9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

1672. And the kings that were with him. That this signifies the apparent truth which is of that good, is evident from the signification of “kings” in the Word. “Kings,” “kingdoms,” and “peoples,” in the historical and the prophetical parts of the Word, signify truths and the things which are of truths, as may be abundantly confirmed. In the Word an accurate distinction is made between a “people” and a “nation;” by a “people” are signified truths, and by a “nation” goods, as before shown (n. 1259, 1260). “Kings” are predicated of peoples, but not so much of nations. Before the sons of Israel sought for kings, they were a nation, and represented good, or the celestial; but after they desired a king, and received one, they became a people, and did not represent good or the celestial, but truth or the spiritual; which was the reason why this was imputed to them as a fault (see 1 Samuel 8:7-22, concerning which subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere). As Chedorlaomer is named here, and it is added, “the kings that were with him,” both good and truth are signified; by “Chedorlaomer,” good, and by “the kings,” truth. But what was the quality of the good and truth at the beginning of the Lord’s temptations has already been stated.

726. Who is to tend (pascere) all nations with a rod of iron.- That this signifies that this doctrine by the power of natural from spiritual truth will refute and convict those who are in falsities and evils, and yet are in the church in which is the Word, is evident from the signification of tending, as denoting to teach (concerning which see above n. 482), but in this case to refute and convict, because it is said that he is to tend them with a rod of iron; from the signification of all nations, as denoting those who are in falsities and evils (concerning which see above (n. 175, 331, 625); and from the signification of a rod of iron, as denoting the power of natural from spiritual truth, for a rod or staff signifies power, and is predicated of spiritual Divine Truth, and iron signifies truth in the natural man. The power of the truth of the natural from the spiritual man is signified by the rod of iron, because all the power belonging to truths in the natural man is from the influx of truth and good from the spiritual man, that is, from the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord through the spiritual into the natural man; for the Lord alone has power, and He exercises it through the Divine Truth which proceeds from Him.

But in order that these things may be seen more clearly, it must be shown:- (1) That the Lord possesses infinite power. (2) That the Lord possesses this power from Himself by means of His Divine Truth. (3) That all power coexists in ultimates, and that therefore the Lord possesses infinite power from primaries by means of ultimates. (4) That so far as angels and men are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, so far they are powers. (5) That power resides in the truths of the natural man so far as he receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man. (6) That the truths of the natural man have nothing of power, without that influx.

[2] (1) The Lord possesses infinite power.- This is evident from the fact that He is the God of heaven and the God of earth; that He has created the universe, so full of stars - which are suns - that they cannot be numbered, and in it so many systems, and earths in these systems, which systems and the earths in them exceed in number many hundreds of thousands; and that He alone continually preserves and sustains the same, because He created them. Moreover, He has created not only natural worlds, but also spiritual worlds above them, and these He perpetually fills with angels and spirits to the number of myriads of myriads, and under them He has placed the hells, which are also as many in number as the heavens. And He alone gives life to everything, both collectively and individually, both in the worlds of nature and in the worlds above nature; and because He alone gives life, no angel, spirit, or man, has the power to move hand or foot, except from Him. The nature of the Lord's infinite power is especially evident from this, that all those who come from such a multitude of earths into the spiritual worlds, numbering from our earth alone several myriads every week, and consequently as many myriads from many thousands of earths in the universe, He alone receives, and by a thousand secret ways of Divine Wisdom leads every one to the place of his life, the faithful to their places in the heavens, and the unfaithful to their places in the hells. And again He rules the thoughts, intentions, and wills of all, wherever they may be, both particularly and universally, and causes each and all in the heavens to enjoy their own happiness, and each and all in the hells to be retained in their bonds, in such a way that not one of them ventures to lift a hand, much less to rise up, and do harm to any angel. Also all are thus kept in order, and in bonds, to eternity, howsoever the heavens and the hells may be multiplied. These and many other things too numerous to mention could not possibly exist if the Lord did not possess infinite power. That the Lord alone rules all things, He Himself teaches in Matthew:

"All power is given to me in heaven and on earth" (28:18); and He said that "he is the life" (John 5:26; 11:25, 26; 14:6).

[3] (2) The Lord possesses infinite power from Himself by means of His Divine Truth.- The reason of this is, that the Divine Truth is the proceeding Divine, and from the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, all those things that have been referred to above concerning His infinite power are effected. Divine Truth considered in itself is the Divine Wisdom, which extends itself in every direction, like the light and heat from the sun in our world. For in the spiritual world, where angels and spirits are, the Lord appears as a sun, from Divine Love; all that proceeds from that sun is called Divine Truth; and that which proceeds also produces, and also that which proceeds is Himself, because it is from Him, therefore the Lord in the heavens is Divine Truth. But in order that it may be known that the Lord does possess infinite power by means of Divine Truth, something shall be said concerning its essence and existence. This can be comprehended from the natural man and his light (lumen) only by means of such things as proceed from the sun of the world, from which and by means of which it possesses all power in its own system, and in the earths which enjoy its heat and light. From the sun of our system, as from their fountain, went forth (exiverunt) auras and atmospheres, which are called ethers and airs. In nearest proximity to the sun therefore is pure ether, at a greater distance from it are ethers less pure, and lastly the airs; but these ethers and airs are around the earths. These ethers and airs when actuated in the total volume (volumatim actae,) produce heat, but when modified in their component parts (singillatim modificatoe) they produce light. Through these the sun exercises all its power, and produces all its effect outside of itself, thus through ethers and airs, through the medium of heat and at the same time through the medium of light.

