400. And lo, there was a great earthquake. That this signifies the state of the church entirely changed, is plain from the signification of an earthquake, as denoting a change in the state of the church, for the earth denotes the church, and its quaking denotes a change of state. (That the earth denotes the church, may be seen above, n. 304; and that its quaking denotes a change of state, in the Arcana Coelestia 1273-1275, 1377, 3356). That this prediction, which is signified by the sixth seal being opened, involves a total change in the state of the church, is evident from the things that precede and those that follow in this chapter. In what precede it was predicted that the understanding of the Word would perish as to good, and afterwards as to truth, and at length that there would be no understanding of the Word, from evils of life and falsities of doctrine thence. The destruction of the understanding of the Word as to good, was signified by the red horse that was seen to go out from the opened seal of the book (concerning which see above, n. 364); the destruction of the understanding of the Word as to truth, was signified by the black horse that was seen (concerning which see above, n. 372); and that thence there was no understanding of the Word in consequence of evils of life, and falsities of doctrine, was signified by the pale horse (concerning which see above, n. 381). Hence then it follows that the state of the church was entirely changed; these things [appear] from what precedes; also from what follows, forasmuch as it is said that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, with other circumstances, signifying that there was no longer any good of love or truth of faith, nor any knowledges of good and truth; from which also it is evident that by a great earthquake is here signified that the state of the church was altogether changed.

[2] Moreover, that an earthquake signifies a change in the state of the church, is manifest from many passages in the Word, some of which shall be adduced in what follows. That an earthquake signifies this is from the appearances in the spiritual world; in that world, just as in the natural world, there are earths, valleys, hills, mountains, and upon them societies of spirits and angels dwell. Those places, before the new heaven was formed upon them, were seen to undergo remarkable changes; some appeared to subside, some to be agitated and shaken, and some to be rolled together as the volume or scroll of a book is wont to be rolled, and to be borne away; and some to shake and tremble as by a great earthquake. Such things were often seen by me before the new heaven was formed, and were always signs that the state of the church there was changed. When they shook and trembled as if by an earthquake, it was a sign that the state of the church there was being changed, and how much changed appeared from the extent and character of the earthquake; and when the state of the church was completely changed from good into evil and from truth into falsity, the earth then appeared to be rolled together as the scroll of a book and borne away. This is meant by the words in the 14th verse of this chapter, namely, "and the heaven departed as a scroll rolled together." Similar things were also seen by John, for when he saw them he was in the spirit, as he also says (1:10; 4:2); and he who sees in the spirit, sees the things that exist and appear in the spiritual world. From these things it is also now evident, that by an earthquake is signified a change in the state of the church, namely, from good into evil, and from truth into falsity.

[3] That nothing else is meant in the Word by the quakings and tremblings of the earth, is also evident from the following passages. In Joel:

"The earth was moved before him; the heavens trembled; the sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining" (2:10).

By the earth and the heavens here, as often elsewhere, is signified the church; by the earth, the external church; and by the heavens, the internal church. By the external church is meant worship from good and truth in the natural man; and by the internal church, the good of love and faith, which is in the spiritual man, whence worship is derived. For there is an internal and an external, or a spiritual and a natural man; so also is it with the church, for the church is in man, and it is from the men in whom the church is. The change and perversion of the church is signified by the earth quaking, and the heavens trembling. By the sun and the moon being darkened, is signified that there is no good of love and truth of faith; and by the stars withdrawing their shining, is signified that there were no longer any knowledges of truth and good.

[4] In Isaiah:

"I will make a man (virum hominem) more rare than pure gold. Therefore I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be moved out of its place, in the indignation of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of the wrath of his anger" (13:12, 13).

