593. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.- That this signifies the Lord as to the Word, in this case, as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, is evident from the signification of a strong angel, as denoting the Lord as to the Word, of which we shall speak presently. The reason why it denotes the Lord as to the Word in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, is, that from that sense the Lord is called strong, for all the strength, and all the power of Divine Truth, exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word, of which also we shall speak presently.

[2] Because the sense of the letter of the Word is here meant, therefore it is said of the angel that he was seen coming down out of heaven, the same being said of the Word, which is Divine Truth; for this descends from the Lord through the heavens into the world, on which account it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels in the three heavens, and also to men in the natural world. For this reason the Word in the first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterwards celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural. It is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven, who are called spiritual angels, and celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven, who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and natural for men in the world; for men, while they live in the material body, think and speak naturally.

This is the reason why the angels of each heaven possess the Word, but with a difference according to the degree of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge (scientia); and although it differs as to its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word. For when the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord, descends to the inmost or third heaven, it becomes celestial Divine; when it descends from this to the middle or second heaven, it becomes spiritual Divine; and when from this heaven it descends to the ultimate or first, it becomes celestial-natural or spiritual-natural Divine; and when it descends thence into the world, it becomes the natural Divine Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord Himself, exist from correspondences established from creation itself between things higher and lower, on which subject, the Lord willing, more will be said elsewhere.

[3] The reason why all strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine Truth, that is in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is, that this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, namely, of the spiritual and celestial, spoken of above; and since it is the containant, it is also the base, and all strength is in the base; for if things higher do not rest upon their base, they fall down and are scattered. Such would be the case with spiritual and celestial things if they did not rest upon the natural or literal sense of the Word, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, therefore the Word or Divine Truth, in this sense, is not only in its power, but also in its fulness. But upon this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine there is in its fulness (n. 346, 567). It is also further explained in the Arcana Coelestia that interior things successively flow into exterior, even into the extreme or ultimate, and that therein they co-exist (n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous; in what order (n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in the ultimates (n. 9836); that consequently responses and revelations are given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548); that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors (n. 9824).

[4] From these things, it also follows, that everything of the doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, and that all the power of doctrine is therefrom (see above, n. 356); this is the reason why the angel coming down out of heaven is called strong. That an angel in the Word, in the highest sense, means the Lord, in the respective sense (sensu respectivo), every recipient of Divine Truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, Divine Truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here therefore the angel means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is the Divine Truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by the angel, is evident from a similar representation of Him as to His face, and feet, in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord, that "his countenance shone as the sun in his strength, and that his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (ver. 15, 16).

1. The Lord, speaking in the presence of His disciples of the consummation of the age, which is the final period of the church, ¹ says, near the end of what He foretells about its successive states in respect to love and faith: ²

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His angels with a trumpet and a great sound; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end to end of the heavens (Matthew 24:29-31).

Those who understood these words according to the sense of the letter have no other belief than that during that latest period, which is called the final judgment, all these things are to come to pass just as they are described in the literal sense, that is, that the sun and moon will be darkened and the stars will fall from the sky, that the sign of the Lord will appear in the sky, and He Himself will be seen in the clouds, attended by angels with trumpets; and furthermore, as is foretold elsewhere, that the whole visible universe will be destroyed, and afterwards a new heaven with a new earth will come into being. Such is the opinion of most men in the church at the present day. But those who so believe are ignorant of the arcana that lie hid in every particular of the Word. For in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which treats of things spiritual and heavenly, not of things natural and worldly, such as are treated of in the sense of the letter. And this is true not only of the meaning of groups of words, it is true of each particular word. ³ For the Word is written solely by correspondences, ⁴ to the end that there may be an internal sense in every least particular of it. What that sense is can be seen from all that has been said and shown about it in the Arcana Coelestia; also from quotations gathered from that work in the explanation of The White Horse spoken of in the Apocalypse. It is according to that sense that what the Lord says in the passage quoted above respecting His coming in the clouds of heaven is to be understood. The "sun" there that is to be darkened signifies the Lord in respect to love; ⁵ the "moon" the Lord in respect to faith; ⁶ "stars" knowledges of good and truth, or of love and faith; ⁷ "the sign of the Son of man in heaven" the manifestation of Divine truth; "the tribes of the earth" that shall mourn, all things relating to truth and good or to faith and love; ⁸ "the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and glory" His presence in the Word, and revelation, ⁹ "clouds" signifying the sense of the letter of the Word, ¹⁰ and "glory" the internal sense of the Word; ¹¹ " the angels with a trumpet and great voice" signify heaven as a source of Divine truth. ¹² All this makes clear that these words of the Lord mean that at the end of the church, when there is no longer any love, and consequently no faith, the Lord will open the internal meaning of the Word and reveal arcana of heaven. The arcana revealed in the following pages relate to heaven and hell, and also to the life of man after death. The man of the church at this date knows scarcely anything about heaven and hell or about his life after death, although all these matters are set forth and described in the Word; and yet many of those born within the church refuse to believe in them, saying in their hearts, "Who has come from that world and told us?" Lest, therefore, such a spirit of denial, which especially prevails with those who have much worldly wisdom, should also infect and corrupt the simple in heart and the simple in faith, it has been granted me to associate with angels and to talk with them as man with man, also to see what is in the heavens and what is in the hells, and this for thirteen years; so now from what I have seen and heard it has been granted me to describe these, in the hope that ignorance may thus be enlightened and unbelief dissipated. Such immediate revelation is granted at this day because this is what is meant by the Coming of the Lord.

[REFERENCES TO THE AUTHOR'S ARCANA COELESTIA.]

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