[4] From these things some idea may be formed of the Lord's infinite power by means of Divine Truth. From Him as the Sun there emanated in a similar manner auras and atmospheres, but spiritual, because from Divine Love, which constitutes that Sun. That there are such atmospheres in the spiritual world, is evident from the respiration of angels and spirits. Those spiritual auras and atmospheres which are nearest to the Lord as the Sun are the purest, but according to the degree in which they are remote from Him, they are less and less pure. Therefore there are three heavens, the inmost heaven in a purer aura, the middle heaven in an aura less pure, and the ultimate heaven in an aura still less pure. When these auras or atmospheres, which are spiritual, because they have come forth (exstiterunt) from the Lord the Sun, are actuated as a whole (communiter) they manifest heat, but when modified separately (singillatim) they manifest light. This heat, which in its essence is love, and this light, which in its essence is wisdom, are called specifically Divine Truth, and taken together with the auras, which are also spiritual, they are called the proceeding Divine. From these then the heavens were created, and worlds also; for all those things which exist in the natural world have been produced from the spiritual world (ex spirituali mundo producta sunt), as effects from their efficient causes. From these things now, the creation of heaven and earth by means of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord as the sun, which is above the angelic heavens, may be seen as in a natural mirror. It may also in some degree be comprehended, that the Lord possesses infinite power by means of the proceeding Divine, which in general is called Divine Truth. This is also meant by these words in John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made; and the world was made by him" (1:1, 3, 10).

And in David:

"By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made" (Psalm 33:6).

The Word signifies Divine Truth.

[5] (3) All power coexists in ultimates, and therefore the Lord possesses infinite power from primaries by means of ultimates. What is meant by ultimates shall first be explained. Primaries are those things which are in the Lord, and which proximately go forth from Him. Ultimates are those things that are most remote from Him, which are in nature, and are the final things therein; these are called ultimates, because spiritual things, which are prior, terminate in them, and subsist and rest upon them as upon their foundations; therefore they are fixed, and are consequently called the ultimates of Divine order. All power is in ultimates because prior things are together in them, for they coexist therein in that order, which is called simultaneous order. For there is a nexus of all things from the Lord Himself through the things belonging to heaven and to the world even to those ultimates; and because prior things, which proceed successively, coexist simultaneously in ultimates, as has been said, it follows that power itself is in ultimates from primaries. But Divine power is power through the proceeding Divine which is called Divine Truth, as shown in the preceding article.

[6] It is for this reason that the human race is related to the heavens as the base to a column, or as a foundation to a palace; consequently, the heavens subsist in order upon those things of the church that are with men in the world, thus upon Divine truths in ultimates, which are such Divine truths as are contained in the sense of the letter of the Word. How great is the force in these truths cannot be described in a few words; they are the ultimates with man into which the Lord flows from Himself, thus from primaries, and rules, and preserves all things in the spiritual world in order and connection.

[7] Now because Divine power itself resides in these ultimates, therefore the Lord Himself came into the world, and became Man, that He might be in ultimates at the same time as in primaries, to the end that He might from primaries by means of ultimates reduce all things that were disorganised into order, namely, all things in the hells, and also in the heavens. This was the reason of the Lord's coming; for at the time immediately before His coming there was no Divine Truth in ultimates with men in the world, and none whatever in the church, which then existed among the Jewish nation, except what was falsified and perverted, and consequently there was no basis for the heavens. Unless therefore the Lord had come into the world, and had thus taken upon Himself an ultimate, the heavens, formed of the inhabitants of this planet (tellus), would have been transferred elsewhere, and the whole human race on the planet would have perished in eternal death. But now the Lord on earth, as in the heavens, is in His fulness, and thus in His Omnipotence, because He is both in ultimates and in primaries. Thus the Lord is able to save all those who are in Divine truths from the Word, and in a life according to them, for He can be present and dwell with such in ultimate truths from the Word, since ultimate truths also are His, and are Himself, because they are from Him, according to His words in John:

"He that hath my commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth me; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (14:21, 23).

[8] (4) So far as angels and men are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, so far they are powers.- This is evident from what has been said above, namely, that the Lord possesses infinite power, and that He alone by means of His Divine Truth has power; also from this, that angels and also men are nothing else but forms recipient of Divine Truth, for this reason angels, in the Word, signify Divine truths, and are called gods. It therefore follows from this, that according to the extent and nature of their reception of Divine Truth from the Lord, they are powers.

[9] (5) Power resides in the truths of the natural man, so far as he receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man.- This follows logically from those things which precede, namely, that Divine Truths in ultimates from primaries possess all power, the natural man being the receptacle of ultimates. But to the natural mind of man there are two ways, one from heaven, the other from the world; the way from heaven leads through the spiritual into the rational mind, and through this into the natural, and the way from the world is through the sensual mind, which is nearest to the world, and clings to the body. From this it is evident that the Lord flows in with Divine Truth into the natural, only through the spiritual man; and so far as the natural man receives influx therefrom, so far power resides therein. By power in it, is meant power against the hells, which is the power of resisting evils and falsities, and of removing them; and so far as these are resisted and removed, so far man comes into angelic power, and also into intelligence, and becomes a son of the kingdom. Concerning the power of the angels, see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 228-233); and concerning their wisdom and intelligence (n. 265-275).

[10] (6) The truths of the natural man have nothing of power without that influx.- This also follows as a result of what has been just said. The truths of the natural man, without influx through the spiritual man, have in themselves nothing of the Lord, thus nothing of life; and truths without life are not truths; in fact, viewed interiorly, they are falsities, and falsities have no power whatever, since they are the opposites of truths, to which all power belongs. These things have been here set forth, in order that it may be known what is meant by the power of natural truth from spiritual, which is signified by the rod of iron, with which the male child born of the woman will tend (pascere) all nations.