228. These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth and the all of faith is evident from the signification of amen, as being verity and truth, which will be explained in what follows; and from the signification of the faithful and true witness, when said of the Lord, as being the all of faith from him; for witness, when said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth which is from Him, and hence the all of faith, for faith belongs to truth, and truth to faith. Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is called the witness, because it is His Divine in heaven and in the church, in which He is, and which is Himself there; for this proceeds from his Divine Human, and fills the whole heaven and forms it; this is why heaven in its whole extent has reference to one man. Such being the case with respect to Divine truth, its origin and quality, it is therefore here called the witness; for it bears witness concerning the Divine Human of the Lord, and manifests it to all who receive Divine truths from Him. It is from this fact that the angels of the higher heavens have no perception of any other Divine, nor can have, than that of the Lord's Divine Human; this arises from the influx of the whole heaven into their minds. It is therefore evident why "witness," when said of the Lord, signifies the Lord Himself as to Divine truth in heaven and in the church; and that to bear witness, when said of those who receive Divine truth from the Lord, signifies to acknowledge in heart the Lord's Divine in His Human (see above n. 27). That heaven in whole and in part has reference to one man, and that this is from the Lord's Divine Human, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 59-86, and the following, and n. 101; and that the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which forms heaven, and the angels to the image of heaven, is Divine truth, ibid., n. 13, 133, 139-140).

[2] This Divine truth is called by the Lord, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, concerning which it is said that he should testify of Him, and that he is from Him. That he does testify, or bear witness of Him is declared in John:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall testify of me" (15:26).

And that it proceeds from Him is declared in the same Evangelist:

The Comforter, "the Spirit of truth, will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, He shall take of mine, and show it unto you" (16:13-15).

That Divine truth is from the Lord, is meant by, He shall not speak of himself, but he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you; and that it is from the Divine Human of the Lord, is meant by; all things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that he shall take of Mine, and show it unto you. And that it manifests the Divine Human of the Lord is clear from, He shall glorify me.

To glorify, is to make known the Divine Human of the Lord. (That this is to glorify, when said of the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 294.)

[3] The same is signified by these words of the Lord:

"I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away; if I go not away," the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, will not come "unto you" (John 16:7).

Hence it is clear that Divine truth is from the Lord's Divine Human. The reason why the Lord calls Himself the Amen is, that Amen signifies verity, thus the Lord Himself, because when He was in the world He was Divine verity itself, or Divine truth itself; which was also the reason why He so often said

"Amen," and "Amen, Amen;" as in Matthew 5:18, 26; 6:16; 10:23, 42; 17:20; 18:3, 13, 18; 24:2; 28:20; John 1:51; 3:11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21; 21:18, 25.

[4] That the Lord, when He was in the world, was the Divine truth itself, He teaches in John:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).

And again:

"For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth" (17:19).

That holiness in the Word is said of Divine truth, and to be sanctified of those who receive holiness, may be seen above (n. 204); hence by the Lord's sanctifying Himself is meant to make His Human Divine. (But these things are further treated of and shown in Arcana Coelestia, as may be seen by what is adduced from that work in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 303-306.) Moreover, that Amen signifies Divine confirmation, may be seen above (n. 34); as also in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 27:15-26; 1 Kings 1:36; Isaiah 65:16; Jeremiah 11:5; 28:6; Psalms 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48).

3249. 'Eastwards to the land of the east' means towards the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'the east' and 'the land of the east', to be dealt with below. The good of faith which is meant by 'the land of the east' is nothing else but that which in the Word is called charity towards the neighbour. And charity towards the neighbour is nothing else than a life according to the Lord's commandments. This is what 'the land of the east' means, see 1250. Those therefore who possessed cognitions regarding the good of faith were called 'the sons of the east'. The land of the sons of the east was Aram or Syria - Aram or Syria meaning cognitions of good, see 1232, 1234, and Aram Naharaim or Syria of the [Two] Rivers cognitions of truth, 3051. And because the Syrians, or 'the sons of the east' means those who possessed cognitions of good and truth, they above all others were referred to as wise, as in 1 Kings where Solomon is referred to,

The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east. 1 Kings 4:30.

And in Matthew, in reference to those who came to Jesus at His birth,

Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. Matthew 2:1-2.

[2] Indeed in Syria there existed the final remnants of the Ancient Church, which is why cognitions of good and truth still remained there, as also becomes clear from Balaam who not only worshipped Jehovah but also prophesied concerning the Lord and called Him,

A star out of Jacob and a sceptre out of Israel. Numbers 24:17.

The fact that he belonged to the sons of the east in Syria is self-evident, for he says of himself when delivering his discourse,

From Syria Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. Numbers 23:7.

The fact that Aram or Syria was where the sons of the east lived is made additionally clear from the consideration that when Jacob went to Syria he is said to have gone to the land of the sons of the east, Genesis 29:1.