36. Verse 7. Behold, He cometh with the clouds, signifies that the Lord is about to reveal Himself in the Word through the internal sense. This is evident from the signification of "coming," as being, in reference to the Lord, to reveal Himself; and from the signification of "clouds," as being Divine truths in ultimates, thus the Word in the letter; for the Word as to the sense of the letter is Divine truth in ultimates; and since each thing therein contains an internal or spiritual sense, "coming with clouds" means revealing Himself through that sense. That "clouds" signify Divine truths in ultimates is from appearances in the spiritual world. There clouds appear in various kinds of light; in the inmost or third heaven in a flaming light, in the middle or second heaven in a bright white light, and in the outmost or first heaven in a light more dense; and everyone there knows that they signify Divine truth from the Lord through the angels; for when Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which is the very light of heaven, passes through the angels, it appears as a cloud, purer or denser according to their intelligence. Such clouds have oftentimes been seen by me, and what they signify has also been perceived. This is why "clouds," such as those that appear before the eyes of men in the world, signify Divine truth in ultimates; and as the Word in the letter is Divine truth in ultimates, that is what is meant by "clouds."

[2] He who does not know that "clouds" have this signification, may suppose that the Lord is about to come in clouds for the Last Judgment, and to appear in glory; according to His words in the Evangelists, where He says:

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and much glory (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).

"The consummation of the age" which is there treated of is the last time of the church; and the Lord's coming at that time is the revelation of Himself, and of Divine truth which is from Him, in the Word, through the internal sense. Elsewhere than in the Word the Lord does not reveal Himself, nor does He reveal Himself there except through the internal sense. The Word in the internal sense is also signified by "power" and "glory." (That this is fulfilled at this day, namely that the age is consummated, and the Last Judgment accomplished; and also that the Lord has come in the clouds of heaven, that is, has revealed the internal sense of the Word, may be seen in the small work on The Last Judgment, from beginning to end; also in the work on Heaven and Hell 1; also in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.249-266.

That "the consummation of the age" signifies the last time of the church, see Arcana Coelestia 4535, 10622; that "the coming of the Lord" signifies the revelation of Divine truth through the internal sense, n. 3900, 4060; that "clouds" signify the sense of the letter of the Word, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8106, 8781, 9430, 10551, 10574; that "glory" signifies Divine truth in heaven, thus the internal sense, for this is Divine truth in heaven, n. 5922, 9429[1-7], 10574. The Lord is said to be "about to come in power," because Divine truth, which is from the Lord has all power, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539.) The like is meant by the Lord's words to the high priest:

Jesus said to the high priest, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62).

"The Son of man" is the Lord as to Divine truth; "sitting at the right hand of power" is His omnipotence; "coming in the clouds of heaven" is the revelation of Divine truth respecting Him in the Word, for He has revealed Himself and has also fulfilled all things contained in the internal sense, which treats especially of the glorification of His Human.

[3] The same is signified by "clouds" in the following passages. In Daniel:

I saw in the night visions, and behold there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto the Son of man (Daniel 7:13);

in Revelation:

I saw, and behold a white cloud; and on the cloud one sat like unto a man, ¹ having on his head a crown (Revelation 14:14, 16);

in Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah sitting upon a dense light cloud (Isaiah 19:1);

in David:

Sing unto God, sing praises to His name, extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Psalms 68:4);

in the same:

Jehovah appointeth the clouds His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3).

Who cannot see that these things are not to be understood according to the sense of the letter, that is, that Jehovah sits upon a cloud, that He rides upon the clouds, and that He makes the clouds His chariot? He who thinks spiritually may know that Jehovah is present in His Divine truth, for this proceeds from Him, consequently that this is what is meant by "clouds there;" so it is also said that Jehovah "appointeth the clouds His chariot;" because by "chariot" is signified the doctrine of truth (See Arcana Coelestia 2762, 5321, 8215).

[4] Likewise in the following places. In Isaiah:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the higher clouds [pour down] righteousness (Isaiah 45:8);

in Nahum:

The way of Jehovah is with cloud ² and storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3);

in David:

Ascribe ye strength unto God; His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the higher clouds (Psalms 68:34);

A faithful witness in the clouds (Psalms 89:37);

in Moses:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in thy ³ magnificence upon the clouds (Deuteronomy 33:26).

From this it can be seen what is meant by:

The cloud filling the inner court (Ezekiel 10:3-4);

And the cloud resting upon the tent (repeatedly in Moses); also that:

Jesus when He was transfigured, was seen in glory, and a cloud overshadowed the three disciples, and it was said to them out of the cloud, This is my beloved son (Matthew 17:1-10; Mark 9:1-11; Luke 9:28-36).

(See also what is said about the Lord's being in a cloud in the midst of angels, in the little work on The Earths in the Universe 171.)

Notes de bas de page:

2776. 'Offer him as a burnt offering' means that He was to sanctify Himself to the Divine. This is clear from the representation of 'a burnt offering' among the Hebrew nation, and in the Jewish Church, as the holiest act of their worship. There were burnt offerings and there were sacrifices, and as regards what these represented, see 922, 923, 1823, 2180. Sanctifications were effected by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and that is why in this verse 'offering a burnt offering' means being sanctified to the Divine. For the Lord sanctified Himself to the Divine, that is, He united the Human to the Divine by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations, and by means of the victories in these, see 1663, 1690, 1692 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820.

[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord's passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.

[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 - all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord's Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.

[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord's Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord's Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.