90. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, signifies those who receive goods and truths from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of the "seven stars," as being goods and truths, all from the Lord see above, n. 72; also from the signification of "angels," as being those in the heavens who are in like correspondent good and truth with those in the church (of which more in what follows); also from the signification of "seven churches," as being all those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, thus all who are of the church (See above, n. 20). From this taken together, it follows as a conclusion that by "the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" are signified all who receive goods and truths from the Lord.

By "angels" are here signified those who in heaven are in like correspondent good and truth with those in the church, because the universal heaven is divided into societies, and the societies are arranged according to the affections of good and truth in general and in particular. These societies correspond to those on earth who are in like affections of good and truth. All these societies are called "angels," and each one is called an "angel;" and a society also when viewed from a distance, and when so presented as to be seen as a one, appears as a single angel (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 62, 68-72). Moreover, there is a complete correspondence of heaven with the church, or of the angels of heaven with the men of the church; through this correspondence heaven makes a one with the church. From this it is clear what is here signified by the "angels of the seven churches," and in the following chapter by the "angel" of each church, where it is said, "Write to the angel of the Ephesian church," "to the angel of the church of the Smyrneans," "to the angel of the Pergmean church," "to the angel of the church of Thyatira," "to the angel of the church in Sardis," "to the angel of the Philadelphian church," and "to the angel of the Laodicean church;" the command evidently was to write, not to angels but to churches, that is, to those who are in such good and truth from the Lord and who are described by each church (of whom we shall treat in what follows). (That in the Word by "angel" nothing else is meant but good and truth which are from the Lord with angel and man, will be more fully shown in the following pages; in the meantime see what is shown concerning the heavens and the angelic societies in the work on Heaven and Hell, since without knowledge of these things from that source, what is said of angels in the following pages can be but little understood; for knowledge must precede if the understanding is to be illustrated.)

3387. 'For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah' means that it was impossible for Divine Truths themselves to be disclosed, and so for Divine Good to be received. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to say' as an inability to disclose; from the meaning of 'wife', who is Rebekah here, as the Lord's Divine Rational in respect to Divine Truth, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3077; from the meaning of 'killing me' as good not being received, for 'Isaac', to whom 'me' refers here, represents the Divine Good of the Lord's Rational, 3012, 3194, 3210 - good being said 'to be killed' or to perish when it is not received, for it ceases to exist with that person; and from the meaning of 'the men of the place' as people who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith, dealt with just above in 3385. From these meanings it is now evident what the internal sense of these words is, namely: If Divine truths themselves were disclosed they would not be received by those who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith because those truths go beyond the whole range of their rational grasp of things, and so go beyond the whole of their faith, and as a consequence of this no good at all could flow in from the Lord. For good from the Lord, or Divine good, cannot flow in except into truths, for truths are the vessels for good, as shown many times.

[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given to a person to enable Divine Good to develop the understanding part of his mind, and so the person himself, for truths exist to the end that good may flow in. Indeed without vessels or receptacles good has nowhere to go, for it can find no condition answering to itself. Where no truths exist therefore, that is, where they have not been received, neither does any rational or human good exist; and as a consequence the person does not possess any spiritual life. Therefore, so that a person may nevertheless possess truths, and from these receive spiritual life, appearances of truth are given, to everyone according to his ability to grasp them; and these appearances are acknowledged as truths because they have the capacity to hold Divine things within them.

[3] So that it may be known what appearances are and that they are what serve a person as Divine truths, let the following be used by way of illustration: If man were told that in heaven angels have no concept of place, and so no concept of distance, but that instead they have concepts of state, he could not possibly grasp it, for he would suppose from this that nothing distinct and separate existed but that everything was fused together, that is to say, all the angels were together in a single place. Yet everything there is so distinct and separate that nothing could ever be more so. Places, distances, and intervals of space which exist in the natural order exist in heaven as states, see 3356. From this it is evident that all the things that are stated in the Word about places and intervals of space between objects, also ideas that are formed from these and expressed through them, are appearances of truth; and unless everything were stated by means of those appearances it would in no way be received and would as a consequence be scarcely anything; for the concept of space and time is present in almost every single detail of a person's thought as long as he is in the world, that is, living within space and time.

[4] The fact that the Word speaks according to appearances involving space is clear from almost every single part of it, as in Matthew,

Jesus said, How is it that David says, The Lord [said] to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? Matthew 22:43-44.

Here the expression 'sitting at the right hand' is derived from the concept of place and so according to the appearance - when in fact it is a state of the Lord's Divine power which is described by that expression. In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

Here similarly 'sitting at the right hand' and also 'coming on clouds' are expressions derived from men's concept of place, whereas the concept angels have is one of the state of the Lord's power. In Mark,

The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus replied, To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:37, 40.

From this it is evident what kind of concept the disciples had of the Lord's kingdom, that is to say, one that involved sitting on the right hand and on the left. Such being the concept they had of it the Lord also replied to them in a way they could understand and so by an appearance that could be seen by them.

[5] In David,

Like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoices as a mighty man to run the course. From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Psalms 19:5-6.

This refers to the Lord, the state of whose Divine power is described by means of such things as belong to space. In Isaiah,

How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You said in your heart, I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God ¹ I will raise my throne. I will go up above the heights of the clouds. Isaiah 14:12-14.

'Falling from heaven', 'going up the heavens', 'raising a throne above the stars of God', 'going up above the heights of the clouds' are all expressions derived from the concept and appearance of space or a place, and are used to describe self-love profaning holy things. Since celestial and spiritual things are presented to man by means of and according to visual objects like these, heaven too is therefore described as being on high when in fact it is not on high but in that which is internal, 450, 1380, 2148.

Poznámky pod čarou: