474. Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever. (10:6; 10:6) This symbolizes an attestation and testification of the Lord on His own authority.

The angel standing on the sea and on the land means the Lord (no. 470). Lifting up the hand to heaven symbolizes an attestation, here that there should be no more time (verse 6). Swearing symbolizes a testification, here that in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel the mystery of God would be concluded (verse 7). He who lives forever and ever means the Lord, as in Revelation 1:18; 4:9-10, and 5:14 above, and in Daniel 4:34. That the Lord swears on His own authority will be seen shortly.

It is apparent from this that the statement, "Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever," symbolizes an attestation and testification of the Lord on His own authority.

[2] That Jehovah swears or testifies on His own authority is clear from the following passages:

I have sworn by Myself; a word has gone out of My mouth (which) shall not return... (Isaiah 45:23)

I swear by Myself... that this house shall become a desolation. (Jeremiah 22:5)

Jehovah... has sworn by His soul. (Jeremiah 51:14, Amos 6:8)

...Jehovah has sworn by His holiness. (Amos 4:2)

Jehovah has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength. (Isaiah 62:8)

Behold, I have sworn by My great name... (Jeremiah 44:26)

That Jehovah, which is to say, the Lord, swore by Himself or on His own authority means, symbolically, that Divine truth attests; for the Lord is Divine truth itself, and this attests of itself and on its own authority.

In addition to these passages, that Jehovah swore may be seen in Isaiah 14:24; 54:9, Psalms 89:3, 35; 95:11; 110:4; 132:11.

We are told that Jehovah swore because the church established with the children of Israel was a representational church, and the conjunction of the Lord with the church was represented by a covenant, like one made between two parties who swear to their compact. Therefore, because an oath was a part of any covenant, we are told that Jehovah swore. Still, this does not mean that He swore, but that Divine truth attests to something.

[3] That an oath was a part of any covenant is apparent from the following:

I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, so that you became Mine... (Ezekiel 16:8)

...to remember His covenant, the oath which He swore... (Luke 1:72-73; cf. Psalms 105:9, Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22, Deuteronomy 1:34; 10:11; 11:9, 21; 26:3, 15; 31:20; 34:4)

Because the covenant was representative of the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and reciprocally of the church with the Lord, and because an oath was a part of any covenant and was to be sworn on the ground of the truth in it, being sworn thus also in appeal to that truth, therefore the children of Israel were permitted to swear by Jehovah, and so in appeal to Divine truth (Exodus 20:7, Leviticus 19:12, Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20, Isaiah 48:1; 65:16, Jeremiah 4:2, Zechariah 5:4).

After the representative constituents of the church were abrogated, however, the Lord also abrogated oaths to covenants (Matthew 5:33-37; 23:16-22).

3761. 'Jacob lifted up his feet' means a raising up of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'lifting up' as a raising up, and from the meaning of 'the feet' as the natural, dealt with below. The raising up meant here is the subject of the chapter itself, namely a raising up from external truth towards internal good. In the highest sense the subject is how the Lord according to order raised His Natural even up to the Divine, rising up step by step from external truth towards internal good. In the representative sense it is how the Lord according to a similar order makes man's natural new when regenerating him. The fact that a person who is being regenerated in adult life progresses according to the order described in the internal sense of this chapter and of those that follow is known to few. This fact is known to few because few stop to reflect on the matter and also because few at the present day are able to be regenerated; for the last days of the Church have arrived when no charity exists any longer, nor consequently any faith. This being so, people do not even know what faith is, even though the assertion 'men is saved by faith' is on everyone's lips; and not knowing this they therefore have even less knowledge of what charity is. And since they know no more than the terms faith and charity and have no knowledge of what these are essentially, it has therefore been stated that few are able to reflect on the order in accordance with which a person is made new or regenerated, and also that few are able to be regenerated.

[2] Because the subject here is the natural, and the latter is represented by 'Jacob', it is not said that he rose up and went to the land of the sons of the east but that 'he lifted up his feet'. Both these expressions mean a raising up. As regards 'rising up' having this meaning, see 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171; and as regards the expression 'lifting up the feet' which occurs here, this is used in reference to the natural - 'the feet' meaning the natural, see 2162, 3147. 'The feet' means the natural or natural things because of their correspondence with the Grand Man - currently the subject at the ends of chapters. In the Grand Man those belonging to the province of the feet are those who dwell in natural light and little spiritual light. This also is why the parts beneath the foot - the sole and the heel - mean the lowest natural things, see 259, and why 'a shoe', which is also mentioned several times in the Word, means the bodily-natural, which is the lowest part of all, 1748.