665. The spirit of life from God entered into them.- That this signifies enlightenment and the reception in some of Divine Truth from the Lord for the beginning of a new church, is evident from the signification of the spirit of life from God, as denoting the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of entering into them, namely, into the witnesses that were slain and cast forth, as denoting enlightenment and the reception of influx, namely, of Divine Truth, which is signified by the spirit of life. That this takes place with some for establishing a new church is evident from the verse that follows, where it is said, that they ascended into heaven in a cloud, thus with some. For the two witnesses signify the goods of love and truths of doctrine, and those are meant with whom these are, for all such are witnesses.

[2] When the end of the church is at hand, it is then provided by the Lord that a new church shall succeed, because without a church in which the Word is, and in which the Lord is known, the world could not continue to exist. For without the Word, and the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord, heaven could not be conjoined to the human race, and consequently the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord could not flow-in with new life. And without conjunction with heaven, and by that means with the Lord, a man would not be a man, but a beast; for this reason a new church is always provided by the Lord, when the old comes to its end. The reason why the beginning only of a new church is meant, and not yet its establishment, will be shown in the explanation of the verse that follows.

[3] That by the spirit of life from God, or by the spirit of God, and by the Holy Spirit, is meant the proceeding Divine from the Lord, called the Divine Truth, from which are all wisdom and intelligence, has been said and shown above (n. 24, 183, 318). It is this proceeding Divine that illustrates man, and flows into him, when he is being reformed and regenerated, thus when the church commences and is being established in him, as is very clear from the passages quoted from the Word above (n. 183), and also from this in Ezekiel:

Jehovah "said unto me, Prophesy about the spirit, and prophesy, Son of Man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Come, O spirit, from the four winds, and breathe into these slain, that they may live; and when I prophesied, the spirit entered into them, and they lived again, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army" (37:9, 10).

[4] This treats of the dry bones seen by the prophet upon the faces of the valley, by which the house of Israel is signified, as is plainly declared in verse 11 of the same chapter. And the house of Israel signifies the church, which house or church is there compared to dry bones, because it possesses no good of love or truth of doctrine. The establishment of a new church by the in-breathing of new life, or by regeneration, is described by the sinews, flesh, and skin, with which the bones were clothed and encompassed, and especially by the spirit which entered into them, and from which they lived. The spirit in them also signifies there the reception of the influx of Divine Truth, and spiritual life therefrom. The prophet said unto the wind, "come, O spirit, from the four winds," because the four winds signify the four quarters in the spiritual world, and the four quarters there signify the goods of love and the truths of doctrine in their entirety. Concerning the signification of these things it may be seen above (n. 417, 418, 419, 422, and in the Heaven and Hell, 141-150).

23. From him who is, and who was, and who is to come. That this signifies, from Him who is the All in all of heaven and of the church from eternity to eternity, is evident from the signification of who is, and who was, and who is to come, as being from eternity to eternity; and also, that He is the All in all of heaven, and of the church. The reason why from eternity to eternity is signified by these words is, because all times, in the Word, signify not times, but states of life (as may be evident from what is said and shown concerning time in heaven, in the work, Heaven and Hell 162-169); and because all times signify states of life, therefore, when the Lord is treated of, they signify infinite state, and infinite state, in reference to time, is eternity. That all times are embraced in the expressions, "who is, and who was, and who is to come," is manifest. Much might be said about eternity, as a term applicable to the Lord alone; but it would not be understood by the natural man, whose thoughts are chiefly based on time, space and matter, although eternity does not involve such things. If a man could think of eternity as the angels of heaven think, he might possibly have some idea of it, and be able to comprehend what "from eternity" means, which is signified by the expression "who was"; also what the Divine foresight is, that it embraces the most particular things from eternity; and what the Divine providence is, that it extends to the most particular things, to eternity; consequently, that whatever proceeds from the Lord is from eternity to eternity, and that unless such were the case, heaven and the universe could not subsist.

But at present we cannot enter further into this arcanum. (Something may be seen respecting it in the work,Heaven and Hell 167.) Here let it be observed only that the same is understood by "Jehovah" as by, "who is, who was, and who is to come," because the word Is, which is JEHOVAH, involves the past, which is meant by "who was," and the future, which is meant by "who is to come," and thus signifies from eternity to eternity.

[2] That Is signifies from eternity is also known in the Christian world from that Psalm of David, where it is said,

"I will declare concerning the decree; Jehovah hath said unto me. Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee" (2:7).

It is known that these things are said of the Lord, and that by to-day is meant from eternity. (That to-morrow, in the Word, where the Lord is treated of, also signifies to eternity, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3998.) The reason why who is, who was, and who is to come signifies also the All in all of heaven and the church is, because it signifies eternal, and eternal cannot be expressed by any other word in heaven than by Divine. The reason of this is that Infinite cannot fall into an angelic idea, still less into a human idea; and by eternal is meant the infinite Manifestation (Existere) from the infinite as Being (Esse); but the only idea that can be formed of this is, that, the Eternal, which is the Divine as to Manifestation, is the All in all of heaven and the church. For the whole heaven is not heaven from the proprium of the angels, but from the Divine of the Lord; nor is the church the church from the proprium of men, but from the Divine of the Lord; for all the good of love and the truth of faith are from the Lord; and the good of love and the truth of faith constitute heaven and the church; angels and men are only recipients, and in proportion to their reception, heaven and the church dwell in them. (These things may be seen fully illustrated In the work. Heaven and Hell 7-12, where it is shown that the Divine of the Lord constitutes heaven, and that the Divine which constitutes heaven is the Divine Human, which is the Divine Manifestation (Existere) from the Divine as Being (Esse), n. 78-86.)