1. IN the Book of Revelation, this is how John describes the Word ¹ in regard to its spiritual or inner meaning ² :

"I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And the one who sat on it was called faithful and true, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many gems. He had a name written that no one knew except him. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. He has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords." (Revelation 19:11, 12, 13, 14, 16)

Only from the inner meaning can anyone know what these particular details involve. It is obvious that each one represents and means something — the heaven that is opened; the horse that is white; the one who sat on it; his judging and making war justly; his eyes being a flame of fire; his having many gems on his head; his having a name that no one knew except him; his being clothed with a robe dipped in blood; the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, following him on white horses; and his having a name written on his robe and on his thigh. It says plainly that this is the Word and that it is the Lord ³ who is the Word, since it says “his name is called the Word of God” and then says “he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

[2] If we interpret the individual words, we can see that this is describing the spiritual or inner meaning of the Word. Heaven being opened represents and means that the inner meaning of the Word is seen in heaven and therefore is seen by people in this world to whom heaven has been opened. ⁴ The horse that is white represents and means an understanding of the Word in regard to its deeper contents (the reason for this meaning of the white horse will become clear in what follows). Unquestionably, the one who sat on the horse is the Lord as the Word and is therefore the Word, since it says “his name is called the Word of God.” He is described as faithful and judging justly because he is good, and he is described as true and making war justly because he is true, since the Lord himself is justice. His eyes being a flame of fire means the divine truth that comes from the divine goodness of his divine love. His having many gems on his head means all the types of goodness and truth that belong to faith. His having a name written that no one knew except him means that what the Word is like in its inner meaning is seen by no one except him and those to whom he reveals it. His being clothed with a robe dipped in blood means the Word in its literal meaning, which has suffered violence. The armies in heaven that followed him on white horses mean the people who have an understanding of the deeper contents of the Word. Their being clothed in fine linen, white and clean, means that these people have an awareness of truth that comes from doing good. His having a name written on his robe and on his thigh means what is true and what is good, and what that truth and goodness are like.

[3] We can see from this and from what precedes and follows [this passage in the Word] that we have here a prediction that around the last time of the church ⁵ the spiritual or inner meaning of the Word will be opened. What will happen then is described in verses 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.

There is no need to demonstrate here that this is the meaning of these words, since the details have been explained in Secrets of Heaven ⁶ as follows:

The Lord is the Word because he is divine truth: 2533, 2813, 2894, 5272, 8535. The Word is divine truth: 4692, 5075, 9987. It says that the one who sat on the horse judges and makes war justly because the Lord is justice; the Lord is called “justice” because he saved the human race by his own power: 1813, 2025, 2026, 2027, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152. Justice is a form of merit that belongs to the Lord alone: 9715, 9979. His eyes being a flame of fire means divine truth that comes from the divine goodness of his divine love, because eyes mean understanding and mean the truth that belongs to faith: 2701, 4403–4421, 4523–4534, 6923, 9051, 10569; and a flame of fire means the goodness of love: 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832. The gems on his head mean all the types of goodness and truth that belong to faith: 114, 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905. His having a name written that no one knew except him means that no one sees what the Word is like in its inner meaning except him and those to whom he reveals it, because the name means what the named thing is really like: 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3237, 3421, 6674, 9310. His being clothed with a robe dipped in blood means the Word in its literal meaning, which has suffered violence, because a garment means truth since truth clothes what is good: 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536 (and this has particular reference to the most external forms of truth and therefore to the Word in its letter: 5248, 6918, 9158, 9212); and because blood means the violence inflicted on what is true by what is false: 374, 1005, 4735, 5476, 9127. The armies in heaven that followed him on white horses mean the people who have an understanding of the deeper contents of the Word, because armies mean people who have the understanding of truth and the love for doing good that are characteristic of heaven and the church: 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019; a horse means understanding: 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8381; and white means truth that is in heaven’s light ⁷ and therefore means deeper truth: 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319. Their being clothed in fine linen, white and clean, means that these people have an awareness of truth that comes from doing good, because linen or fine linen means truth of a heavenly origin, which is truth arising from what is good: 5319, 9469. His having a name written on his robe and on his thigh means what is true and what is good, and what that truth and goodness are like, because a robe means what is true and a name means what that truth is like (as noted above), and the thigh means goodness that comes from love: 3021, 4277, 4280, 9961, 10488. King of Kings and Lord of Lords is the Lord in respect to divine truth and in respect to divine goodness. The Lord is called “King” because of his divine truth: 3009, 5068, 6148. He is called “Lord” because of his divine goodness: 4973, 9167, 9194.

