19. (Verse 4) John. That this signifies the Lord as to doctrine, is evident from the representation of John, as being the good of love, of which above, n. 8. Because he represents the good of love, he also, in the highest sense, represents the Lord, since all the good of love is from the Lord, men, spirits and angels being only recipients; and those who are recipients, are said to signify that which is from the Lord. The case is similar with many other persons in the Word, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, Peter, and the rest of the apostles, each of whom signifies some good or truth of heaven and of the church, but still all of them, in the highest sense, signify the Lord. As, for instance, David, in the internal sense signifies Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, which is called the Lord's royalty; therefore, in the highest sense, he signifies the Lord as to that truth and as to His royalty; for this reason it is said of David in the Word, that he is to come and reign over the sons of Israel (Ezekiel 37:24, 25; Hosea 3:5). Similarly, Elijah and Elisha, who, because in the internal sense they signify the Word, therefore, in the highest sense, they signify the Lord from whom is the Word. (That Elijah and Elisha signify the Word, and thus the Lord as to the Word, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2762, 5247; the case is the same with John the Baptist, who is therefore called Elijah, n. 7643, 9372. That Peter signifies faith, and thence the Lord as to faith, because faith is from the Lord, may be seen above, n. 9.) It is therefore evident why John signifies the Lord. The reason he signifies the Lord as to doctrine is, because it is said, "John to the seven churches," and by the seven churches, in the internal sense, are meant all who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity; for these are they who constitute the church; and it is doctrine that teaches those things. For this reason the Lord, as He is the Word, is also the doctrine of the church, for all doctrine is from the Word. (That the Lord is the doctrine of the church, because all the truth which pertains to doctrine is from the Word, thus from the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2531, 2859, 3712.)

8. And he signified [this], sending by his angel unto his servant John. That this signifies, which are revealed to those who are in the good of love, is evident from the signification of he signified, as denoting those things which, in the sense of the letter, contain, and thus signify, those which are in the internal sense. For it is said, "the revelation which God gave to show; and he signified [this]"; and by the things which He signified are meant those which are in the sense of the letter, because all these are significative; and the things which are signified are those that are contained in the internal sense. For all things in the Word are significative of spiritual things which are in the internal sense. The above is also evident from the signification of sending by his angel, as denoting things revealed from heaven; for to send, denotes to reveal, and by an angel, denotes from heaven. The reason why to send denotes to reveal, is, because everything sent from heaven is a revelation; for what exists there is revealed, this being something spiritual concerning the church and its state; but this with man is turned into natural ideas, such as are in the sense of the letter, in the Apocalypse and other parts of the Word. That which comes from heaven cannot be present with man in any other way; for the Spiritual falls into its corresponding Natural, when it descends from the spiritual world into the natural. This is the reason why the prophetic Word is such in the sense of the letter, and since it is such, that it is inwardly spiritual and Divine. By an angel means, from heaven, because that which an angel speaks is from heaven; for when an angel speaks with a man such things as relate to heaven and the church he does not speak as one man to another, who utters from memory the dictates of another, but that which an angel speaks enters into him continually by influx, and not into his memory, but directly into the understanding, and thence into words. This is the reason why every thing spoken by angels to the prophets was Divine, and nothing whatever from the angels. Whether it is said that such things are revealed from heaven, or from the Lord, it is the same; because the Divine of the Lord with the angels constitutes heaven, and nothing whatever from the proprium of the angels. (But this may be better understood from what is said and shown in the work,Heaven and Hell 2-12, and n. 254.)

