1094. And the earth was lightened by his glory, signifies the church now in light from the influx and reception of Divine truth. This is evident from the signification of "the earth," as being the church (of which frequently); also from the signification of "to be lightened," as meaning to be in light; also from the signification of "glory," as being, in reference to the Lord who is here meant by the angel, the Divine truth (See n. 33, 288, 345, 874). That "glory" means the Divine truth, since that is the light of heaven and from it angels have all their wisdom and happiness, and also magnificence, may be seen n. 678. It is said of the angel coming down out of heaven, that he had "great authority," and that "the earth was lightened by his glory," because the Last Judgment was effected on those who are meant by "the harlot or Babylon," for this is the meaning of the words of the angel:

Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird (Revelation 18:2).

And when judgment had been effected upon these, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord came into its power and into its light; for so long as the Babylonians were tolerated under heaven they were like the dense and dusky clouds between heaven and earth by which the rays of light from the sun are intercepted and the day is darkened; and this for the reason that the Divine truth, which is the Word, was not only falsified but also rejected; and moreover, by transferring the Lord's Divine authority to themselves they annihilated it. These and many other things, so long as they were permitted to make dwelling places for themselves under the heavens, were like dusky clouds between heaven and earth, through which the Divine truth could not pass to enlighten any man of the church. But as soon as they had been driven away and cast into hell, there was an accession of power and light to the Divine truth that proceeded from the Lord as a sun, to the extent that the Lord could lead more powerfully and enlighten more clearly not only the spirits who are under the heavens, but also the men in the church. This is why the spiritual sense of the Word was not revealed and the state of heaven and hell manifested until the Last Judgment had been accomplished, for if before there would have been no power and light in the Divine truth.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)

[2] Since man when born is not in any society either heavenly or infernal, being without thought, and yet is born for eternal life, it follows that in the course of time he either opens heaven or opens hell to himself, and enters into societies, and becomes an inhabitant either of heaven or of hell even while he is in the world. Man becomes an inhabitant of the spiritual world, because that is his real dwelling place, and as it is called, his native land, for there he is to live to eternity after he has lived some years in the natural world. From this it may be concluded how necessary it is for a man to know what it is in him that opens heaven and leads him into its societies, and what it is that opens hell and leads him into its societies. This will be told in the appendices to the following articles. Here let it be said that a man lets himself more and more into the societies of heaven successively according to the increase of wisdom, and into more and more interior societies successively according to the increase of the love of good; also that so far as heaven is opened to him hell is closed. But it is man who opens hell to himself, while it is the Lord who opens heaven to man.