593. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.- That this signifies the Lord as to the Word, in this case, as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, is evident from the signification of a strong angel, as denoting the Lord as to the Word, of which we shall speak presently. The reason why it denotes the Lord as to the Word in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, is, that from that sense the Lord is called strong, for all the strength, and all the power of Divine Truth, exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word, of which also we shall speak presently.

[2] Because the sense of the letter of the Word is here meant, therefore it is said of the angel that he was seen coming down out of heaven, the same being said of the Word, which is Divine Truth; for this descends from the Lord through the heavens into the world, on which account it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels in the three heavens, and also to men in the natural world. For this reason the Word in the first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterwards celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural. It is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven, who are called spiritual angels, and celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven, who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and natural for men in the world; for men, while they live in the material body, think and speak naturally.

This is the reason why the angels of each heaven possess the Word, but with a difference according to the degree of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge (scientia); and although it differs as to its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word. For when the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord, descends to the inmost or third heaven, it becomes celestial Divine; when it descends from this to the middle or second heaven, it becomes spiritual Divine; and when from this heaven it descends to the ultimate or first, it becomes celestial-natural or spiritual-natural Divine; and when it descends thence into the world, it becomes the natural Divine Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord Himself, exist from correspondences established from creation itself between things higher and lower, on which subject, the Lord willing, more will be said elsewhere.

[3] The reason why all strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine Truth, that is in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is, that this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, namely, of the spiritual and celestial, spoken of above; and since it is the containant, it is also the base, and all strength is in the base; for if things higher do not rest upon their base, they fall down and are scattered. Such would be the case with spiritual and celestial things if they did not rest upon the natural or literal sense of the Word, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, therefore the Word or Divine Truth, in this sense, is not only in its power, but also in its fulness. But upon this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine there is in its fulness (n. 346, 567). It is also further explained in the Arcana Coelestia that interior things successively flow into exterior, even into the extreme or ultimate, and that therein they co-exist (n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous; in what order (n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in the ultimates (n. 9836); that consequently responses and revelations are given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548); that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors (n. 9824).

[4] From these things, it also follows, that everything of the doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, and that all the power of doctrine is therefrom (see above, n. 356); this is the reason why the angel coming down out of heaven is called strong. That an angel in the Word, in the highest sense, means the Lord, in the respective sense (sensu respectivo), every recipient of Divine Truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, Divine Truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here therefore the angel means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is the Divine Truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by the angel, is evident from a similar representation of Him as to His face, and feet, in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord, that "his countenance shone as the sun in his strength, and that his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (ver. 15, 16).

8158. Verses 10-14 And Pharaoh drew near. And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were travelling after them; and they were in great fear, and the children of Israel cried out to Jehovah. And they said to Moses, Were there no graves in Egypt, [since] you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this you have done to us, to bring us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone, and let us serve the Egyptians; for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness? And Moses said to the people, Have no fear; stand firm and see the salvation of Jehovah, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will see again no more for ever. Jehovah will fight for you, and you are to be silent.

And Pharaoh drew near' means an oppressive influx from there of falsity arising from evil. 'And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes' means the understanding part of the mind, and thought. 'And behold, the Egyptians were travelling after them' means the constantly increasing oppressiveness of falsity. 'And they were in great fear' means a feeling of horror. 'And the children of Israel cried out to Jehovah' means pleading for help. 'And they said to Moses' means the climax of the temptation, when there is despair. 'Were there no graves in Egypt, [since] you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?' means that if damnation was their lot it made no difference whether it came to them through the falsities of molesters or through a state of temptations in which they would go under. 'What is this you have done to us, to bring us out of Egypt?' means that their deliverance from molestations by falsities had been to no avail. 'Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying' means that something such as this had been thought by them when they were molested by falsities. 'Leave us alone, and let us serve the Egyptians' means that they would not be drawn back from surrendering themselves. 'For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness?' means that damnation through the violence of falsity in the state of molestations would be preferable to damnation that came about through yielding in a state of temptations. 'And Moses said to the people' means being raised by God's truth from a state of despair. 'Have no fear' means that there should be no feeling of despair. 'Stand firm and see the salvation of Jehovah' means salvation from the Lord alone and not at all from themselves. 'Which He will accomplish today' means which will continue into eternity. 'For the Egyptians whom you see today you will see again no more for ever' means that falsities which are moved aside once will remain moved aside even into eternity. 'Jehovah will fight for you' means that the Lord alone endures the conflicts brought by temptations. 'And you are to be silent' means that by their own powers they will achieve absolutely nothing.