303. Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? That this signifies whether any one there is of such a quality as to know and perceive the states of the life of all, is evident from the signification of, Who is worthy? as denoting, who has merit and justice, and who has omniscience, thus whether there are any of such a quality. That by worthy, when said of the Lord, merit and justice are signified; these belong to Him alone, as may be seen above (n. 293). And that omniscience is signified is evident from what follows, where it is said, that the Lamb took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne, and opened it; for by the right hand is signified omniscience and omnipotence, as may be seen above (n. 297); from the signification of the book, as denoting the state of the life of all in general and in particular (concerning which see just above, n. 299); and from the signification of opening it and loosing the seals thereof, as denoting to know and perceive. For when a book signifies the states of the life of all, then to open and to loose the seals signifies to know and perceive the same; for to know and perceive are said of the state of the life, but to open and loose the seals are said of a book. Thus the words, in the internal sense, are accommodated to the things signified by the words in the sense of the letter, for they correspond; therefore, to open signifies to know, and to loose the seals signifies to perceive what is entirely hidden from others (as above, n. 300).
Heaven and Hell #188
188. The angels who constitute the Lord's heavenly kingdom live for the most part in loftier places that look like mountains above the ground. The angels who constitute the Lord's spiritual kingdom live in less lofty places that look like hills, while the angels who live in the lowest regions of heaven live in places that look like rocky cliffs. These things also stem from correspondences, since the deeper things correspond to higher ones and the more outward to lower ones. 1 This is why mountains in the Word mean heavenly love, hills mean spiritual love, and rocks mean faith. 2
Bilješke:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] In the Word, more inward things are expressed by "higher," and higher things mean more inward ones: 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325."High" means inner, and also heaven: 1735, 2148, 4210, 4599, 8153.
2. [Swedenborg's footnote] In heaven, one can see mountains, hills, rocks, valleys, and plains just as we can in this world: 10608. Angels who are in the good of love live on mountains, angels in the good of charity on hills, and angels in the good of faith on cliffs: 10438. Therefore mountains in the Word mean the good of love: 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608. Hills mean the good of charity: 6435, 10438. Rocks mean the good and truth of faith: 8581, 10580. The stone from which rocks are made also means the truth of faith: 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8608 [8609?], 10376. This is why mountains mean heaven: 8327, 8805, 9420; and why a mountaintop means the highest heaven: 9422, 9434, 10608. Therefore the early people held their holy worship on mountains: 796, 2722.
