76. Verse 17. And when I saw Him, signifies the presence of the Divine majesty. This is evident from the things that precede relating to the Son of man, all of which are of the Divine majesty, as is clear from the explanation of them in the internal sense; as that "He was clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle," signifying that Divine truth and Divine good proceed from Him; that "His head and His hairs were white as white wool, as snow," signifying the Divine in firsts and in ultimates; that "His feet were like unto burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace," signifying that His Human, even in ultimates, is full of Divine love; that "His voice was as the voice of many waters," signifying that all Divine truth is from Him; that "He had in His right hand seven stars," signifying that all goods and truths of heaven and the church are therefrom; that "out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword went forth," signifying that by Him all falsities are dispersed; that "His face was as the sun shineth in his power," signifying that from His Divine love were all things of heaven. It is clear that these things are Divine, and that they appeared full of Divine majesty. That to "see" signifies here the presence, now most interior, of these things, is evident from this, that it was also said before that John saw them (verse 12), and according to that seeing also they were described; and now again it is said "I saw Him," and on account of this seeing he fell at His feet as dead; therefore it is that by "seeing" is here signified the presence of the Divine majesty. This presence came to John, when he saw "His face as the sun in his power," for from this he was illustrated and filled with awe, in the presence of the Divine; for all Divine light is from the Lord as a sun, and Divine light passes into the interiors; from this comes such presence and such filling with awe (as can be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, on the Lord as a Sun, n. 116-125; on Light and Heat therefrom in Heaven, n. 126-140; and on Turning to Him, n. 17, 123, 144, 145, 151, 255, 272, 510, 548, 561). It is to be known, moreover, that man has two kinds of sight, one from cogitative faith, the other from love: when he has sight from cogitative faith only, his sight is unattended with awe before the Lord's Divine majesty; but when this sight is from love, it is attended with awe at the Divine majesty; this is because man is then turned to the Lord, for love turns him, but cogitative faith apart from love does not (as can be seen from the passages cited above from the work on Heaven and Hell, about turning). That this is so is well known in the spiritual world. It is clear, therefore, that by "I saw him," stated a second time, is signified the presence of the Divine majesty.

2838. 'As it is said today' means that which is perpetual. This is clear from the meaning of 'today' in the Word, dealt with below. One frequently reads in the Word the phrase 'even to this day (or today)', as in what has gone before,

He is the father of Moab even to this day, and the father of Ammon even to this day. Genesis 19:37-38; and in what appears later on,

The name of the city is Beersheba even to this day. Genesis 26:33; also,

The children of Israel do not eat the sinew of that which was displaced, which is on the hollow of the thigh, even to this day. Genesis 32:32; as well as,

This is the pillar of Rachel's grave even to [this] day. Genesis 35:20.

Joseph made it a statute even to this day. Genesis 47:26.

In the historical sense 'to this day' and 'today' refer to the time when Moses was alive, but in the internal sense these expressions mean perpetuity and eternity of state. 'Day' means state, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, and so therefore does 'today', which is the present time. That which in the world is temporal is in heaven eternal. To give the meaning of that which is eternal, the expression today or else to this day has been added, though to those who are aware only of the historical sense it does not appear to embody anything further. Similar usages of these expressions occur elsewhere in the Word, such as Joshua 4:9; 6:25; 7:26; Judges 1:21, 26; and in other places.

[2] That 'today' means that which is perpetual and eternal may be seen in David,

I will tell of the statute: Jehovah has said to me, You are My Son; today I have begotten You. Psalms 2:7.

Here 'today' plainly stands for that which is eternal. In the same author,

For ever, O Jehovah, Your Word is fixed in the heavens, Your truth to generation after generation. You have established the earth and it stands. As for Your judgements they stand [even] today. Psalms 119:89-91.

Here also 'today' plainly stands for that which is eternal. In Jeremiah,

Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. I have set you this day (today) over nations and over kingdoms; and I have made you today into a fortified city, and into a pillar of iron, and into walls of bronze. Jeremiah 1:5, 10, 18.

This refers in the sense of the letter to Jeremiah, but in the internal sense the Lord is meant. 'I have set you this day (or today) over nations and over kingdoms, and I have made you today into a fortified city' means from eternity. In regard to the Lord one can only speak of that which is eternal.

[3] In Moses,

You are standing today, all of you, before Jehovah your God, so that you may enter into the covenant of Jehovah your God, and into His oath, which Jehovah your God is making with you today, that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He will be God to you. Not indeed with you alone [do I make it], but with those who stand with us here today before Jehovah our God, and with those who are not with us today. Deuteronomy 29:10, 12-15.

Here in the sense of the letter 'today' means that present time when

Moses addressed the people. Yet it is clear that it nevertheless implies subsequent times and what is perpetual; for making a covenant with anyone, and with those who were there and with those who were not, implies that which is perpetual. Perpetuity itself is what is meant in the internal sense.

[4] That 'daily' and 'today' mean that which is perpetual is clear also from the sacrifice that was offered each day. This sacrifice, because of what is meant by day, daily, and today, was called the continual, or perpetual, sacrifice, Numbers 28:3, 23; Daniel 8:13; 11:31; 12:11. This may be even more plainly evident from the manna which rained from heaven, spoken of in Moses as follows,

Behold, I am causing bread to rain from heaven, and the people shall go out and gather a portion day by day. And they shall not leave any of it until the morning. That which they did leave until the morning bred worms and went rotten, except that gathered on the day before the Sabbath. Exodus 16:4, 19-20, 23.

This happened because 'the manna' meant the Lord's Divine Human, John 6:31-32, 49-50, 58, and because the Lord's Divine Human meant heavenly food, which is nothing other than love and charity, together with the goods and truths of faith. In heaven the Lord imparts this food to angels moment by moment, thus perpetually and eternally, see 2193. This is also what is meant in the Lord's Prayer by the petition, Give us today our daily bread, Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3, that is, in every moment for evermore.