27. The faithful witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of a faithful witness, when said of the Lord, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine Human, from whom is all truth in heaven; of which more will be said in what follows. The reason why it is said, "all truth in heaven," is, because Divine truth, going forth from the Divine good of the Lord, constitutes heaven in general, and with each angel there in particular. (That such is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 126-140; and that it [viz., the Divine truth] is from His Divine Human, n. 7-12, 78-86.) The Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called the "faithful witness," because Divine truth going forth from Him in heaven bears witness of Him. This witness is universally present in Divine truth there; which is evident from the fact that the angels of the interior heaven cannot think of the Divine but as under a human form, and, consequently, of a Divine Human. The reason is, that the Divine Human of the Lord fills the whole heaven and forms it, and the thoughts of the angels proceed and flow according to the form of heaven (as may be seen in the work above mentioned, n. 59-102, 200-212, 265-275). Hence it is, that the witness of Jesus Christ signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human (concerning which see above, n. 10).

[2] From these considerations it is evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense, by witnessing and by witness in the following passages:

"John" (here, John the Baptist) "came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare witness" (John 1:7, 8, 34).

Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear witness of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth: but I receive not witness from man" (5:33, 34).

In the same: "Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth" (3:11, 31, 32).

In the same:

"Jesus said, Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true: for I know whence I came and whither I go" (8:14);

which signifies, that He bare witness of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.

In the same:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear witness of me" (15:26);

the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9818, 9820, 10330; and above, n. 25).

[4] In the same:

"Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?" (18:37, 38).

The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear witness unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, "he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." From these considerations it is evident that by, "from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness," is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.

10330. 'And I have filled him with the spirit of God' means influx and enlightenment received from Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'filling with the spirit of God' as influx and enlightenment received from Divine Truth. In respect of what Jehovah does 'filling' is influx, while on man's side it is enlightenment; and 'the spirit of God' is Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good. The reason why 'filling', in respect of what Jehovah or the Lord does, is influx, while on man's side it is enlightenment, is that 'influx' is a term which serves to describe all the good and all the truth that come from heaven and originate in the Lord; and since that influx causes a person to be enlightened the term 'enlightenment' serves to describe what happens on man's side. Regarding 'the spirit of God', that it is this Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, see 9818.

[2] Since few know what the influx of Divine Truth and what the resulting enlightenment in a person are like, let something about these matters be stated here. The Church recognizes that all the good of love and truth of faith has its source not in a person himself but in heaven - in what is Divine there - as it resides with him. It is also recognized that those who receive that truth and good have enlightenment. Such influx and enlightenment however are brought about in the following manner. The nature of a person is such that he is able to use his inner powers of thought and will to look downwards or to look upwards. Looking downwards consists in looking away to the world and to self; and looking upwards consists in looking towards heaven and towards God. The person looking outwards is self-directed; this is called looking downwards because when a person is self-directed he looks towards hell. But a person looking in an inward direction is not self-directed but is directed by the Lord; this is called looking upwards because as to his inner powers of will and understanding he is then raised by the Lord towards heaven, and so towards the Lord. Those inner powers themselves are literally raised up, and at the same time are literally drawn away from the body and the world. When this happens the person's inner powers do literally pass into heaven, and into its warmth and light. As a result he receives influx and enlightenment. The light of heaven shines in his understanding, for the Divine Truth which radiates from the Lord as the sun constitutes that light; and the warmth of heaven heats his will, for the good of love which radiates at the same time from the Lord as the sun composes this warmth. Since the person is then among angels they impart an understanding of truth and an affection for good to him, that is, the Lord does so through them.

This imparting is what the terms 'influx and enlightenment' serve to describe.

[3] But it should be recognized that the extent to which influx and enlightenment are brought about depends on the person's ability to receive what is imparted; and this ability depends on his love of truth and good. People therefore who have a love of truth and good because they see truth and good as the end in view are raised up; but those who have a love of truth and good because they see self and the world, not truth and good, as the end in view are constantly looking and gravitating downwards. These as a consequence cannot be raised, and so cannot receive Divine influx from heaven and become enlightened. Their intelligence or understanding, which to them seems to be an understanding of truth, is the product of a light in which a fool sees things - a light shining before their mind's eye which radiates from notions which they have proved to themselves and gone on to convince themselves of. Whether true or false however, it still provides a brightness, which however turns into total darkness when light from heaven flows in. I have been shown vividly that this is so. From all this it may be seen what the origin is of the great number of heresies that arise in the world. That is to say, they arise because their founders and leaders have looked towards themselves, having their own glory as their end in view, and have regarded those things which belong to the Lord and to heaven as means to that end.