By a man (virum hominem) is meant intelligence, and by making him more rare than pure gold, is meant that there is scarcely any intelligence remaining. By intelligence is meant intelligence from truths, for all intelligence is from truths. Besides, "I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be moved out of its place," signifies that the good of love and the truth of faith is dissipated, and the worship in externals thence. By heaven and the earth are signified here, as above, the internal and the external of the church, the internal of the church being the good of love and the good of faith, and the external thereof being the worship thence; for according to the quality of the internal of the man of the church, such is his external, because the latter proceeds solely from the former. Without this external, worship is lifeless, and expression is without spirit; and the thought from which expression flows, and the will from which gesture comes, are without life, for there is no spiritual therein from which it may receive life. What is signified by the indignation of Jehovah, and the wrath of His anger, will be told in the explanation to the 17th verse below.

[5] In the same:

"The flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken, the earth is utterly broken, the earth is moved exceedingly, the earth staggereth as a drunkard, it moves to and fro like a hovel; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and shall not have occasion to rise again" (24:18-20).

That these things are not said of the earth but of the church, is clearly evident; for who can suppose that the foundations of the earth are shaken, that the earth shall stagger like a drunkard, shall move to and fro like a hovel? but every one can understand them when instead of the earth the church is thought of. That its change and perversion are signified by these words, is evident, for it is said, "the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and shall not rise again”: by the floodgates opened from on high, is also meant an inundation of evil and of falsity.

[6] In David:

"The earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains trembled, because he was wroth" (Psalms 18:7).

It is not meant by these words that the earth and its foundations shook and trembled, but that the church and the truths upon which it is founded trembled; for the earth signifies the church, and the foundations of the mountains signify the truths on which it is founded, which are truths from good; "because he was wroth," signifies the same thing as the wrath of Jehovah, in the Word. That the earth is agitated and shaken, and that the foundations of the mountains tremble, is from appearances in the spiritual world; for it so happens there when the state of the church is changed with those who dwell there. Moreover, those who are in truths dwell at the foot of the mountains, for all the habitations of the angels are in such order that those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and below them dwell those who are in truths from that good. When the state of the latter is changed as to truths, then their habitations tremble, thus also the foundations of the mountains. That there are such things in the spiritual world, and that they exist from the changes of the state of the church there, no one knows but him to whom it is revealed.

[7] In Nahum:

"The mountains quake before" Jehovah, "and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein. His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are overturned before him" (1:5, 6).

Mountains signify the church where there is love to the Lord, and hills the church where there is love towards the neighbour; hence by mountains is signified love to the Lord, and by hills love towards the neighbour. The reason is, that the angels who are in love to the Lord, dwell upon mountains, and those who are in love towards the neighbour, upon hills. When instead of love to the Lord the love of self reigns, and instead of love towards the neighbour, the love of the world reigns, then the mountains are said to tremble, and the hills to melt; for thus it happens in the spiritual world; not with the angels who are in heaven, but with the spirits who made to themselves the likeness of heaven upon mountains and hills, before the Last Judgment. Because the love of self and of the world is meant, therefore it is said that they melt, and also that the earth is burned before them, also the world, and all that dwell therein, likewise that His wrath is poured out like fire; for fire signifies those loves, and to melt and to be burned signify to perish by them. By the rocks which are overturned, are signified the truths of faith, because those who are in faith, and do good from obedience, although not from charity, dwell upon rocks in the spiritual world.

[8] In Job:

Jehovah "who shaketh the earth out of her place, so that the pillars thereof tremble" (9:6).

And in Jeremiah:

"Jehovah is God in truth, he is the living God, and king of the age; from his wrath the earth trembleth, neither can the nations abide his indignation" (10:10).

Here also by the earth is signified the church, but the church where falsities are, which is said to tremble when falsities are believed and are called truths. By nations are signified evils of falsity, the casting down of which into hell, and their destruction, are signified by the nations being unable to abide His indignation. In consequence of the earth here signifying the church where falsities are, therefore Jehovah is called a God in truth, the living God, and the king of the age; for He is called God and king from Divine truth, the living God from Divine truth in the heavens, and king of the age from Divine truth in the earths; and because where truth is treated of in the Word, good is treated of, because of the heavenly marriage in every particular of the Word, and hence, on the other hand, where falsity is treated of, evil is also treated of, mention is therefore also made of the nations, by which are signified the evils of falsity. What the evils of falsity are, which flow from falsities of doctrine, shall be illustrated by this instance:- Where the doctrine prevails that faith alone saves, and not the good of life, also that nothing of evil is imputed to him who has faith, and that a man may be saved by faith alone, even in the last [hours] of his life, if he then only believe that the Lord has delivered all from the yoke of the law by His fulfilment thereof, and made propitiation by His blood, then the evils which man does in consequence of such a faith are evils of falsity.

