297. (5:1) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. That this signifies the Lord as to omnipotence and as to omniscience, is evident from the signification of the right hand when said of the Lord, as denoting omnipotence and also omniscience (concerning which we shall speak presently): and from the signification of Him that sat upon the throne, as denoting the Lord as to Divine good in heaven. For throne signifies heaven in general, specifically the spiritual heaven, and, in the abstract, the Divine truth proceeding, from which heaven is, and by which judgment is effected (as may be seen above, n. 253). The reason why the Lord is meant by Him that sat upon the throne, and also by the Lamb which took the book from Him that sat upon the throne, is, because by Him that sat upon the throne is meant the Lord as to Divine good, and by the Lamb the Lord as to Divine truth: for there are two things that proceed from the Lord as the Sun of heaven, namely, Divine good and Divine truth. Divine good from the Lord is called the Father in the heavens, and this is meant by Him that sat upon the throne; and Divine truth from the Lord is called the Son of man, but in this case the Lamb. And because Divine good judges no one, but Divine truth, it is therefore said here, that the Lamb took the book from Him that sat upon the throne. That the Divine good judges no one, but Divine truth, is meant by the Lord's words in John:

"The Father judgeth no one, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, because he is the Son of man" (5:22, 27).

By the Father is meant the Lord as to Divine good; and by the Son of man, the Lord as to Divine truth. The reason why Divine good judges no one, is, because it explores no one: but Divine truth [judges], for this explores every one. But still it must be known that the Lord Himself does not judge any one from the Divine truth that proceeds from Him, for this is united to the Divine good, so that they are one, but that a man-spirit judges himself: for it is the Divine truth received by him that judges him; and because it appears as if the Lord judges him, it is therefore said in the Word that all are judged by the Lord. This also the Lord teaches in John:

Jesus said, "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejected me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the Word that I have spoken, it shall judge him in the last day" (12:47, 48).

[2] For with respect to judgment, the case is this: the Lord is present with all, and from Divine love wills to save all and also turns and leads all to Himself. Those who are in good, and thence in truths, follow, for they apply themselves; but those who are in evil, and thence in falsities, do not follow, but turn themselves away from the Lord, and to turn themselves away from the Lord is [to turn] from heaven to hell; for every man spirit is either his own good and the truth thence, or he is his own evil and the falsity thence. He who is in good and the truth therefrom, suffers himself to be led by the Lord; but he who is in evil and the falsity thence, does not suffer himself to be led. The latter resists with all his might and effort; for he wills according to his own love, which inspires and animates him; therefore his desire is to those who are in a similar love of evil. Hence it is evident that the Lord judges no one, but that the Divine truth received judges to heaven those who have received Divine truth in the heart, that is, in the love: and to hell those who have not received Divine truth in the heart, and have denied it. From these considerations it is evident how the Lord's words must be understood. "All judgment is [given] to the Son, because he is the Son of man." And elsewhere, that "he came not to judge the world but to save the world, and that the Word which he has spoken will judge him."

[3] But these things are such as do not fall into man's own intelligence, for they are amongst the arcana of the wisdom of the angels. This subject, however, is in some measure elucidated in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 545-551, where this fact is treated of, that the Lord casts no one into hell, but that the spirit himself [casts] himself thither. That it is the Lord who is meant "by him that sat upon the throne," and not another whom they distinguish from Him, and call God the Father, is evident to every one from this consideration, that there was no other Divine which the Lord called Father, but His own Divine: for this assumed the Human, therefore this was His Father; and that this is infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, God, Lord, and in nothing differing from the very Divine, which they distinguish from Him and call "the Father," is evident from the received faith, called the Athanasian; where it is also said, That none of them is greatest and least, and none of them first and last, but that they are altogether equal; and that as one is, so is the other, infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, God, Lord: and yet there are not three infinites, but one: not three eternals, but one: not three uncreate, but one: not three omnipotents, but one: not three Gods and Lords, but one.

These things are mentioned, in order that it may be known that there are not two distinct [beings] meant by "Him that sat upon the throne," and by "the Lamb," nor in what follows "by God" and "the Lamb" but that by the one is meant the Divine good, and by the other the Divine truth in heaven, both proceeding from the Lord. That the Lord is meant by Him that sat upon the throne, also appears from all the particulars of chapter four, where a throne and one sitting thereon is treated of; this may be seen explained, n. 258-295: and, moreover, in Matthew:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (25:31; 19:28, 29).

Again in Ezekiel:

"And above the expanse that was over the head of the cherubim was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man sitting upon it" (1:26; 10:1)

And in Isaiah:

"I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his borders filled the temple" (6:1).

[4] Because by a throne is signified heaven, and by one sitting upon a throne, the Lord as to His Divine in heaven, therefore it is said above (in chap. Revelation 3), "To him that overcometh, I will give to sit with me on my throne," by which is signified that he shall be in heaven where the Lord is (as may be seen above, n. 253); and therefore in what follows in this chapter, it is said,

"I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne a Lamb standing" (5:6).

And in chapter 22,

"He shewed me a river of the water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1).

By the throne of God and of the Lamb, is meant heaven and the Lord there, as to Divine good, and as to Divine truth; God there denoting the Lord as to Divine good; and the Lamb, as to Divine truth. There is a distinction made here between them, because there are those who receive one more than the other; those who receive the Divine truth in good are saved; but those who receive the Divine truth, which is the Word, not in good, are not saved, because all Divine truth is in good, and nowhere else. Therefore those who do not receive it in good, reject and deny it, if not openly yet tacitly, and if not with the mouth yet with the heart; for the heart of such is evil, and evil rejects. To receive Divine truth in good, is to receive it in the good of charity; for those who are in that good receive.

