2078. 'O that Ishmael might live before You!' means that others who are rational from truth should not perish. This is clear from the representation and consequent meaning of 'Ishmael' as the rational, dealt with in the previous chapter, where Ishmael was the subject. Inside the Church there are two types of people, namely spiritual and celestial. The former - the spiritual - become rational from truth, but the latter - the celestial - do so from good. For what distinguishes spiritual people from celestial, see 2069 above, and in many places in Volume One. The former, namely spiritual people who become rational through truth, are here meant by 'Ishmael', for the name 'Ishmael' in its genuine sense means rational truth, as shown already in 1839, 1949 1951. When this rational truth is adopted and desired by good, as it is here by the Lord (meant by Abraham), it means that which is spiritual, and so the spiritual man. Or what amounts to the same, it means the spiritual Church, the salvation of which the Lord, out of the Divine love referred to immediately above in 2077, earnestly desired. That desire is expressed by the words, O that Ishmael might live before You!

2077. That 'Abraham said to God' means the Lord's perception from love is clear from the meaning of 'saying to God' as perceiving, dealt with quite often already. That 'Abraham' here means the Lord when passing through that state and that age has been stated above in 1989. The Lord, it is evident, uttered this out of love, for the actual words used, 'O that Ishmael might live before You!' are an expression of an affection originating in love. The Lord's affection or love was Divine; that is to say, it was directed towards the whole human race which He desired, through the union of His Human Essence with the Divine Essence, to join completely to Himself and save eternally. Concerning that love see Volume One, in 1735; concerning the fact that the Lord out of this love contended constantly with the hells, 1690, 1789, 1812; and concerning the fact that in the union of His Human with the Divine His sole regard was nothing other than the conjunction of the Divine with the human race, 2034 above.

[2] The nature of the Lord's love surpasses all human understanding and is unbelievable in the extreme to people who do not know what heavenly love is in which angels abide. To save a soul from hell the angels think nothing of giving their own lives; indeed if it were possible they would suffer hell themselves in place of that soul. Consequently their inmost joy is to transport into heaven someone rising from the dead. They confess however that that love does not originate one little bit in themselves but that every single aspect of it does so in the Lord alone. Indeed they are incensed if anyone thinks anything different.