[9] In Ezekiel:

"In the day in which Gog shall come upon the land of Israel, wrath shall rise up in my anger, and in my zeal, and in the fire of indignation will I speak: Surely there shall be in this day a great earthquake upon the land of Israel, so that they shall tremble together before me, the fishes of the sea, and the bird of the heavens, and the wild beast of the field, and every reptile creeping upon the earth, and every man who is upon the faces of the earth, and the mountains shall be overturned, and the steps shall fall, and every wall shall fall in ruins to the earth" (Ezekiel 38:18-26).

By Gog is signified external worship without internal; by the land of Israel is signified the church. Hence it is evident what, "In that day Gog shall come upon the land of Israel," signifies. That then there shall be a great earthquake, signifies the change of the church, and the inversion thereof; for external worship derives all its quality from internal worship, so that according to the quality of the latter, such is the former. Hence where there is no internal worship, external worship is not worship, but only gesture and speech, the thought which is then present being from the natural memory alone, and the affection from the body, such as springs from habit before men. By the fishes of the sea, the bird of the heavens, the wild beast of the field, and every reptile creeping upon the earth shall tremble, are signified all things of man. For by the fishes of the sea are signified natural things in general, and specifically the scientifics there; by the birds of the heavens are signified intellectual things in general, specifically thoughts from truths, but here from falsities; by the wild beast of the field is signified the affection and lust of falsity and evil; and by the reptile creeping upon the earth, is signified the Sensual, which is the ultimate of the Natural, together with its delights and scientifics. And because all things of man are signified thereby, it is therefore said, "and every man who is upon the faces of the earth," every man, in the spiritual sense, denoting everything of man as to intelligence and wisdom. That all the good and all the truth thereof shall perish, and that thus every evil and falsity will break in without resistance, is signified by the mountains being overturned, the steps falling, and every wall falling in ruins to the ground. By the mountains are signified the goods of love; by the steps, the truths thence; and by the wall, defence; and where there is no defence, thither every evil and falsity break in without resistance. Who does not see that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the wild beast of the field, and the creeping thing of the earth, as trembling together before Jehovah, are not meant?

[10] In Jeremiah:

"At the noise of the fall" of Edom and of the inhabitants of Theman, "the earth trembled, a cry and the sound thereof was heard in the sea Suph" (49:21).

By Edom and the inhabitants of Theman, these are not meant, but the evils and falsities opposed to the goods and truths of the celestial kingdom. Hence by the earth trembling at the noise of the fall of Edom and the inhabitants of Theman, is signified the change of the church, and also its perishing by those evils and falsities; the cry, the sound whereof was heard in the sea Suph, signifies their damnation, the sea Suph denoting damnation, a cry being said of the damnation of evil, and a sound of the damnation of falsity. (That the sea Suph signifies damnation and hell, may be seen, n. 8099.)

[11] In David:

"O God, thou hast forsaken us, thou hast made a breach in us, thou hast been displeased; bring back rest to us. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it; heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh" (Psalms 60:1, 2).

The falling away of the church, and thence the perversion of truth and the breaking in of falsity, are signified by the breach; this, therefore, is signified by, "Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou has broken it"; and by, the earth shaketh, the earth denoting the church.

[12] In Haggai:

"Yet once, a little while, and then I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land]; and I will shake all nations, that the choice of all nations may come: and I will fill this house with glory" (2:6, 7).