6997. 'And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses' means leniency. This is clear from the meaning of 'the anger of Jehovah' as not anger but the opposite of anger, which is mercy or in this instance leniency. The absence of any anger in Jehovah is evident from the consideration that He is love itself, goodness itself, and mercy itself, while anger is the opposite and is also a failing, which is inapplicable to God. For this reason when anger in the Word is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, the angels do not discern anger but either mercy or the removal of the wicked from heaven. Here they discern leniency because what is said is addressed to Moses, who represents the Lord when He was in the world in respect of Divine Truth.

[2] The Word attributes anger to Jehovah or the Lord because of the very general truth that all things come from God, thus the bad as well as the good. But this very general truth, which young children, older ones, and simple people need to have, must at a later stage be clarified. That is to say, it must be shown that bad things are assignable to man, though they may seem to be assignable to God, and have been declared to be so to the end that people may learn to fear God, so as not to be destroyed by wicked things they themselves do, and may then come to love Him. Fear must come before love in order that love may have holy fear within it; for when fear is instilled into love that fear is made holy by the holiness of love. Once it is made holy it is not a fear that the Lord will be angry and punish them, but a fear that they may act contrary to Goodness itself; for to do that will torment their conscience.

[3] Furthermore it was by means of punishments that the Israelites and the Jews were compelled to fulfill the external and formal requirements of religious laws and commands. This led them to think that Jehovah was angry and punished them, when in fact they themselves through their idolatrous behaviour were the ones who brought such things upon themselves and cut themselves off from heaven. Their own behaviour brought about their punishments, as it also says in Isaiah,

Your iniquities cause division between you and your God; and your sins hide [His] face from you. Isaiah 59:1.

And since the Israelites and the Jews were confined to the fulfillment of external requirements and knew nothing internal they continued to believe that Jehovah was angry and punished them. For people who concern themselves only with things of an external nature but not with anything internal do everything out of fear and nothing out of love.

[4] From all this one may now see what 'the anger' and 'the wrath' of Jehovah are used to mean in the Word, namely punishments, as in Isaiah,

Behold, the name of Jehovah comes from afar, burning with His anger, and the heaviness of the burden. His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue like a burning fire. Isaiah 30:27.

'Anger' stands for reproof, and for a warning in order that evils may not destroy them. In the same prophet,

In an overflowing of anger I hid My face from you for a moment. Isaiah 54:8.

'An overflowing of anger' stands for temptation, during which evils bring pain and torment. In Jeremiah,

I Myself will fight with you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great indignation. Lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn so that there is none to quench it because of the wickedness of your works. Jeremiah 21:5, 12.

In the same prophet,

. . . to fill those places with the corpses of people whom I smote in My anger and in My wrath. Jeremiah 33:5.

In Zephaniah,

I will pour out onto them My indignation, all My fierce anger, ¹ for in the fire of My zeal the whole earth will be devoured. Zephaniah 3:8.

In David,

He let loose on them His fierce anger, ² indignation, fury, distress, and a mission of evil angels. Psalms 78:49.

[5] In addition to these there are many other places in which, as in these, 'anger , 'wrath', 'fury', and 'fire' are used to mean states of punishment or damnation into which a person casts himself when he enters into evil ways. For it is in keeping with Divine order that rewards should go with ways that are good, and therefore that punishments should go with those that are evil, so much so that they are bound up in one another. Punishment and damnation are also meant by the day of Jehovah's anger in Isaiah 13:9, 17; Lamentations 2:1; Zephaniah 2:3; Revelation 6:17; 11:18; also by the wine of God's anger and the cup of God's anger in Jeremiah 25:15, 28; Revelation 14:10; 16:19; as well as by the winepress of God's anger and fury in Revelation 14:19; 19:15.

[6] The fact that punishment and damnation are meant by 'anger' is also evident in Matthew,

Brood of vipers, who has shown you to flee from the anger to come? Matthew 3:7.

In John,

He who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the anger of God rests upon him. John 3:36.

In Luke,

In the final period there will be great distress over the earth, and anger on that people. Luke 21:23.

From these places it is evident that 'the anger of Jehovah' means forms of punishment and damnation. The reason why 'anger' is used to mean leniency and mercy is that all forms of punishment that the evil suffer arise because of the Lord's mercy shown towards the good to protect them from harm done by the evil. Yet the Lord does not inflict punishments on the evil; rather, it is they who inflict them on themselves since evils and forms of punishment in the next life are bound up with one another. The evil especially inflict punishments on themselves when the Lord acts mercifully towards the good, for at such times the evils and the resulting punishments are on the increase in them. This explains why instead of 'the anger of Jehovah', which means forms of punishment suffered by the evil, angels understand mercy.

[7] From all this one may recognize what the Word in the sense of the letter is like and also what God's truth in its most general form is like - that it presents matters in ways that accord with outward appearances. The reason for this is that man is by nature such that he believes what he can see and apprehend with his senses, but does not believe and for that reason does not accept what he cannot see or apprehend with his senses. This is why the Word in the sense of the letter presents matters in accordance with outward appearances; nevertheless it has genuine truths concealed in its more internal recesses, while in its inmost recesses it conceals God's truth itself going forth directly from the Lord, and so Divine Good, which is the Lord Himself.

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