9408. And as the substance of heaven in respect to cleanness. That this signifies the shining through of the angelic heaven, is evident from the signification of “heaven,” as being the angelic heaven (of which in what follows); and from the signification of the “cleanness,” or purity, of “the substance,” when said of heaven, as being its shining through. It shall be briefly stated what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven in connection with the Word. The angelic heaven is said to shine through when truth Divine shines through. For the whole heaven is nothing but a receptacle of truth Divine, because every angel is a reception of it in particular; thus all the angels, or the whole heaven, are so in general. From this, heaven is called “the habitation of God,” and also “the throne of God,” because by “habitation” is signified the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord received in the inmost heaven, which relatively is good (n. 8269, 8309); and by “throne” is signified truth Divine from the Lord received in the middle heaven (n. 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039). As it is truth Divine such as in the heavens which shines through from the sense of the letter of the Word, therefore it is the angelic heaven which shines through; for the Word is Divine truth accommodated to all the heavens; and it consequently conjoins the heavens with the world, that is, angels with men (n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, 9396). From all this it is evident what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven.

[2] That in the internal sense “heaven” denotes the angelic heaven, is from correspondence, and also from the appearance. Hence it is that when mention is made in the Word of “the heavens,” and also of “the heavens of heavens,” in the internal sense are meant the angelic heavens. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible heaven than that the heavenly inhabitants dwell there, and that the stars are their habitations. Similar also at this day is the idea of the simple, and especially of little children. From this also men look upward to heaven when praying earnestly to God. This also is from correspondence; for in the other life a heaven with stars appears, yet not the heaven that appears to men in the world; but a heaven that appears in accordance with the state of intelligence and wisdom of the spirits and angels. The stars there are knowledges of good and truth; and the clouds which are sometimes seen beneath the heaven are of various signification according to their colors, their translucence, and their movements; the blueness of heaven is truth transparent from good. From all this it can be seen that by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; but by “the angelic heavens” are signified truths Divine, because the angels are receptions of the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord.

[3] Similar things are signified by “the heavens” in David:

Praise Jehovah ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens (Psalms 148:4).

Sing psalms to the Lord that rideth upon the heaven of heaven which is of old (Psalms 68:32-33).

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them (Psalms 33:6).

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament declareth the works of His hands (Psalms 19:1).

Jehovah, when Thou wentest forth out of Seir, the earth trembled; the heavens also dripped, the clouds also dripped water (Judg. 5:4).

The horn of the he-goat grew, even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them (Daniel 8:10).

The Lord Jehovih buildeth in the heavens His steps (Amos 9:6).

If there be food in My house I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing (Malachi 3:10).

Look forth from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy comeliness (Isaiah 63:15).

Blessed of Jehovah be the land of Joseph, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew (Deuteronomy 33:13).

Jesus said, Swear not by the heaven; for it is the throne of God. He that sweareth by the heaven sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 5:34; 23:22).

[4] In these passages, and in many others, by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; and as the Lord’s heaven on earth is the church, by “heaven” is also signified the church; as in the following passages. In John::

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth were passed away (Revelation 21:1).

Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things shall not be remembered, nor come up upon the heart (Isaiah 65:17).

The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment (Isaiah 51:6).

I clothe the heaven with blackness, and I make sackcloth a covering (Isaiah 50:3).

I will cover the heavens, and I will blacken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; and I will blacken all the luminaries of light in the heaven, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).

After the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matthew 24:29).

What is here signified by the “sun,” “moon,” “stars,” and “the powers of the heavens,” may be seen above (n. 4056-4060).

In Isaiah:

O Jehovah the God of Israel, Thou alone art the God over all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made heaven and earth (Isaiah 37:16).

I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that spreadeth out the heavens alone; that stretcheth out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).

Jehovah that createth the heavens, that formeth the earth and maketh it, and prepareth it, He created it not an emptiness (Isaiah 45:18).

[5] That by “heaven and earth” in these and in other passages is signified in the internal sense the church; by “heaven” the internal church, and by “earth” the external church, may be seen above (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535), from which it is evident that by the “creation” in the first chapters of Genesis, where it is said, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); “and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them” (Genesis 2:1) is meant a new church; for the creation there denotes a new regeneration, which is also called a “new creation,” as can be seen from what was shown in the explications at these chapters.

