9315. 'When My angel goes before you' means a life in keeping with the Lord's commandments. This is clear from the meaning of 'going before you' - when it refers to the Lord, who is 'the angel of Jehovah' here - as teaching the commandments of faith and life, and therefore also a life in keeping with those commandments, ('going' and 'travelling on' mean living, see 1293, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, 8557, 8559); and from the meaning of 'the angel of Jehovah' as the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with above in 9303, 9306. The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is meant by 'the angel' is that the numerous angels who appeared in times before the Lord's Coming into the world were Jehovah Himself in human form, that is, in that of an angel. This is plainly evident from the fact that angels who appeared were called Jehovah, such as those who appeared to Abraham and are spoken of in Genesis 18. The fact that they were called Jehovah may be seen in verses 1, 13, 14, 17, 20, 26, 33, of that chapter, as was the one who appeared to Gideon and is spoken of in Judges 6. The fact that this angel too was called Jehovah may be seen in verses 12, 14, 16, 22-24, of that chapter. The same may be seen in other places besides these. Jehovah Himself in human form, or what amounts to the same thing, in that of an angel, was the Lord.

[2] His Divine Human appeared in those times as an angel, of whom the Lord Himself speaks in John,

Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and saw it and was glad. Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:56, 58.

And in the same gospel,

Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was. John 17:5.

Jehovah could not have appeared in any other way, as is again clear from the Lord's words, in John,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in the same gospel,

No one has seen the Father except Him who is with God, ¹ He has seen the Father. John 6:46.

From all this one may see what is meant by 'the Lord from eternity'.

[3] The reason why the Lord was pleased to be born as Man (Homo) was in order that He might in reality take on a Humanity and make it Divine, to save the human race. Know therefore that the Lord is Jehovah Himself or the Father in human form, as yet again the Lord Himself teaches in John,

I and the Father are one. John 10:30.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, From now on you know and have seen the Father. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. John 14:7, 9, 11.

And in the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

[4] This great mystery is described in John in the following words,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:1-3, 14, 18.

'The Word' is Divine Truth which has been revealed to mankind; and since it could not have been revealed except by Jehovah as Man, that is, except by Jehovah in human form, thus by the Lord, it says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. It is well known in the Church that 'the Word' is used to mean the Lord, for it is explicitly stated, 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father'. The fact that Divine Truth could not have been revealed to mankind except by Jehovah in human form is also clearly stated, 'Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known'.

[5] From all this it is evident that the Lord from eternity was Jehovah or the Father in human form, but not yet so in earthly flesh, for an angel does not have such flesh. And since Jehovah or the Father wished to take on everything human in order to save the human race, He also took flesh. This is why it says, The Word was God, and the Word became flesh, and in Luke,

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:39.

By this the Lord taught that He was no longer Jehovah under the form of an angel but that He was Jehovah as Man. This is also what the following words spoken by the Lord serve to mean,

I came out from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and going off to the Father. John 16:28.

The Lord made His Human Divine when He was in the world, see 1616, 1725, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2033, 2034, 2083, 2523, 2751, 2798, 3038, 3043, 3212, 3241, 3318 (end), 3637, 3737, 4065, 4180, 4211, 4237, 4286, 4585, 4687, 4692, 4724, 4738, 4766, 5005, 5045, 5078, 5110, 5256, 6373, 6700, 6716, 6849, 6864, 6872, 7014, 7211, 7499, 8547, 8864, 8865, 8878.

And everything human received from the mother was cast out, till at length He was not Mary's son, 2159, 2649, 2776, 4963, 5157, and especially 3704, 4727, 9303, 9306, as well as the things shown regarding these matters in the places referred to in 9194, 9199.

Сноски:

8864. 'I am Jehovah your God' means the Lord in respect of the Divine Human reigning universally, in every single aspect of goodness and truth. This is clear from the consideration that in the Word no one other than the Lord is meant by 'Jehovah', 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 3448, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 8274, or likewise by 'Jehovah Zebaoth', 'the Lord Jehovih', and 'Jehovah God', 2921, 3023, 3448, 6303; and from the consideration that the Lord is called 'Jehovah' by virtue of the Divine Good, which is the Divine Being (Esse), and 'God' by virtue of Divine Truth, which is the Divine Coming-into-being (Existere), 6905, and also 709, 732, 1096, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402. The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is what 'Jehovah God' is used to mean here is that the Lord in respect of that Divine Human is meant in the Word both by 'Jehovah' and by 'God'. Divine Good, which He is also in respect of the Human is meant by 'Jehovah', while Divine Truth, which He is because it goes forth from Him, is meant by 'God'.

[2] The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is meant by 'Jehovah God' is that the Divine Itself which is within the Lord cannot be seen in heaven or even perceived, thus cannot be received in faith and love; only the Divine Human can. The truth that the Divine Itself cannot be communicated to angels in heaven, still less to people on earth, except through the Divine Human is well known in the Churches from the Lord's words in the Gospels, where He says that He is the Door; that He is the Mediator; that nobody can come to the Father except through Him; that no one except Himself knows the Father; and that no one has seen the Father, not even some shape He might take. From all this it is evident that it is the Lord who is meant here by 'Jehovah God'. It is also well known that He is also the one who has redeemed the human race and delivered them from hell.

This truth is meant by the words that follow, by 'I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves'. From all this it is now evident that Jehovah God, who spoke from Mount Sinai, is the Lord in respect of the Divine Human.

[3] The reason why this is the first truth to be stated by the Lord from Mount Sinai is that it must be present, reigning universally in each and every truth that follows. For what is stated first must be held in mind and must be seen to reside universally in everything that follows. What 'universally reigning' describes will be seen below. The truths which were stated by the Lord are all of this nature. That is to say, truths stated first must reign in those stated next and incorporate them; these in turn must reign in and incorporate those after that, and so on sequentially. In the present chapter the truths stated next are the Ten Commandments, which are inward truths, and after these the statutes, which are outward truths. The latter and the former must have the Lord - His Divine Human - reigning within them, for they spring from Himself, and are Himself. For, to be sure, truths which are truths all emanate from Him; and the things which emanate from Him are Himself. The truth that the Lord's Divine Human is what must reign in every single part of faith is also well known in the Churches; for they teach that there is no salvation without the Lord, and that all the truth and good of faith comes from Him. Thus since He is the source of faith He is the faith present with a person; and if He is the faith He is also all the truth contained in teachings about faith that are drawn from the Word. This also is the reason why the Lord is called 'the Word'.

[4] The truth that what comes first must reign in what comes next, and so on sequentially, as stated above, is clear from the individual parts of the things spoken by the Lord, in particular from His prayer called the Lord's Prayer. All its parts follow one another in such a sequence that they constitute a pillar so to speak, widening from the top down to the base and holding inside itself the things that appear earlier in the sequence. What is first there is inmost, and what comes after in sequence adds itself gradually to the inmost and in that way grows wider. What is inmost then reigns in all the surrounding parts; it reigns universally, that is, in every detail, for it is essential to the existence of them all.