9327. I will send My terror before thee. That this signifies the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity, on account of the truths of good, is evident from the signification of “terror,” as being the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity; and from the signification of “the sons of Israel,” before whom the terror was to be sent, as being those who are in spiritual good, that is, in the truth of good (see n. 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5820, 5833, 7957, 8234, 8805). (That the nations of the land of Canaan to whom terror was sent on account of the sons of Israel, signify the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil, see n. 1413, 1437, 1607, 1573, 1574, 1868, 4517, 6306, 8065, 8317.) Therefore by the words, “I will send My terror before thee” is signified the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity on account of the truths of good.

[2] The case herein is this. All power in the spiritual world is from the truths which are from good, thus from the truths which proceed from the Lord. This can be plainly seen from the fact that the Lord disposes all things in heaven, and all things in hell, and also all things in the world, by means of the truths which are from Himself; for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is that very thing through which all things have come into existence, and through which all things subsist. That this is so is not comprehended by those who think solely from what is material, as those think who ascribe the origin and maintenance of all things to nature. These can have no idea about truths except that they are devoid of power, being matters of mere thought, concerning which they perceive nothing essential, and still less anything substantial; although they know that the thought directs the whole body, and excites its parts to motion, precisely in accordance with its own quality; likewise that there is nothing in the universe that does not bear relation to the truth which is from good. (That it is truth which has all power, and which is the veriest essential, see n. 8200.) From all this it is evident that the angels have power from the truth Divine which is from the Lord, and that from this they are called “powers.” The nature of the power possessed by truths from good, that is, truths from the Lord, may be seen from the experience recorded concerning the arm, which corresponds to such truth, in n. 4932-4935.

[3] Seeing that truth has all power, it follows that falsity from evil has no power whatever, because it is the privation of truth from good, thus the privation of power. Consequently they who are in hell-all there being in falsities from evil-have no power whatever; and therefore thousands of them can be driven away, cast down, and dispersed by one angel of heaven, much as a mote in the air is driven away by the breath of the mouth. From all this it can be seen why those who are in the evils of falsity feel terror on account of the truths of good. This terror is called “the terror of God” (Genesis 35:5; Job 13:21). And in Ezekiel:

I will put My terror in the land of the living; when he shall be made to lie down in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude (Ezekiel 32:32).

If he shall reject My statutes, and if your soul shall abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, I will send dismay into their hearts, that the sound of a driven leaf may chase them; and they may flee as one fleeth from the sword; and may fall when none pursueth (Leviticus 26:15, 36);

here is described the terror of those who are in the evils of falsity, and in the falsities of evil. It is said that “the sound of a leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as one fleeth from the sword” because “leaf” signifies truth (n. 885), and “sword” signifies truth fighting against the falsity of evil (n. 2799, 6353, 8294). That such have no power whatever against truth, is signified by “they shall fall when none pursueth.”

1607. For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it. That this signifies the heavenly kingdom, that it should be the Lord’s, is evident from the signification of “the land,” and here of the land of Canaan—because it is said, “the land which thou seest”—as being the heavenly kingdom. For by the land of Canaan was represented the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens, that is heaven, and the Lord’s kingdom on earth, or the church; which signification of “land” or “earth” has been several times treated of before. That the kingdom in the heavens and on earth has been given to the Lord, is evident from various passages of the Word. As in Isaiah:

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of eternity, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

In Daniel:

I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven; and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a Kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages shall serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:13-14). The Lord Himself also says the same in Matthew:

All things are delivered unto Me of My Father (Matthew 11:27)

also in Luke (10:22). And again in Matthew:

All power [potestas] has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

In John:

Thou gavest to the Son power [potestas] over all flesh, that whatsoever Thou hast given Him, to them He should give eternal life (17:2, 3 (John 17:2-3). 17:2, 3).

The same is also signified by His “sitting at the right hand,” as in Luke:

Now from henceforth shall the Son of man sit at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

[2] As regards all power being given unto the Son of man in the heavens and on earth, it is to be known that the Lord had power over all things in the heavens and on earth before He came into the world; for He was God from eternity and Jehovah, as He plainly says in John:

Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glow which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:5);

and again:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am ¹ (John 8:58);

for He was Jehovah and God to the Most Ancient Church that was before the flood, and was seen by them. He was also Jehovah and God to the Ancient Church that was after the flood. And it was He who was represented by all the rites of the Jewish Church, and whom they worshiped. But the reason He says that all power was given unto Him in heaven and on earth, as if it were then His for the first time, is that by “the Son of man” is meant His Human Essence; and this, when united to His Divine Essence, was also Jehovah, and at the same time had power; and this could not be the case until He had been glorified, that is, until by unition with the Divine Essence His Human Essence also had life in itself, and so became in like manner Divine and Jehovah; as He says in John:

As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26).

[3] It is His Human Essence, or external man, that is likewise called “Son of man” in Daniel, in the passage quoted above; and of which it is said in the passage quoted from Isaiah, “A Child is born and a Son is given to us.” That the heavenly kingdom should be given to Him, and all power in the heavens and on earth, He now saw, and it was now promised Him; and this is signified by the words, “all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee forever.” This was before His Human Essence had been united to His Divine Essence, which was united when He had overcome the devil and hell, that is, when by His own power and His own might He had expelled all evil, which alone disunites.

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