337. Verse 12. Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, signifies the acknowledgment from the heart that everything Divine is from the Lord's Divine Human unacknowledged and by many denied. This is evident from the signification of "saying with a great voice," as being the acknowledgment from the heart (of which presently); also from the signification of "worthy," as being, in reference to the Lord, merit and justice (respecting which see above, n. 293, 303); here therefore it signifies that from His own power, thus from merit, He acquired for Himself everything Divine, and so from justice everything Divine is His. That this is meant by "He is worthy," is evident from what immediately follows, namely, "to receive the power and riches and wisdom and honor and glory and blessing;" which in the complex signifies everything Divine. This is evident also from the signification of "the Lamb," as being the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (of which also above, n. 314; also from the signification of "was slain," as meaning unacknowledged and by many denied (of which also above, n. 315, 328). From this it is clear that "Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain," signifies the acknowledgment from the heart that everything Divine is from the Lord's Divine Human unacknowledged and by many denied. That everything Divine is in the Lord's Human, and from it, in heaven and on earth, has been shown in many places, and will be seen confirmed at the end of this work. That "saying with a great voice" means the acknowledgment from the heart, here that it means what has now been stated, can be seen from what precedes and what follows, in series; moreover, "voice" signifies all the things that are afterward said, and "a great voice" signifies that these things are from the heart. There are two words that often occur in the Word, namely, "great" and "many," and "great" is there predicated of good, and "many" of truths (for the reason see just above, n. 336); and as what proceeds from good proceeds from the heart, here "saying with a great voice" signifies the acknowledgment from the heart; moreover, "heart" from correspondence signifies the good of love (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 95, 447; and above, n. 167.

5293. 'And let them gather all the food' means all things that have a useful purpose. This is clear from the meaning of 'gathering' as drawing together and preserving; and from the meaning of 'food' as things which have a useful purpose. In the internal sense 'food' means, strictly speaking, those things which nourish a person's soul, that is, which nourish him when his bodily life is ended. For when this is ended his soul or spirit is living, and he no longer needs material food as he did in the world; but he does need spiritual food, which consists in everything that has a useful purpose and everything leading to this. That which leads to what has a useful purpose is knowing what goodness and truth are; and that which has such a purpose is the desire to realize these in actions. These are the things with which angels are nourished and which are therefore called spiritual and celestial foods. A person's mind - the place within him where his will and understanding, that is, his intentions or ends in view, reside - is nourished by no other kind of food, even while he lives in the body. Material food does not extend as far as that; it extends only to his bodily parts, which are sustained by that material food to the end that the mind may be sustained by food for the mind while the body is sustained by food for the body, that is, to the end that there may be a healthy mind in a healthy body.

[2] The reason 'food' in the spiritual sense means everything that has a useful purpose is that a person's entire knowledge, his entire understanding and wisdom, and so his entire will must have a useful purpose as its end in view. Consequently as is the nature of the purpose he has in view, so is the nature of his life. The truth that 'food' in the spiritual sense means everything with a useful purpose is evident from the following words spoken by the Lord,

Jesus said to the disciples, I have food to eat of which you do not know. The disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought Him anything to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. John 4:32-34.

And elsewhere,

Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him the Father - God - has set His seal. John 6:27.