to me, and will not hearken unto me, I will also walk contrary to you" (Leviticus 26:21, 23, 24, 27).

And in Isaiah:

"The people that walk in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow [of death], upon them hath the light shined" (9:2).

And in Micah:

"All people walk in the name of their god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God" (4:5).

And in Isaiah:

"Who among you feareth Jehovah? who walketh in darkness, and hath no light?" (50:10);

besides many other passages, as in Jeremiah 26:4; Ezekiel 5:6; 20:13, 16; Micah 4:5; Zechariah 10:12; Luke 1:6. From these passages it is evident that by walking, in the spiritual sense, is signified to live; and because it signifies to live, therefore, when said of the Lord, as in this passage, life itself is signified; for the Lord is life itself, and all others are recipients of life from Him (as may be seen above, n. 82, 84).

589. THE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

For anything to come into existence there must be an equilibrium of all things. Without equilibrium there is no action and reaction; for equilibrium is between two forces, one acting and the other reacting, and the state of rest resulting from like action and reaction is called equilibrium. In the natural world there is an equilibrium in all things and in each thing. It exists in a general way even in the atmospheres, wherein the lower parts react and resist in proportion as the higher parts act and press down. Again, in the natural world there is an equilibrium between heat and cold, between light and shade, and between dryness and moisture, the middle condition being the equilibrium. There is also an equilibrium in all the subjects of its three kingdoms, the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal; for without equilibrium in them nothing can come forth and have permanent existence. Everywhere there is a sort of effort acting on the one side and reacting on the other.

[2] All existence or all effect is produced in equilibrium, that is, by one force acting and another suffering itself to be acted upon, or when one force by acting flows in, the other receives and harmoniously submits. In the natural world that which acts and reacts is called force, and also effort; but in the spiritual world that which acts and reacts is called life and will. Life in that world is living force, and will is living effort; and the equilibrium itself is called freedom. Thus spiritual equilibrium or freedom comes into existence and continues to exist between good acting on the one side and evil reacting on the other side; or between evil acting on the one side and good reacting on the other side.

[3] With the good, the equilibrium is between good acting and evil reacting; but with the evil, the equilibrium is between evil acting and good reacting. Spiritual equilibrium is between good and evil, because the whole life of man has reference to good and to evil, and the will is the receptacle. There is also an equilibrium between truth and falsity, but this depends on the equilibrium between good and evil. The equilibrium between truth and falsity is like that between light and shade, to the extent that light and shade affect the subjects of the vegetable kingdom only so far as heat and cold are in them. That light and shade themselves have no effect, but only the heat that acts through them, can be confirmed from the fact that light and shade are the same in winter time and in spring time. This comparison of truth and falsity with light and shade is from correspondence, for truth corresponds to light, falsity to shade, and heat to the good of love; in fact, spiritual light is truth, spiritual shade is falsity, and spiritual heat is the good of love (see the section where light and heat in heaven are treated of; 126-140.)