We can see from this what the Word is like in its spiritual or inner meaning and that there is not a word in it that does not mean something spiritual, something about heaven and the church.

Footnotes:

107. I need to append some information about the teachings concerning love for the Lord and concerning caring that were held by the ancient people among whom there was a church. The purpose is to make known the nature of a body of teaching that used to exist but is not in existence today. This is drawn from Secrets of Heaven 7257-7263.

Good that is done out of love for the Lord is called "heavenly good," and good that is done out of love for one's neighbor or caring is called "spiritual good. " The angels who live in the inmost or third heaven are devoted to doing good because they love the Lord, so they are called "heavenly angels"; while the angels who live in the intermediate or second heaven are devoted to doing good because they love their neighbor and are therefore called "spiritual angels. "

[2] The teachings concerning how to do good in a heavenly way, which is good that is done out of love for the Lord, are the most extensive and at the same time the deepest of all teachings. They are the teachings that are followed by the angels of the inmost or third heaven, which are so extensive and deep that if we heard them from the angels' own mouths we would understand scarcely a thousandth part of them. These teachings also contain things that simply cannot be expressed. While it is the inner meaning of the Word that contains teachings concerning spiritual love, it is the Word's inmost meaning that contains these heavenly teachings. ¹

[3] The teachings concerning how to do good in a spiritual way, which is good that is done out of love for one's neighbor, are also extensive and deep, but much less so than the teachings concerning how to do good in a heavenly way, which is good that is done out of love for the Lord. How extensive the teachings are that concern loving our neighbor or caring is established by the fact that they touch every least thing we think and intend and therefore everything we do and say, and also from the fact that caring is not the same thing in one person as in another and that one neighbor is not the same as another.

[4] Because the teachings concerning caring were so extensive, the ancient people (for whom that was the main thing taught by their church) distinguished caring about one's neighbor into many categories. These they then went on to subdivide, assigning designations to the individual types and teaching how caring was to be practiced toward people of one particular type and toward people of another particular type. In this way they imposed an order on their teachings about caring and on the practice of caring so that it was clearly understandable.

[5] They had many designations for the people to whom caring was extended. Some they called "the blind"; some "the deaf"; some "the lame"; some "the poor," as well as "the wretched" and "the afflicted"; some "orphans"; and some "widows. " In general, though, they spoke of "the hungry" to whom they would give food, "the thirsty" to whom they would give drink, "the strangers" whom they would take in, "the naked" whom they would clothe, "the sick" whom they would attend, and those "bound and in prison" whom they would visit.

The particular kinds of people intended by each category have been laid out in Secrets of Heaven as follows: "the blind" in §§2383, 6990; "the deaf" in §4302; "the poor" in §§2129, 4459, 9209, 9253, 10227; "the wretched" in §2129; "the afflicted" in §§6663, 6851, 9196; "orphans" in §§4844, 9198, 9199, 9200; "widows" in §§4844, 9198, 9200; "the hungry" in §§4958, 10227; "the thirsty" in 4958, 8568; "the strangers" in 4444, 7908, 8007, 8013, 9196, 9200; "the naked" in §§1073, 5433, 9960; "the sick" in §§4958, 6221, 8364, 9031; and those "bound in prison" in §§5037, 5038, 5086, 5096.

Everything we can be taught about caring is summed up in the services extended to the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, and those bound in prison, of whom the Lord spoke in Matthew 25:34, 35, 36, and following; see §§4954-4959.

[6] These designations were given from heaven to the ancient people who were part of the church; they used them to refer to the spiritual condition of others. That church's teachings, focused on caring, told them not only what other people were like but also which particular kind of caring was appropriate for each.

That is why we find these same designations in the Word and why when spiritually understood they mean people of these kinds.

The Word truly understood teaches nothing else except loving the Lord and caring about our neighbor, as the Lord himself taught:

You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like it: you are to love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37, 38, 39, 40)

"The Law and the Prophets" are the whole Word: 2606, 3382, 6752, 7463.

[7] These designations are found in the Word so that the Word, which in its own right is spiritual, might be earthly in its outermost form. As a result, people whose devotion was external would show caring toward people who were in that condition physically; but those whose devotion was internal would show caring toward people who were in that condition spiritually. Therefore the simple would understand and do what the Word teaches in a simple way and the wise would do so in a wise way; and through their outward caring the simple might be introduced into its inner forms.

Faith

Footnotes: