1094. And the earth was lightened with his glory.- That this signifies the church now in light from the influx and reception of Divine Truth, is evident from the signification of the earth, as denoting the church, of which we have frequently spoken; and from the signification of being lightened, as denoting to be in light; and from the signification of glory, is here said of the Lord, who is meant there by the angel, as denoting Divine Truth (concerning which see n. 33, 288, 345, 874). That the Divine Truth is denoted by glory, because it is the light of heaven from which the angels derive all their wisdom and happiness, and also their magnificence, may be seen above (n. 678).

It is said of the angel coming down out of heaven, that he had great power, and that the earth was lightened with his glory because the Last Judgment was accomplished upon those meant by the harlot, or Babylon, this being the meaning of the words of the angel: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and is become a habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird" (verse 2). And when judgment was accomplished upon them, then the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord came into its light and into its power; for as long as the Babylonians were tolerated under heaven, they were like dense and dusky clouds between heaven and the earth which intercept the rays of light from the sun, and obscure the day. The reason was that they not only falsified, but also rejected the Divine Truth, that is the Word, and also destroyed the Lord's Divine Power by transferring it to themselves. As long as they were permitted to make habitations for themselves under the heavens, these and several other things were like dusky clouds between heaven and earth, through which the Divine Truth could not pass and enlighten any man of the Church. But as soon as they had been driven away and cast into hell, then the Divine truth which proceeded from the Lord as a Sun, increased in power and light to such a degree that the Lord could not only more powerfully lead, and more clearly enlighten, the spirits under the heavens, but also men in the Church. This is the reason why the spiritual sense of the Word was not revealed before, nor the state of heaven and hell manifested until the Last Judgment was accomplished, for previous to this, the Divine Truth would not have had power and light.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- Since a man at his birth, is not in any society either heavenly or infernal, being without thought, and yet is born for eternal life, it follows that, in course of time, he opens either heaven or hell to himself, enters into societies, and becomes an inhabitant either of heaven or of hell, even while he is in the world. The reason why a man becomes an inhabitant there is, that his real dwelling place, and country, as it is called, is in the spiritual world; after he has dwelt a few years in the natural world, he will live there for ever. It may be inferred, from these things, how necessary it is for a man to know, what it is that opens heaven in him, and introduces him into its societies; also, what it is that opens hell in him, and introduces him into its societies. This will be shown in the sections appended to the following articles. We will merely state here that a man introduces himself successively into more and more societies of heaven, according to the increase of wisdom, and successively into more and more interior societies, according to the increase of the love of good; again, so far as heaven is opened to him, so far hell is closed; but it is man himself that opens hell to himself, for heaven is opened to man by the Lord.

1141. Verse 12. Merchandise of gold and of silver, signifies all goods and truths in general of the Word, of doctrine, and of the church, that have been profaned by them, thus all evils and falsities in general, from which are their gains. This is evident from the signification of "merchandise," as being all things by which gain is acquired, and when predicated of the church these signify all evils and falsities (See just above, n.1139. Also from the signification of "gold and silver," as being goods and truths (See n. 242, but here goods and truths profaned, and thus evils and falsities, because they belong to Babylon; for when the goods and truths of the Word have been profaned, they are no longer goods and truths, but evils and falsities. They are profaned by falsifications and adulterations, and by a life according to these. What is meant by profanations, whence they are and what they are, may be seen above (n. 1045-1099). All things in general are signified by "merchandise of gold and silver," because in the following parts of this verse the goods and truths that have been profaned are enumerated; these are particular evils and falsities and are signified by "precious stone, pearl, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, thyine wood, vessel of ivory, vessel of precious wood, brass, iron, and marble." The things mentioned in this verse signify all things of the Word, of doctrine, and of the church, because the things mentioned in the following verse 13, signify all things of worship, and those in verse 14 all things of effects. From all this it is clear that "merchandise of gold and silver" here signifies all goods and truths in general of the Word, of doctrine, and of the church, that have been profaned by them, thus all evils and falsities in general from which are their gains.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord)

[2] 3. The third law of Divine providence is, That to think and speak truth and to will and do good from freedom according to reason is not from man but from the Lord; and that to think and speak falsity and to will and do evil from freedom is not from man but from hell, and yet in such a way that while the evil and falsity are from hell, the freedom itself regarded in itself, and the ability itself to think, will, speak, and do, regarded in itself, are from the Lord. That every good that is good in itself and every truth that is truth in itself is from the Lord and not from man, can be comprehended by the understanding from this, that the light that proceeds from the Lord as a sun is the Divine truth of His Divine wisdom, and that the heat that proceeds from the Lord as a sun is the Divine good of His Divine love; and as man is a recipient of these it follows, that every good which is from love and every truth which is from wisdom is from the Lord and not from man. But that every evil and every falsity is from hell and not from man has not been made a matter of faith, as the fact that good and truth are not from man has, because heretofore this has not been heard. But that evil and falsity are from man is an appearance, and if believed is a fallacy, cannot be comprehended until it is known what hell is, and how hell with evil and falsity can flow in on the one side as the Lord with good and truth flows in on the other. Therefore it shall be told in the first place of whom hell consists, what hell is, whence it is, and how it flows in and acts against good, and thus how man who is in the midst is acted upon on either side as a mere recipient.