9306. Take heed of his face. That this signifies holy fear, is evident from the signification of “taking heed of the face,” when said of the Lord, who is here meant by “the angel,” as being to be afraid lest He be angry on account of evils, or lest He be provoked on account of transgressions; as follows. To fear these things is holy fear (concerning which see above, n. 2826, 3718, 3719, 5459, 5534, 7280, 7788, 8816, 8925). It is said “take heed of his face,” because by the “face” is signified the interior things that belong to the life, thus those of the thought and affection, and especially those of the faith and the love. The reason is that the face has been formed according to the image of man’s interior things, in order that those which are of the internal man may appear in the external man; thus that those which are of the spiritual world may appear before the sight in the natural world, and so affect the neighbor. That the face exhibits in a visible form, or as it were in a mirror, the things which the man thinks and loves, is known. (That such are the faces of the sincere, and especially of angels, see n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4326, 4796-4799, 5102, 5695, 6604, 8248-8250.)

Wherefore in the original tongue “the face” is a general term employed to describe the affections which exist and appear in a man, such as gratitude, favor, benevolence, help, kindness; and also as unmercifulness, anger, revenge; consequently in that tongue “the face,” taken with what it is joined to, means “near to,” “with,” “before,” “for the sake of,” and also “against;” thus whatever is in oneself, from oneself, for oneself, and against oneself; for as before said, the face is the man himself, or that which is in the man and shows itself.

[2] From all this it can be known what is signified by the “face of Jehovah,” or by the “face of the angel,” by whom is here signified the Lord as to His Divine Human; namely, the Divine good of the Divine love, and the Divine truth from this Divine good; for these are in Jehovah or the Lord, and they are from Him; nay, they are Himself (n. 222, 223, 5585). From this it is evident what is signified by the “faces of Jehovah” in the benediction:

Jehovah make His faces to shine upon thee, and be merciful unto thee; Jehovah lift up His faces unto thee, and give thee peace (Numbers 6:25-26).

God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His faces to shine upon us (Psalms 67:1).

In like manner in Psalms 80:3, 7, (Psalms 80:7)19; 119:135; Daniel 19:17 and elsewhere.

[3] Hence it is that the Lord as to the Divine Human is called “the angel of the faces of Jehovah” in Isaiah:

I will make mention of the mercies of Jehovah. He will recompense them according to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His mercies; and He became their Savior; and the angel of His faces saved them, because of His love, and because of His pity (Isaiah 63:7-9).

That the Lord as to the Divine Human is called “the angel of the faces of Jehovah” is because the Divine Human is the Divine Itself in face, that is, in form, as the Lord also teaches in John:

If ye had known Me, ye had known My Father also; and from henceforth ye have known Him, and have seen Him. Philip said, Show us the Father. Jesus said unto him, Am I so long time with you, and hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:7-11).

[4] By “the face of Jehovah” or the Lord is also signified anger, vengeance, punishment, and evil, for the reason that from the common idea that all things are from God the simple believe that evil also is from Him, especially the evil of punishment; and therefore in accordance with this common idea, and also according to the appearance, anger, vengeance, punishment, and evil are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord; when yet these are not from the Lord, but from man (on which subject see n. 1861, 2447, 5798, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8483, 8632, 8875, 9128). Such is the signification here of “take heed of his face, provoke him not, for he will not endure your transgression.” And also in Leviticus:

Whosoever shall eat any blood, I will set My faces against the soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from the midst of his people (Leviticus 17:10).

I have set my faces against the city for evil, and not for good (Jeremiah 21:10).

The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth (Psalms 34:16).

7877. And I shall see the blood. That this signifies the noticing of this truth by those who inflict the damnation, is evident from the signification of “to see,” as being to understand and to notice (see n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400), that it denotes a noticing by those who inflict the damnation, follows below; and from the signification of “blood,” as being the truth of the good of innocence (as above, n. 7846).

[2] What the truth of the good of innocence is, must be told. The good of innocence is the good of love to the Lord; for they who are in this love are in innocence. Therefore they who are in the inmost or third heaven are in innocence in advance of the rest, because they are in love to the Lord. From innocence they who are there appear to others like little children, and yet they are the wisest of all who are in heaven (see n. 2306); for innocence dwells in wisdom (see n. 2305, 3494, 4797). The truth of the good of innocence which is with them is not the truth of faith, but is the good of charity. For they who are in the third heaven do not know what faith is; thus neither do they know what its truth is; for they are in the perception of the truth that is of faith, from which they instantly know that a thing is so; nor do they ever reason about it, whether it be so, still less dispute about it. That they are in perception in this manner, does not fall within the scope of memory-knowledge. It is otherwise with the spiritual, who are in the second heaven. These are led to the good which is of charity through the truth which is of faith; and therefore they reason whether a thing is true, or not, because they do not perceive whether it is; consequently with them truths become memory-knowledge, and are called doctrinal things of faith.

[3] (That they who are in the inmost or third heaven are in such a state that they perceive what is the truth of faith, and therefore do not refer it to memory-knowledge, see n. 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448.) How it is that by Jehovah’s saying, “I shall see,” thus saying it concerning Himself, is signified a noticing by those who inflict damnation, that is, by the infernals, can be seen from what has been shown above, namely, that evil is attributed to Jehovah, or the Lord, although nothing of evil comes forth from Him, but from hell (n. 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643). That evil is permitted, has the appearance as if it were from him who permits, seeing that he has the power to take it away. Thus in the present case, that the firstborn of the Egyptians were given to death, is attributed to Jehovah, for it is said, “I will pass through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt; and it came to pass at midnight that Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh about to sit upon his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the house of the pit” (verses 12-29); and yet in this verse he is called “a destroyer” who does this: “the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where ye are; and I shall see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall not be in you a plague for a destroyer.”

[4] The case is similar with respect to the devastation of the evil in the other life, and the damnation and casting down into hell, which in the internal sense are meant by the “plagues,” and by the death of the firstborn, and by the immersion in the sea Suph. Jehovah, or the Lord, vastates no one, still less damns and casts down into hell; but it is the evil spirit himself who does this to himself: it is the evil that is in him. From this then it is that by “I shall see the blood” is signified a noticing by those who inflict damnation.

[5] How the case is with permission cannot be told in a few words, because it involves very many arcana. That the wicked are damned and are tormented, is not a permission from the Lord as of one who wills it, but as of one who does not will, but cannot bring a remedy in view of the urgency and resistance of the end, which is the salvation of the whole human race; for if He were to bring a remedy, it would be doing evil, which is quite contrary to the Divine. But on this subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more will be said elsewhere.