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).

3573. And kiss me my son. That this signifies whether it can be united, is evident from the signification of “kissing;” as being unition and conjunction from affection. “Kissing,” which is an outward thing, signifies nothing else than the affection of conjunction, which is an inward thing; they also correspond. As is evident from what has been said above, the subject here treated of in the supreme sense is the glorification of the natural in the Lord, that is, how the Lord made the natural in Himself Divine; but in the representative sense the subject is the regeneration of the natural in man, thus the conjunction of the natural with the rational; for the natural is not regenerated until it has been conjoined with the rational. This conjunction is effected by the immediate and mediate influx of the rational into the good and truth of the natural; that is to say, from the good of the rational immediately into the good of the natural, and through this into the truth of the natural; and mediately through the truth of the rational into the truth of the natural, and thence into the good of the natural-which conjunctions are here treated of.

[2] These conjunctions are impossible except by means provided by the Divine, and indeed by such as are utterly unknown to man, and of which he can scarcely have any idea by means of the things of the world’s light, that is, which are of the natural lumen with him; but only by means of the things which are of the light of heaven, that is, which are of rational light. Nevertheless all these means have been disclosed in the internal sense of the Word, and are manifest before those who are in that sense, thus before the angels, who see and perceive innumerable things on this subject, of which scarcely one can be unfolded and explained in a manner suited to the apprehension of man.

[3] But from effects and the signs thereof it is in some measure manifest to man how the case is with this conjunction; for the rational mind (that is, man’s interior will and understanding) ought to represent itself in the natural mind just as this mind represents itself in the face and its expressions, insomuch that as the face is the countenance of the natural man, so the natural mind should be the countenance of the rational mind. When the conjunction has been effected, as is the case with those who have been regenerated, then whatever man interiorly wills and thinks in his rational presents itself conspicuously in his natural, and this latter presents itself conspicuously in his face. Such a face have the angels; and such a face had the most ancient people who were celestial men, for they were not at all afraid that others should know their ends and intentions, inasmuch as they willed nothing but good; for he who suffers himself to be led by the Lord never intends or thinks anything else. When the state is of this character, then the rational as to good conjoins itself immediately with the good of the natural, and through this with its truths; and also mediately through the truth that is conjoined with itself in the rational with the truth of the natural, and through this with the good therein; and in this way the conjunction becomes indissoluble.

[4] But how far man is at this day removed from this state, thus from the heavenly state, may be seen from the fact that it is believed to be of civil prudence to speak, to act, and also to express by the countenance, something else than what one thinks and intends, and even to dispose the natural mind in such a manner that together with its face it may act contrary to the things which it interiorly thinks and wills from an end of evil. To the most ancient people this was an enormous wickedness, and such persons were cast out from their society as devils. From these things, as from effects and their signs, it is evident in what consists the conjunction of the rational or internal of man as to good and truth with his natural or external man; and thus what is the quality of a man-angel, and what the quality of a man-devil.