8593. And Amalek came. That this signifies falsity from interior evil, is evident from the signification of “Amalek,” as being the falsity from interior evil (of which below). It is first to be told who and what they are who are in falsity from interior evil. Interior evil is that which lies inwardly concealed with man, hidden in his will, and thence in his thought, no trace of which appears in his externals, as in his actions, speech, and face. They who are in such evil study by every method and art to hide and hoard it under the semblance of what is honorable and just, and under the semblance of the love of the neighbor; yet still they devise nothing else within themselves than how they can inflict evil, and so far as they can they do inflict evil by means of others, taking care that it should not appear to be from them; they also color over the evil itself, that it may not seem like evil. The greatest delight of their life is to meditate such things, and to attempt them in concealment. This is called interior evil. They who are in this evil are called “evil genii,” and in the other life are completely separated from those who are in exterior evil, and who are called “spirits.” The evil genii have their hell behind man, that is, at his back, and are there in various caverns; but evil spirits have their hell before man, and also at the sides. In the Grand Man these genii belong to the province of the cerebellum, and also to that part of the spinal marrow which sends forth fibers and nerves to the involuntary parts.

[2] As further concerning the falsity from this evil-it is not like the falsity from the evil of evil spirits, for in itself it is evil. They who are in this evil do not attack the truths of faith, but the goods of faith; for they act by means of depraved affections, whereby they pervert good thoughts, and this in a manner almost incomprehensible. Because they are of such a nature, their hells are completely separated from the hells of evil spirits, insomuch that they have scarcely any communication, and this for the reason that they may be separated from the men of the spiritual church; for if they were to flow in from their hells, it would be all over with the man of that church, because they would act in the most hidden manner into his conscience and would pervert it, and this by the breathing in of depraved affections. These infernal genii never attack a man openly, nor when he is capable of vigorous resistance; but when it appears that a man is falling so as to yield, they are then suddenly at hand, and push him on to a complete fall. This too is represented by the fact that Amalek now fell upon Israel; and also afterward, when the sons of Israel had set themselves in opposition to Jehovah, and were afraid of the nations in the land of Canaan:

Then Amalek came down with the Canaanite from the mountain, and they smote the sons of Israel even unto Hormah (Numbers 14:45).

[3] From all this it can be seen what is the quality of those who are represented by Amalek, and why the judgment came upon Amalek from Jehovah that there should be perpetual war against them, and that the memory of them should be blotted out from under heaven, according to these words in the last verse of this chapter:

Because the hand of the evil is against the throne of Jah, there shall be war to Jehovah against Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16).

And in Deuteronomy:

Remember what Amalek did to thee by the way, when thou camest forth out of Egypt; that he met thee in the way, and smote the hindmost in thee, all that were feeble, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God; when Jehovah thy God shall have given thee rest, thou shalt blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).

Also in the first book of Samuel, where it is said by Jehovah through Samuel unto Saul:

I have resolved to visit that which Amalek did to Israel, who laid wait for him in the way, when he was coming up out of Egypt; wherefore go and smite Amalek, and give to the curse all things which are his, and spare them not; but slay from man even to woman, from infant even to suckling, from ox even to small cattle, from camel even to ass. But Saul spared king Agag, and the best of the flock, and of the oxen, and the second sort, and the rams, and all that was excellent;

and so it was denounced against Saul that from him there should no more be a king over Israel (1 Samuel 15:1-3, 9 (1 Samuel 15:9), 23, 26).

That “the memory of Amalek was to be blotted out,” and that “all things with him were to be given to the curse,” signified that evil genii should have no communication whatever with those who are of the spiritual church; for they communicate with those who are not in truths, but who favor falsities from evil affection.

[4] Who cannot see that without a cause that lies deeply concealed Jehovah would never have said that “there should be perpetual war against Amalek,” and that “the memory of them should be blotted out from under heaven,” and that “all things with him should be given to the curse,” and that nevertheless this was not done. The deeply hidden reason why these things were said and done, is involved in the words of Samuel to Agag the king of the Amalekites, whom Saul spared:

Agag the king of Amalek came unto Samuel delicately; but Samuel said, As thy sword hath bereaved women, so shall thy mother be bereaved beyond women; and Samuel hewed him in pieces before Jehovah (1 Samuel 15:32-33).

“To go delicately” signifies the outward blandishments of such spirits in the presence of others; “thy sword hath bereaved women” signifies that the falsity of these spirits inflicts violence on good affections; “thy mother shall be bereaved beyond women” signifies that with them will prevail evil affection from the will, and not from the intellectual part; “and Samuel hewed him in pieces before Jehovah” signifies that they were separated from those who are in falsity from evil from the intellectual part; thus genii from spirits (as said above). (That “women” denote affections, see n. 568, 6014, 8337; and that “a sword” denotes falsity combating and vastating, n. 2799, 4499, 7102)