1. ON THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND THE MEANING OF 'THE NEW JERUSALEM'

In Revelation we read:

I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. The city had a great, high wall, which had twelve gates, and twelve angels on the gates, and the names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, on which were the twelve names of the apostles of the Lamb. The city lay square, its length the same as its breadth. And he measured the city with a rod, making twelve thousand furlongs; and its length and its breadth and its height were equal. And he measured its wall as a hundred and forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. Its wall was of jasper, but the city itself pure gold, like pure glass; and the foundations of the wall were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls; and the street of the city pure gold like transparent glass. The glory of God gave it light, and its lantern was the Lamb. The nations which have been saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring to it their glory and honour. Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24.

Anyone reading these words can only understand them in their literal sense. That is, that the sky and the earth will perish, and a new heaven will come into existence; the holy city Jerusalem will come down upon a new earth, and will agree in its measurements with the description. But the angels understand these words quite differently. They understand spiritually what human beings understand naturally. The real meaning is what the angels understand, and that is the internal or spiritual sense of the Word.

A new heaven and a new earth means, in the internal or spiritual sense understood by angels, a new church both in the heavens and on earth. (I shall speak about the church in both places later on.) The city of Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven means its heavenly teaching. Its length, breadth and height, which are equal means everything good and true in its teaching taken as a whole. Its wall means the truths which protect it. The measurement of the wall, which was a hundred and forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, which is that of an angel, means all the truths that protect it taken together, and what they are like. The twelve gates made of pearls mean the truths which lead into it, and the twelve angels on the gates likewise. The foundations of the wall which were of every precious stone mean the items of knowledge on which that teaching is based. The twelve tribes of Israel mean everything belonging to the church in general and in particular; likewise the twelve apostles. The gold like pure glass, of which the city and its street are made, mean the good of love which makes the teaching with its truths shine through. The nations who are saved, and the kings of the earth who will bring to it glory and honour, mean all the people in the church who possess good and truth. God and the Lamb mean the Lord as regards His Divinity and His Divine Humanity.

Such is the spiritual sense of the Word; the natural or literal sense serves as its foundation. But still the two senses, the spiritual and the natural, make one by their correspondence. There is not room here to show that all these statements contain that spiritual meaning; that is not the purpose of this book. But they can be seen demonstrated in my ARCANA CAELESTIA.

1607. For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it. That this signifies the heavenly kingdom, that it should be the Lord’s, is evident from the signification of “the land,” and here of the land of Canaan—because it is said, “the land which thou seest”—as being the heavenly kingdom. For by the land of Canaan was represented the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, that is heaven, and the Lord’s kingdom on earth, or the church; which signification of “land” or “earth” has been several times treated of before. That the kingdom in the heavens and on earth has been given to the Lord, is evident from various passages of the Word. As in Isaiah:

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of eternity, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

In Daniel:

I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven; and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a Kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages shall serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:13-14). The Lord Himself also says the same in Matthew:

All things are delivered unto Me of My Father (Matthew 11:27)

also in Luke (10:22). And again in Matthew:

All power [potestas] has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

In John:

Thou gavest to the Son power [potestas] over all flesh, that whatsoever Thou hast given Him, to them He should give eternal life (17:2, 3 (John 17:2-3). 17:2, 3).

The same is also signified by His “sitting at the right hand,” as in Luke:

Now from henceforth shall the Son of man sit at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

[2] As regards all power being given unto the Son of man in the heavens and on earth, it is to be known that the Lord had power over all things in the heavens and on earth before He came into the world; for He was God from eternity and Jehovah, as He plainly says in John:

Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glow which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:5);

and again:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am ¹ (John 8:58);

for He was Jehovah and God to the Most Ancient Church that was before the flood, and was seen by them. He was also Jehovah and God to the Ancient Church that was after the flood. And it was He who was represented by all the rites of the Jewish Church, and whom they worshiped. But the reason He says that all power was given unto Him in heaven and on earth, as if it were then His for the first time, is that by “the Son of man” is meant His Human Essence; and this, when united to His Divine Essence, was also Jehovah, and at the same time had power; and this could not be the case until He had been glorified, that is, until by unition with the Divine Essence His Human Essence also had life in itself, and so became in like manner Divine and Jehovah; as He says in John:

As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26).

[3] It is His Human Essence, or external man, that is likewise called “Son of man” in Daniel, in the passage quoted above; and of which it is said in the passage quoted from Isaiah, “A Child is born and a Son is given to us.” That the heavenly kingdom should be given to Him, and all power in the heavens and on earth, He now saw, and it was now promised Him; and this is signified by the words, “all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee forever.” This was before His Human Essence had been united to His Divine Essence, which was united when He had overcome the devil and hell, that is, when by His own power and His own might He had expelled all evil, which alone disunites.

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