2803. That the Divine Truth is the “son,” and the Divine Good the “father,” is evident from the signification of a “son,” as being truth (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2633); and of a “father,” as being good; and also from the conception and birth of truth, which is from good. Truth cannot be and come forth [existere] from any other source than good, as has been shown many times. That the “son” here is the Divine Truth, and the “father” the Divine Good, is because the union of the Divine Essence with the Human, and of the Human Essence with the Divine, is the Divine marriage of Good with Truth, and of Truth with Good, from which comes the heavenly marriage; for in Jehovah or the Lord there is nothing but what is infinite; and because infinite, it cannot be apprehended by any idea, except that it is the being and the coming forth [esse et existere] of all good and truth, or is Good itself and Truth itself. Good itself is the “Father,” and Truth itself is the “Son.” But because as before said there is a Divine marriage of Good and Truth, and of Truth and Good, the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

Jesus saith unto Philip, Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me ? Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in me (John 14:10-11).

And again in the same Evangelist:

Jesus said to the Jews, Though ye believe not Me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:36, 38).

And again:

I pray for them; for all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and that they all may be one, as Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee (John 17:9-10, 21).

And again:

Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself. Father, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee (John 13:31-32; 17:1).

[2] From this may be seen the nature of the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord; namely, that it is mutual and alternate, or reciprocal; which union is that which is called the Divine Marriage, from which descends the heavenly marriage, which is the Lord’s kingdom itself in the heavens—thus spoken of in John:

In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).

And again:

I pray for them, that they all may be one, as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us, I in them and Thou in Me; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:21-23, 26).

That this heavenly marriage is that of good and truth, and of truth and good, may be seen above (n. 2508, 2618, 2728, 2729 and following numbers).

[3] And because the Divine Good cannot be and come forth without the Divine Truth, nor the Divine Truth without the Divine Good, but the one in the other mutually and reciprocally, it is therefore manifest that the Divine Marriage was from eternity; that is, the Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

And now O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thyself, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:5, 24).

But the Divine Human which was born from eternity was also born in time; and what was born in time, and glorified, is the same. Hence it is that the Lord so often said that He was going to the Father who sent Him; that is, that He was returning to the Father. And in John:

In the beginning was the Word (the “Word” is the Divine Truth itself), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-3, 14; see also John 3:13; 6:62).

7877. And I shall see the blood. That this signifies the noticing of this truth by those who inflict the damnation, is evident from the signification of “to see,” as being to understand and to notice (see n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400), that it denotes a noticing by those who inflict the damnation, follows below; and from the signification of “blood,” as being the truth of the good of innocence (as above, n. 7846).

[2] What the truth of the good of innocence is, must be told. The good of innocence is the good of love to the Lord; for they who are in this love are in innocence. Therefore they who are in the inmost or third heaven are in innocence in advance of the rest, because they are in love to the Lord. From innocence they who are there appear to others like little children, and yet they are the wisest of all who are in heaven (see n. 2306); for innocence dwells in wisdom (see n. 2305, 3494, 4797). The truth of the good of innocence which is with them is not the truth of faith, but is the good of charity. For they who are in the third heaven do not know what faith is; thus neither do they know what its truth is; for they are in the perception of the truth that is of faith, from which they instantly know that a thing is so; nor do they ever reason about it, whether it be so, still less dispute about it. That they are in perception in this manner, does not fall within the scope of memory-knowledge. It is otherwise with the spiritual, who are in the second heaven. These are led to the good which is of charity through the truth which is of faith; and therefore they reason whether a thing is true, or not, because they do not perceive whether it is; consequently with them truths become memory-knowledge, and are called doctrinal things of faith.

[3] (That they who are in the inmost or third heaven are in such a state that they perceive what is the truth of faith, and therefore do not refer it to memory-knowledge, see n. 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448.) How it is that by Jehovah’s saying, “I shall see,” thus saying it concerning Himself, is signified a noticing by those who inflict damnation, that is, by the infernals, can be seen from what has been shown above, namely, that evil is attributed to Jehovah, or the Lord, although nothing of evil comes forth from Him, but from hell (n. 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643). That evil is permitted, has the appearance as if it were from him who permits, seeing that he has the power to take it away. Thus in the present case, that the firstborn of the Egyptians were given to death, is attributed to Jehovah, for it is said, “I will pass through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt; and it came to pass at midnight that Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh about to sit upon his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the house of the pit” (verses 12-29); and yet in this verse he is called “a destroyer” who does this: “the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where ye are; and I shall see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall not be in you a plague for a destroyer.”

[4] The case is similar with respect to the devastation of the evil in the other life, and the damnation and casting down into hell, which in the internal sense are meant by the “plagues,” and by the death of the firstborn, and by the immersion in the sea Suph. Jehovah, or the Lord, vastates no one, still less damns and casts down into hell; but it is the evil spirit himself who does this to himself: it is the evil that is in him. From this then it is that by “I shall see the blood” is signified a noticing by those who inflict damnation.

[5] How the case is with permission cannot be told in a few words, because it involves very many arcana. That the wicked are damned and are tormented, is not a permission from the Lord as of one who wills it, but as of one who does not will, but cannot bring a remedy in view of the urgency and resistance of the end, which is the salvation of the whole human race; for if He were to bring a remedy, it would be doing evil, which is quite contrary to the Divine. But on this subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more will be said elsewhere.