606. And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth.- That this signifies the Lord, to whom all things of heaven and the church are subject, is evident from the signification of an angel coming down out of heaven, as denoting the Lord (see above, n. 593); and from the signification of standing upon the sea and upon the earth, as denoting to whom all things of heaven and the church are subject (see above, n. 600:1-2); hence by standing upon them is signified that they are subject to Him.

Thus in David:

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:6).

This is said of the Lord, whose dominion over all things of heaven and the church, is meant by all things being put under His feet.

And in Isaiah:

"I will make the place of my feet honourable" (60:13).

The place of the feet of the Lord, in the general sense, means all things of heaven and the church, because the Lord as the Sun is above the heavens; but, in a particular sense, by the place of His feet is signified the church, for the Lord's church is with men in the natural world, and the Natural is the ultimate, in which the Divine closes, and upon which it rests, as it were. For this reason the church on earth is also called the footstool of the Lord; as in the same prophet:

"The earth is my footstool" (66:1; Matthew 5:35).

Also in Lamentations:

"He hath cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, nor doth he remember his footstool" (2:1).

And in David:

"We will go into his tabernacles; we will bow down at his footstool" (Psalm 132:7).

This also is said of the Lord, and by His footstool is signified the church on earth.

[2] From these things it is evident that by standing upon the sea and upon the earth, when used in reference to the Lord, is signified that all things of heaven and the church are subject to Him. But specifically the sea and the earth, upon which He set His feet, signify the ultimate heaven, and the church on earth, as just stated. For the upper parts of the body of the angel, signify the higher heavens, because they correspond to them; for the inmost heaven corresponds to the head, the middle heaven, to the breast, as far as the loins, and the ultimate heaven to the feet, but the church on earth, to the soles of the feet, therefore this latter is meant by His footstool. It may be concluded from this correspondence that in general and particular by the angel standing upon the sea and upon the earth, by whom the Lord is meant, represented the whole heaven, for the Lord is heaven, and His Divine Human forms it according to the image of itself, for this reason the whole heaven in the sight of the Lord is as one man, and corresponds to all things of man, consequently heaven is also called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo). See what is said on this subject in Heaven and Hell 59-102).

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).