These things are said concerning the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and by the new temple there is signified the new church to be established by the Lord. This is meant by, "Yet once, a little while," and by, "then I will shake all nations, that the choice of all nations may come; and I will fill this house with glory"; by nations and the choice of the nations are signified all who are in good (see above, n. 175, 331). By house is signified the church, and by glory, Divine truth. This new church is further described in that chapter thus:

"The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, for in this place will I give peace" (verse 9).

The judgment in the spiritual world, which shall precede, is described by, "I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land]." And by the heavens and the earth are meant all the interior things of the church, and by the sea and the dry [land], all its exterior things.

[13] In the Evangelists:

"Nation shall be roused against nation, kingdom against kingdom; for there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7, 8; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11).

By, "Nation shall be roused against nation, and kingdom against kingdom," is signified that evil shall fight with evil, and falsity with falsity; by a nation is signified the good of the church, and, in an opposite sense, its evil, and by a kingdom is signified the truth of the church, and, in an opposite sense, its falsity. By, "there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places," is signified that there will no longer be any goods and truths, and knowledge of good and truth, and thus that the state of the church has been changed, which an earthquake denotes. In these chapters of the Evangelists, the successive states of the church even to its consummation are predicted, but they are described by pure correspondences (which are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3353-3356, 3486-3489, 3650-3655, 3751-3757, 3897-3901, 4056-4060, 4229-4231, 4332-4335, 4422-4434.

[14] It is recorded also in the Word that there was an earthquake when the Lord suffered upon the cross, and also when the angel descended and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre; by each earthquake was signified a change in the state of the church. Concerning the earthquake [which took place] when the Lord suffered, it is thus written:

"The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did shake, and the rocks were rent. The centurion and they who were guarding Jesus with him, seeing the earthquake, and those things that were done, feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:51, 54).

And concerning the earthquake which took place when the angel descended and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, it is thus stated:

When "Mary Magdalene came and the other Mary to see the sepulchre; and, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the mouth, and sat upon it" (Matthew 28:1, 2).

Those earthquakes took place to indicate that the state of the church was then being changed; for the Lord, by His last temptation, which He sustained in Gethsemane and upon the cross, conquered the hells, and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, therefore, there was an earthquake, and the rocks were rent. That the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, signified that His Human was made Divine; for within the veil was the ark in which was the testimony, and by the testimony was signified the Lord as to His Divine Human (as may be seen shown above, n. 392). The veil signified the external of the church which was with the Jews and Israelites, and which covered their eyes, so that they might not see the Lord and the Divine truth, or the Word in its own light. The same is signified by the great earthquake which took place when the angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, namely, that the state of the church was being entirely changed; for the Lord then rose again, and as to His Human took upon Him all dominion over heaven and earth, as He Himself says in Matthew (28:18). The angel rolling away the stone from the mouth and sitting upon it, signifies that the Lord removed all the falsity that cut off approach to Him, and that He opened Divine truth; for a stone signifies Divine truth, which the Jews had falsified by their tradition; for it is said that

the chief-priests and Pharisees sealed the stone with a watch (Matthew 27:66);

but that an angel from heaven removed it, and sat upon it. But [although] the things that are mentioned respecting the earthquakes, also respecting the veil of the temple, and the stone before the mouth of the sepulchre, are few, there are still more things signified thereby; for everything in general and particular written in the Gospels concerning the Lord's passion involves and signifies arcana. By the earthquakes also elsewhere in the Apocalypse, are signified changes of the state of the church (as chaps. 11:13; 16:18, 19).

392. The souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. That this signifies those who were rejected and hidden on account of the Divine truth, and their confession of the Lord, is plain from the signification of the slain, as denoting such as are rejected by the evil, and concealed by the Lord, of whom we shall treat presently; and from the signification of the Word of God, as denoting the Divine truth. What the Lord speaks is called the Word of God, and this is Divine truth. The Word or Sacred Scripture is nothing else; for all Divine truth is contained therein, but the truth itself does not there appear in its glory except before the angels, because the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual and celestial, come within their perception, and also constitute their wisdom. Therefore by the Word of God, in the genuine sense, is signified Divine truth, and in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, who spoke it, for He spoke from Himself, or from His Divine, and what proceeds from Him is also Himself.