It is remarked above, that predictions are revealed from heaven to those who are in the good of love, because it is said, "sending by his angel unto his servant John," and by John are represented and meant those who are in the good of love. For by the twelve apostles were represented and signified all those in the church who are in truths from good; consequently, all truths from good, from which the church is; and by each apostle in particular is represented and signified something specific. For example, by Peter is represented and signified faith; by James, charity; and by John, the good of charity, or the good of love. Because John represented this good, therefore the revelation was made to him; for revelation from heaven, such as is here described, can be made to none but those who are in the good of charity or of love. Others, indeed, may hear the things that are uttered from heaven, but they cannot perceive them. They alone have spiritual perception who are in the good of love; the reason is, that they receive those things, not only in the hearing, but also in the love; and to receive in the love is to receive fully, since the things so received are loved; and those who thus receive, see those things in their understanding, in which is the sensation of their internal sight. That this is the case has been made evident to me from much experience, and it might also be illustrated by much rational argument; but upon this subject it is not yet permissible to speak. Here it is only necessary to observe, that all the names mentioned in the Word, signify, not persons, but things; thus, John signifies those who are in the good of love, and therefore, in the abstract, the good of love itself. (That all names in the Word signify things, may be seen inArcana Coelestia 768, 1888, 4310, 4442, 10329. That the names of persons and places in the Word cannot enter heaven, but that they are changed into the things which they signify, n. 1876, 5225, 6516, 10216, 10282, 10432. How elegant the internal sense of the Word is, although mere names are mentioned, is illustrated by examples, n. 1224, 1264, 1888. That the twelve disciples of the Lord represented, and thence signified, all things of love and faith in the aggregate, in like manner as the twelve tribes of Israel, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. That Peter, James, and John represented, and hence signified, faith, charity, and the good of charity, in their order, see the Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, and n. 3934, 8581, 10087.)

8581. 'behold, I [will be] standing before you there on the rock in Horeb' means the Lord in respect of the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'the rock' as faith, in this instance faith received from the Lord, or the Lord in respect of faith, for Jehovah - that is, the Lord - says 'Behold, I [will be] standing on the rock'; and from the meaning of 'Horeb' as God's law. Consequently the words used here mean the Lord in respect of the truths of faith, which come from His law or the Word. The fact that 'the rock' means the Lord in respect of faith, and on man's side the faith he receives from the Lord, is clear from very many places in the Word, as in Moses,

Ascribe ¹ greatness to our God, the Rock, whose work is perfect. He caused him to ride on ² the heights of the land, and fed him with the produce of the fields; He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. But when Jeshurun became fat he kicked; he forsook God who made Him, and despised the Rock of his salvation. You have been unmindful of ³ the Rock who begot you, and have forgotten the God who formed you. Their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. For their rock is not like our Rock. When it is said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted? ... Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 13, 15, 18, 30-31, 37.

From these verses it is evident that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the One who is called 'the Rock'. The fact that 'the Rock' is Jehovah or the Lord in respect of faith is made plain by every detail there in the internal sense.

[2] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands; and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold together were smashed to pieces, and became like chaff from the summer threshing-floors; so that the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. But the stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and also His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold... Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

The subject here is the Lord and His kingdom, 'a stone' being used to mean faith, and 'a rock' the Lord in respect of faith. The fact that these things are meant by 'a stone' and 'a rock' is evident to anyone who gives thought to the matter. 'A stone' also means in the Word the truth that composes faith, see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426; therefore also the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is called 'the stone of Israel', 6426. The reason why 'a rock' means the Lord in respect of the truth of faith is that 'a rock' is also used to mean a fortress that withstands falsities. The actual fortress is the truth of faith, for this is what the battle against both falsities and evils is waged from.

[3] All this also makes it clear that in the following words in Matthew which the Lord addressed to Peter 'rock' is used to mean the Lord in respect of faith, and also faith received from the Lord,

I tell you, You Are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19.

As regards 'rock' here, that it means the Lord in respect of faith, and faith received from the Lord, and that 'Peter' represents that faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, and also 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end), 6344 (end). It is also evident to anyone who thinks properly that the power to open heaven and close hell for the good, and to open hell and close heaven for the wicked, is the Lord's alone, and that the reason why such power accompanies faith is that faith comes from the Lord, and so likewise is the Lord's; that is, the Lord Himself is within faith. All power in the next life too comes through the truth of faith springing from good, 4931, 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304. One who thinks properly may also conclude that the Lord's Church has not been built on some person, thus not on Peter, but on the Lord Himself, that is, on faith in Him.

