1383. GENESIS – TWAALFDE HOOFDSTUK

De innerlijke gewaarwording van geesten en engelen, en de sferen in het andere leven. Onder de wonderen in het andere leven behoren de innerlijke gewaarwordingen; hiervan bestaan twee soorten: de ene, die de engelen eigen is, bestaat hierin, dat zij innerlijk gewaarworden, wat waar en goed is, en wat van de Heer komt, wat van henzelf, en verder, wanneer dat wat zij denken, spreken en doen, van henzelf komt, vanwaar het is en van welke aard. De andere soort, die allen met elkaar gemeen hebben, en welke de engelen in de hoogste volmaaktheid bezitten en de geesten overeenkomstig hun hoedanigheid, bestaat hierin, dat zij bij de eerste nadering van de ander weten, van welke aard hij is

4626. When any spirit is approaching, even though still a long way off and out of sight, his presence is detected, as often as the Lord allows it to be, from a certain kind of spiritual sphere. From that sphere one recognizes what his life is like, what his affection is like, and what his faith is like. Angelic spirits with keener perception know from his sphere countless things about the state of his life and faith, as has been demonstrated to me many times. When it pleases the Lord these spheres are also converted into odours; one smells quite distinctly an actual odour. The reason those spheres are converted into odours is that odour corresponds to perception and that perception is so to speak spiritual odour, from which also [natural] odour descends. But see what has been brought forward already on these matters - regarding spheres, in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1519, 1695, 2401, 2489, 4464; perception, in 483, 495, 503, 521, 536, 1383, 1384, 1388, 1391, 1397, 1398, 1504, 1640; and odours produced by these, in 1514, 1517-1519, 1631, 3577.

1048. 'And the bow is seen in the cloud' means when man is still such as to be able to be regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of 'the bow in the cloud' which is a sign or token of regeneration, as stated already. Concerning the bow in the cloud there is more to be said: The character of a person, that is, of a soul, after the body has died is known in an instant. The Lord has known that character from eternity, and knows what it is going to be into eternity. A person's character is perceived by angels the moment he comes near; a certain sphere so to speak emanates from his whole disposition, that is, from every part of him. And this sphere, astonishing though it may seem, is such that from it one perceives what faith and what charity exist with him from whom it emanates. When it pleases the Lord it is that sphere which is made visible as a bow. This sphere will in the Lord's Divine mercy be described later on. From this it becomes clear what is meant here by 'the bow when it is seen in the cloud', namely when a person is such that he can be regenerated.