[2] That the Divine proceeding is Himself, may be illustrated by this circumstance. Around every angel there is a sphere called the sphere of his life; this puts itself forth to a great distance from him. This sphere flows out, or proceeds from the life of his affection or love, therefore it is an extension of the life, such as it is in him, outside of him. This extension is effected in the middle atmosphere or spiritual aura, which is the aura of heaven. By that sphere an angel is perceived at a distance by others according to the quality of his affection; this it has also been granted me sometimes to perceive. But about the Lord there is a Divine sphere, which near Him appears as a Sun, which is His Divine love, from which that sphere proceeds into the whole heaven and fills it, and constitutes the light there; this sphere is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which in its essence is Divine truth. A comparison is here made with the angels for the sake of illustration, in order that it may be known that the Divine proceeding from the Lord is the Lord Himself, because it is the proceeding of His love, and the proceeding is Himself outside of Himself; and from the signification of testimony, as denoting confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself, of which we shall speak presently.

[3] That by the slain are here meant those who were rejected by wicked spirits, and concealed by the Lord, or removed from the eyes of others, and reserved to the day of the Last Judgment, is evident from what was said in the article above, and also from what follows in the two verses that treat solely of them. In the article above it was observed, that the former heaven which passed away, consisted of those who lived morally in externals, but yet were not spiritual, but merely natural, or who lived as it were a spiritual life, only from the affection or love of fame, honour, glory, and gain, thus for the sake of appearance. These, although they were inwardly evil, were still tolerated, and constituted societies in the higher places in the spiritual world; these societies, taken together, were called heaven, but the former heaven which afterwards passed away. Hence it came to pass, that all those who were spiritual, that is, who were not only outwardly but also inwardly good, could not be together with such, but withdrew from them, either of their own accord or from compulsion, and were subjected, where found, to persecutions; therefore they were concealed by the Lord, and reserved in their places to the day of Judgment, in order that they might constitute a new heaven; these, therefore, are those who are meant by the souls of the slain seen under the altar. Hence it is evident that by the slain are signified those who were rejected and hidden, for they were hated by the others on account of Divine truth and the confession of the Lord; and those who are hated are called the slain, for to hate is spiritually to kill. That they are meant by the souls of the slain, is evident also from what follows in the two verses where it is thus said concerning them:

"And they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time, until both their fellow-servants and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

That those here spoken of are meant by the slain, no one can know except he to whom it has been revealed; for who, except from revelation, could know of whom the former heaven, mentioned in theApocalypse 21:1, consisted, and of whom the new heaven was formed; and that those of whom the new heaven was to be formed, were in the meantime concealed and reserved by the Lord? And unless these things had been revealed to some one, all the things contained in the Apocalypse in the internal sense must have remained hidden, because they principally treat of such things as were to take place in the spiritual world before the Last Judgment, also of those things that occurred during it, and after it.

[4] That by testimony is signified confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself, is evident from the passages in the Word which follow. This signification thus derives its origin because the Word, in all things in general and particular, testifies concerning the Lord; for, in its inmost sense, it treats of the Lord alone, and in the internal sense, of the celestial and spiritual things that proceed from the Lord, and in the particular sense the Lord testifies concerning Himself with every one who is in the life of love and charity. For the Lord flows into the heart and life of such, and teaches them, especially concerning His Divine Human, for He gives to those who are in a life of love, to think of God under a human form, and God under a human form is the Lord. Thus do the simple think in the Christian world; and thus also do the Gentiles think, who live in charity according to their religious persuasion. Both of these are astonished when they hear the learned speak of God as not to be perceived under any human form, knowing that, in such case, they would see no God in their thought, and hence that they would have but little faith in the existence of a God, because the faith which is a faith of charity desires to comprehend in some way what is believed, for faith pertains to the thought, and to think what is incomprehensible is not to think, but only to know and thence to speak without any idea. The angels, even the wisest, do not think of God except as in the human form. To think otherwise is impossible to them, because their perceptions flow according to the form of heaven, which is the human form from the Lord's Divine Human (on which subject see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 59-86); also because the affections from which their thoughts come are from influx, and influx is from the Lord. These observations are made, in order that it may be known why it is that testimony signifies the Lord, namely, because the Lord testifies concerning Himself with all who receive His testification, and they are such as live a life of love to the Lord, and a life of charity towards the neighbour. The reason why these receive the testification and confess Him, is, that the life of love and charity opens the interior mind by the influx of light from heaven; for the life of love and charity is the Divine Life itself, for the Lord loves every one, and does good to every one from love; therefore, where that life is received, there the Lord is present, and is conjoined to him, consequently, He flows into his higher mind, which is called the spiritual mind, and by light from Himself opens it.

