49. Verse 26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and they will have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, ¹ and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

To people in the Most Ancient Church with whom the Lord spoke face to face, the Lord appeared as Man. (Much can be told about those people, but this is not the time to do so.) For this reason they called nobody man except the Lord and whatever may have been His. They did not even call themselves man, but only the things which they perceived that they had from the Lord, such as every good stemming from love and every truth of faith. These things were said to be human because they were the Lord's.

[2] In the Prophets therefore, in the highest sense, 'man' and 'son of man' are used to mean the Lord. In the internal sense they are used to mean wisdom and intelligence, and so everyone who is regenerate, as in Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, and behold, a void and an emptiness, and towards the heavens, and behold, they had no light. I looked, and behold there was no man; and all the birds of the air ¹ had fled. Jeremiah 4:23, 25.

In Isaiah where in the internal sense 'man' means a regenerate person, the Lord Himself as the One Man is meant in the highest sense,

Thus said Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and He who formed him, It was I that made the earth and it was I that created man upon it; My hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:11-13

[3] The Lord was therefore seen by the Prophets as Man, for example by Ezekiel,

Above the firmament in appearance like a sapphire stone there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man upon it above. Ezekiel 1:26.

And the One whom Daniel saw was called 'a Son of Man', or what amounts to the same, Man,

I looked, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of Man was coming; and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages will serve Him. His dominion is the dominion of an age, which will not pass away, and His kingdom one that will not perish. Daniel 7:13-14.

[4] Moreover the Lord quite often calls Himself the Son of Man or Man, and, as is done in Daniel, foretells His entry into glory,

They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:23, 30.

The literal sense of the Word is called 'the clouds of heaven', its internal sense 'power and glory'. The internal sense, in every single detail, focuses exclusively on the Lord and His kingdom. Consequently it is the spiritual sense which contains power and glory.

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1725. That 'Melchizedek' means the celestial things of the Lord's Interior Man becomes clear from the meaning of 'Melchizedek', to be dealt with shortly, and also from the things that come before and after. What the internal man is, what the interior man is, and what the external man is, has been adequately shown above, as also has the fact that the internal man flows into the external man by way of the interior man, as well as that the internal man flows into the interior man either by way of celestial things or by way of spiritual things - by way of celestial things with every regenerate person, that is, with people who lead lives of love to the Lord and of love towards the neighbour, but by way of spiritual things with every individual, whatever his character. It is from this influx that he has his light from heaven, that is, is enabled to think and speak, and to be a human being. See what has appeared already in 1707.

[2] The celestial things of the interior man are all those that belong to celestial love, as often stated already. These celestial things with the Lord's Interior Man, or the Lord's Interior Man as to these celestial things, is called 'Melchizedek'. The Internal Man within the Lord was Jehovah Himself; and when the Interior Man, following the conflicts brought about by temptations, had been purified, that became Divine and Jehovah as well, as likewise did the External Man. But now, while the Interior Man was still passing through a state involving the conflicts brought about by temptation and had not yet been purified to any great extent by means of such conflicts, it is called as to celestial things 'Melchizedek', that is, 'king of holiness and righteousness'.

[3] That this is indeed so is also evident in David where similarly the Lord's conflicts during temptations are the subject, and where at length His Interior Man as regards celestial things is called Melchizedek,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies as Your foot-stool; Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of Your enemies. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness. From the womb of the morning You have the dew of Your birth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a Priest for ever, after the manner of ¹ Melchizedek. The Lord on Your right hand has smitten kings on the day of His anger. Psalms 110:1-5.

These verses of Psalms 110 refer, as does this chapter in Genesis, to the Lord's temptation-conflicts with the hells, as becomes clear from every word. The fact that the statements in this Psalm refer to the Lord, He Himself teaches in Matthew 22:43-45; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-44. 'Making enemies a foot-stool', 'having dominion in the midst of enemies', 'the day of power', and 'smiting kings on the day of His anger' mean the conflicts that constitute temptations, and victories.

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