Arcana Coelestia #49
49. Verse 26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and they will have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, 1 and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
To people in the Most Ancient Church with whom the Lord spoke face to face, the Lord appeared as Man. (Much can be told about those people, but this is not the time to do so.) For this reason they called nobody man except the Lord and whatever may have been His. They did not even call themselves man, but only the things which they perceived that they had from the Lord, such as every good stemming from love and every truth of faith. These things were said to be human because they were the Lord's.
[2] In the Prophets therefore, in the highest sense, 'man' and 'son of man' are used to mean the Lord. In the internal sense they are used to mean wisdom and intelligence, and so everyone who is regenerate, as in Jeremiah,
I looked to the earth, and behold, a void and an emptiness, and towards the heavens, and behold, they had no light. I looked, and behold there was no man; and all the birds of the air 1 had fled. Jeremiah 4:23, 25.
In Isaiah where in the internal sense 'man' means a regenerate person, the Lord Himself as the One Man is meant in the highest sense,
Thus said Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and He who formed him, It was I that made the earth and it was I that created man upon it; My hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:11-13
[3] The Lord was therefore seen by the Prophets as Man, for example by Ezekiel,
Above the firmament in appearance like a sapphire stone there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man upon it above. Ezekiel 1:26.
And the One whom Daniel saw was called 'a Son of Man', or what amounts to the same, Man,
I looked, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of Man was coming; and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages will serve Him. His dominion is the dominion of an age, which will not pass away, and His kingdom one that will not perish. Daniel 7:13-14.
[4] Moreover the Lord quite often calls Himself the Son of Man or Man, and, as is done in Daniel, foretells His entry into glory,
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:23, 30.
The literal sense of the Word is called 'the clouds of heaven', its internal sense 'power and glory'. The internal sense, in every single detail, focuses exclusively on the Lord and His kingdom. Consequently it is the spiritual sense which contains power and glory.
Footnotes:
1. literally, bird of the heavens (or the skies)
Genesis 5
1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
4
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
6
And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
7
And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
8
And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
9
And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
10
And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
11
And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
12
And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
13
And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
14
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
15
And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
16
And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
17
And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
18
And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
19
And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
20
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
21
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
22
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
25
And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
26
And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
27
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
28
And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
29
And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
30
And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
31
And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
32
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