[5] That testimony signifies the Lord, and with man confession of the Lord from the heart, and specifically the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human, is evident from this fact, that the law which was prescribed on Mount Sinai, and written upon two tables, and afterwards deposited in the ark, is called the Testimony; whence the ark also was called the ark of the testimony, and the tables also were called the tables of the testimony. And because this was most holy, therefore, the mercy-seat was placed over the ark, and over the mercy-seat were sculptured two cherubim, between which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, spoke with Moses and Aaron. Hence it is clear that the testimony signifies the Lord Himself; otherwise the mercy-seat would not have been placed over the ark, nor would the Lord have spoken with Moses and Aaron between the cherubim which was over the mercy-seat. When Aaron also entered within the veil, which he did once every year, he was first sanctified, and afterwards he burnt incense till the smoke of it covered the mercy-seat, which unless he had done, it is said that he would have died. From these things it plainly appears, that the testimony which was in the ark, and which was the law promulgated on Mount Sinai, and written on two tables of stone, signified the Lord Himself.

[6] That that law is called the testimony, is plain in Moses:

"Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee" (Exodus 25:16).

"He put the testimony into the ark" (Exodus 40:20).

"The mercy-seat that is upon the testimony" (Leviticus 16:13).

"Leave the rods of the tribes before the testimony" (Num. 17:4).

That the tables and the ark were thence called the tables and the ark "of the testimony" (Exodus 25:22; 31:7, 18; 32:15). That the mercy-seat was placed over it, and over the mercy-seat two sculptured cherubim (Exodus 25:17-23; 26:34). That the Lord spoke with Moses and with Aaron between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:16, 21, 22; Numbers 17:4, and elsewhere). That they sanctified themselves before they entered thither, and that the smoke of the incense covered the mercy-seat lest they should die (Leviticus 16).

[7] That the testimony signifies the Lord, is also plain from this fact, that what was over the ark was called the mercy-seat; and the Lord is the Propitiator. The ark also, from the testimony in it, was the Holy of Holies, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, and hence the tabernacle was holy, and also the temple. The tabernacle and also the temple, represented heaven, and heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human; whence it follows that by the testimony is signified the Lord as to His Divine Human. (That the tent of assembly represented heaven, may be seen, n. 9457, 9481, 9485, 10545. That the temple signified the same, may be seen above, n. 220; and that heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 59-86.) The reason why the law promulgated from mount Sinai is called the testimony, is because that law, in a broad sense, signifies the whole Word, both historical and prophetical; and the Word is the Lord, according to these words in John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; and the Word was made flesh" (1:1, 14).

The reason why the Word is the Lord is, that the Word signifies Divine truth, and all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord, for it is the light which in heaven enlightens the minds of the angels and also the minds of men, and gives them wisdom; this light in its essence is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun concerning which light see the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Hence it is that, after it is said that the Word was with God, and the Word was God, it is also said in John:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (verses 4, 9, in that chapter).