[4] From all this one can see what kind of errors they are, and how great, which those people slip into who adhere strictly to the sense of the letter of the Word. One can see why leaders of the Church are all too ready to seize on the idea that such power was given to Peter and consequently to those who call themselves his successors, for that idea lends support to what is in their heart. One can see how difficult it is for them to let themselves be convinced that this passage has any other meaning, for each wishes to gain supreme power. All this also shows how vital it is to know what 'rock', 'the keys', 'the gates of hell', and very many other things mean in the internal sense.

[5] The fact that Jehovah is called 'the Rock', and that when He is called this the Lord in respect of faith is meant, many other places in the Word also go to prove, such as the following, which will be quoted without further explanation. In Isaiah,

Send the lamb of the ruler of the land from the Rock towards the wilderness, to the mountain [of the daughter] of Zion. Isaiah 16:1.

In the same prophet,

You have forgotten [the God] of your salvation, and have not called to mind the Rock of your refuge. Isaiah 17:10.

In the same prophet,

Asshur will fall by the sword, not of man (vir). Also his rock will pass away by reason of terror. Isaiah 31:8-9.

In the same prophet,

Let the inhabitants of the Rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Isaiah 42:11.

In the same prophet,

Pay attention to Me, you who are pursuing righteousness, who are seeking Jehovah. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn. Isaiah 51:1.

In Jeremiah,

Leave the cities and dwell in the Rock, O inhabitants of Moab. Jeremiah 48:28.

In the same prophet,

I am against you, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth. And I will stretch out My hand against you, and roll you down from the rocks, and make you into a mountain of burning. Nor will they take from you a stone for a corner, or a stone for foundations. Jeremiah 51:25-26.

This refers to Babel. In David,

He caused me to come up out of the pit of devastation, out of the muddy clay, and He set my feet upon a rock. Psalms 40:2.

In the same author,

From the end of the earth I cry to You, when my heart fails; You lead me to the Rock high up from me. Psalms 61:2.

In the same author,

I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them. Psalms 81:16.

[6] Since 'a rock' meant the Lord in respect of faith, and faith received from the Lord, also the wondrous things spoken of in the Book of Judges took place on a rock,

The Angel of Jehovah told Gideon to take the flesh and unleavened bread and peace them on the rock, and pour out the broth. And fire went up from the rock and consumed the flesh and unleavened bread. Judges 6:20-21.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Manoah, Samson's father, took the kid of the she-goats and offered it on the rock. Then the Angel acted in a wondrous manner and ascended in the flame. Judges 13:19-20.

What meaning these things had becomes clear if what 'Gideon' and what 'Manoah, Samson's father' represented is discovered from the internal sense, also what was meant by 'the flesh and unleavened bread' and 'the broth', 'the kid of the she-goats' as well, and 'the fire'. For every single one of these was representative and had a spiritual meaning.

[7] Knowing that 'the Rock' means faith may lead also to an understanding of the reference to Moses' being pieced in the cleft of the rock when he was to see Jehovah, Exodus 33:20-23; for 'the cleft of the rock' means obscurity of faith. It is well known in the Churches that the rock in Horeb from which the water came out means the Lord; but now it has been shown that it means the Lord in respect of faith, and also that it means faith received from the Lord. A meaning similar to that which 'the rock in Horeb' possesses is also meant in the following words in Isaiah,

Say, Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob. At that time they will not thirst; in waste places He will lead them. He will make water flow for them from the rock, when He cleaves the rock so that water flows out. Isaiah 48:20-21.

The reason why the people were given the water from no other rock than the one in Horeb is that 'Horeb' means God's law; and the reason why God's law is meant by 'Horeb' is that the law was proclaimed from there. And faith which is received from the Lord is acquired from God's law, that is, from the Word; for through the Word the Lord teaches what faith is and also imparts faith.

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