62. And being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. That this signifies, the New Heaven and the New Church, which are in the good of love, is evident from the signification of turned to see, as denoting to understand from enlightenment (concerning which see what has just been said, n. 61); and from the signification of seven, as denoting all and what is full, and as being said of the holy things of heaven and the church (concerning this see above, n. 20, 24); from the signification of lampstands, as being the New Heaven and the New Church, as will be seen in what follows; and from the signification of gold, as being the good of love (respecting which, see Arcana Coelestia 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). That the seven lampstands signify heaven and the church, is evident from the last verse of this chapter, where it is said, "The seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches." That the seven churches signify all who belong to the church of the Lord, thus the church in general, may be seen above (n. 20); the reason why they also signify heaven, is, that heaven and the church make one. Heaven also is in those in whom the church is; the reason is, that the good of love and the good of faith constitute the church with man, and also constitute heaven with him, as with the angels; therefore those who, while in the world, had the church in them, that is to say, the goods and truths of the church, come into heaven after death. (That this is the case, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 12; and in the work, Heaven and Hell 57, 221-227.) The reason why the New Heaven and the New Church are here meant by the seven lampstands is, that these are ultimately treated of in the Apocalypse (as may be seen, chap. 21), and thus form the conclusion of all things therein; and since that which is ultimate is also the primary, therefore a prediction concerning them is presented in the beginning of that book.

In the Word it is also usual to mention those things in the first place which are done in the last, because intermediate things are included in them; for the primary thing, in the spiritual sense, is the end for which all the other things exist, inasmuch as the end is the primary and the ultimate, and all other things have respect to it (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 98).

[2] That a lampstand signifies heaven and the church, may be evident from the description of the lampstand which was in the tabernacle; for by the tabernacle was represented heaven in its whole extent; and by the lampstand therein the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven (see Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9548-9577, 9783). That this is the case is clearly evident from the fact, that John saw in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man; and the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, from which Divine truth proceeds, which is the all in all of heaven and the church. In the spiritual heaven the inhabitants see lampstands of great splendour; their heaven is represented by these; I have also been permitted to see them. It is, therefore, evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense of the Word, by lampstands and by lamps, in the following passages. In the Apocalypse:

"I will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent" (2:5)

To remove their lampstand, is to take away heaven or the church from them. In Zechariah:

The angel said to the prophet: "What seest thou? And I said, I saw, and behold a lampstand all of gold, its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon, with seven pipes to the lamps" (4:2, 3).

In this passage Zerubbabel is treated of, who was to lay the foundation of the house of God, and to perfect it; by whom is represented the Lord, who was about to come, and to restore heaven and the church, which are signified by the lampstand; and the holy truths therein are the seven lamps. Because a lampstand derives its representative signification from lamps, and lamps theirs from light, which in heaven is the Divine truth, therefore the Lord also is called a lamp, as in the Apocalypse:

The holy Jerusalem "had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof" (21:23; 22:5).

This is why David, and the kings after him, were called "lamps of Israel" (2 Sam. 21:17; 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19). For by David was represented the Lord as to his regal function; and similarly by the kings of Judah and Israel. (The representation by David may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1888, 9954; and by kings, above, n. 31.) The reason why the lampstands that were seen were of gold, was, that gold signifies the good of love, and all that proceeds from the Lord is from Divine love; wherefore the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is love to Him and love towards the neighbour, which is charity (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13-19). This is the reason why the lampstands here mentioned, and also the lampstand lit the tabernacle, was of gold.

6907. 'That the king of Egypt will not allow you to go' means that falsity will set itself in opposition. This is clear from the meaning of 'not allowing you' as setting itself in opposition, for he who does not allow something when it is said to be a Divine command, 6903, and he who refuses to let someone worship God, sets himself in opposition, as is common among all those who are under the influence of falsity of which they have become firmly convinced; from the representation of Pharaoh or 'the king of Egypt' as falsity, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683; and from the meaning of 'to go' - that is to say, a three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to Jehovah God - as to lead a life in keeping with truth in a state totally removed from falsities, and in so doing to worship the Lord, 6904.

[2] The situation when those under the influence of falsity, who are represented by 'the king of Egypt', set themselves against those guided by truths must be described. In the world those under the influence of falsity do not openly set themselves in opposition to those who are guided by truth, for they are held back from doing so by external restraints, which consist in the fear that others may see them as people who behave contrary to the laws of state and Church, in which case they would not seem to be good citizens. For everyone wishes the world to see him as righteous and true in outward appearance, and the wicked desire this more than the upright, in order that they may captivate people's minds and mislead them for reasons of gain and exalted positions. But inwardly they set themselves in opposition, for as often as they hear anyone proclaiming the truths of the Church not because it is his job to do so but because he loves them passionately, they laugh to themselves; and if at that time there were no external restraints to prevent them they would openly deride him. When such people enter the next life they are no longer held back by external restraints, since these are taken away from them in order that what each person is really like may be exposed to view. Then they openly set themselves in opposition to those who are guided by truths and molest them in every possible way; and this is now for them the absolute delight of their life. And when they are warned not to do such things because if they do not desist they will at length be removed completely and thrust down into hell, they nevertheless take no notice at all and carry on constantly with their molestation as before; for such is the strength of the delight they feel in living in accord with falsity. It takes them over so completely that they accept nothing whatever that makes for intelligence. These are the things that are meant by 'the king of Egypt will not allow you to go' and that are represented by Pharaoh's setting himself in opposition so many times. The removal of such spirits and the thrusting down of them into hell is represented by the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the Sea Suph.

[3] Those who lead an evil life and are consequently under the influence of falsity see by the light of the world, since it is the light in which a person sees things with his understanding. With those who are under the influence of falsity arising from evil this light is glowing; and the more they are under the influence of falsity arising from evil, the brighter it glows. The glory of the world, which has its origin in self-love, is what ignites it and gives it its glow. This being so, those people see truths in that light as nothing but falsities, and falsities as nothing but truths. The reason for this is that this light's rays cannot be infused with heavenly light; with that kind of light heavenly light becomes thick darkness. This is why such people believe firmly but wrongly in falsities as against truths, for this is how that inferior light leads them to see falsities and truths in relation to each other. With those however who are guided by truths that spring from good the light of the world is not glowing but dim, while the light of heaven is with them brightly shining. And because it is brightly shining, truths in that light look like truths, and falsities like falsities. For when that light falls onto falsities, which look like truths in the light of the world separated from the light of heaven, it does not merely dim them but altogether blots them out. This light - the light of heaven - becomes gradually brighter and brighter with them, till at length it is so bright that the light of the world cannot be compared with it. From all this one may see why those who are steeped in falsities arising from evil set themselves, because of the great strength of their wrong belief, in opposition to those guided by truths, an opposition which has been described just above.