[8] From these things it is also evident that the Lord is meant by the testimony; for the law written on two tables, which was called the testimony, signifies the Word in its whole extent, and the Lord is the Word. That the law, in a broad sense, signifies the Word in its whole extent, in a sense less broad the historical Word, and in a strict sense the ten precepts of the Decalogue, may be seen, n. 6762. This law was also called a covenant, and hence the tables on which it was written, were called the tables of the covenant, and the ark also was called the ark of the covenant (see Exodus 34:28; Num. 14:44; Deuteronomy 9:9, 15; Apoc. 11:19, and elsewhere); the reason of this was, that a covenant signifies conjunction, and the Word, or the Divine truth, is that which conjoins man with the Lord, otherwise no conjunction is possible. That a covenant signifies conjunction, may be seen, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6864, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632. The reason why that law is called both a covenant and a testimony, is, because when it is called a covenant, the Word is meant, by means of which there is conjunction; and when it is called a testimony, the Lord Himself who conjoins is meant; also on the part of man, confession of the Lord, and acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, which conjoin. From these things it can be seen why it is that, in the church, the Word is called a covenant; the Word which was before the Lord's Advent, the old covenant, and that which was after His Advent, the new covenant; it is called also the Old and New Testament, but it should be called Testimony.

[9] That by testimony is signified the Lord, and, on the part of man, confession of the Lord, and acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, is plain also from these passages in the Word. In the Apocalypse:

"They overcame" the dragon "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony. And the wrathful dragon went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (12:11, 17).

And elsewhere:

"I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (19:10).

By the testimony of Jesus being the spirit of prophecy is signified, that confession of the Lord, and the acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, are the life of all truth, both in the Word, and in doctrine from the Word.

[10] And in another place:

"The souls of them that were slain with the axe for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, have not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand" (20:4).

But this will be explained in what follows.

In David:

"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: and thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, unto the testimony of Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah. For there the thrones for judgment are set" (Psalms 122:3-5).

By Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine, which is called builded, when established by the Lord; "as a city that is compact together," signifies doctrine in which all things are in order, a city denoting doctrine. Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, signifies that therein are all truths and goods in the aggregate. Unto the testimony of Israel, to confess the name of Jehovah, signifies confession and acknowledgment of the Lord there; for there the thrones for judgment are set, signifies that there is Divine truth according to which judgment is executed. That thrones signify this, see above, n. 253.

[11] In the same:

"Jehovah hath set up a testimony in Jacob, and a law in Israel" (Psalms 78:5).

By Jacob and Israel is signified the church; by Jacob the external church, and by Israel the internal church; and by the testimony and the law is signified the Word; by the testimony that which therein teaches the goods of life; and by the law that which therein teaches the truths of doctrine. Because those who are in the external church are in the good of life according to the truths of doctrine, and those who are in the internal church are in the truths of doctrine according to which the life [is formed], therefore, the testimony is said of Jacob; and the law, of Israel.

[12] In the same:

"If thy sons will keep my covenant, and the testimony that I shall teach them, thy sons shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore" (Psalms 132:12).

These things are said of David, but by David is there meant the Lord; by his sons are meant those who do the Lord's precepts; of them it is said: "If thy sons will keep my covenant" and My testimony; by covenant the same is meant as above by the law, namely, the truth of doctrine; and by testimony the same as above by testimony, namely, the good of life according to the truths of doctrine. Similar things are signified by covenant and testimonies in David (Psalms 25:10).

[13] Testimonies are mentioned in many passages in the Word and at the same time the law, precepts, commandments, statutes, and judgments; and by testimonies and commandments are there signified those things that teach life; by the law and precepts, those that teach doctrine; by statutes and judgments, those that teach rituals; as in the following passages in David:

"The law of Jehovah is perfect, recreating the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commandments of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the precept of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgments of Jehovah are the truth, they are altogether just" (Psalms 14:7-9).

And in the same:

"Blessed are the sincere in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. Thou hast taught thy commandments to be strictly kept. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy precepts. I will confess to thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned the judgments of thy justice" (119:1-7; similarly in verses 12-15, 88, 89, 151-156; and elsewhere).