4300. En de zon rees hem op; dat dit de verbinding van de goede dingen betekent, staat vast uit de betekenis van het verrijzen van de zon, namelijk de verbinding van de goede dingen; dat door het opgaan van de dageraad wordt aangeduid dat de verbinding nabij is of aanvangt, zie nr. 4283; hieruit volgt dat het verrijzen van de zon de verbinding zelf is; want de zon betekent in de innerlijke zin de hemelse liefde, nrs. 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060; dus de goede dingen, want deze zijn van die liefde; wanneer de hemelse liefde zich bij de mens openbaart, dat wil zeggen, wanneer zij wordt bemerkt, dan wordt er gezegd dat de zon hem verrijst, want dan worden de goede dingen van die liefde met hem verbonden.

6954. 'And it was made into a rod in the palm of his hand' means that at this point the power from the Divine was imparted. This is clear from the meaning of the serpent, which 'was made into a rod', as the sensory level, dealt with above in 6949; and from the meaning of 'a rod' as power in the natural, and of 'the palm of the hand' as inward power - both kinds of power coming from the Divine, dealt with in 6952. The situation is that left to himself a person looks merely downwards, that is, in a worldly and earthly direction, because left on his own he is ruled by evil and falsity. And when that is the direction in which he looks, the sensory level is in control, and things on more internal levels do nothing to oppose it, since they follow the force of the stream and give way to it. The person however who is not left to himself but is aided by the Lord looks upwards, that is, towards heaven and the Lord; and this happens through his being raised up. At the same time as the more internal parts are raised so too is the sensory level raised. But the inferior light on that sensory level then becomes dim because the light of heaven reigns. When this happens goodness and truth flow in from the Lord and are also received; and this is what is meant by 'the power from the Divine was imparted'. None however can be raised in that way except those who have displayed the good of faith and charity in their lives. I have been allowed to know from actual experience about being raised towards more internal things, for I have felt it thousands of times.