1093. Having great power.- That this signifies to whom belongs Omnipotence, both in the heavens and on earth, is evident from the signification of great power, when said of the Lord, as denoting Omnipotence. Omnipotence here signifies great power, because the term "great power," but not "Omnipotence," can be applied to an angel, which is according to the idea that man has of angels; but when by an angel is meant the Lord as to His proceeding Divine, then great power means Omnipotence. Omnipotence is also the Lord's because He is the God of heaven and of earth, and both heaven and earth were created by means of the Divine that proceeds from Him as a Sun, and by it also heaven and earth are maintained in existence and subsist. The proceeding Divine is what is called in John, "The Word, which was with God, and which was God," by which all things were made that were made, and by which also the world was made (chap. 1:1, 2, 10). The Omnipotence of the Lord both in the heavens and on earth is meant by the great power of the angel, because it is afterwards said that the earth was lightened with His glory; for when the Last Judgment was accomplished upon those who are meant by the harlot of Babylon, then the darkness was removed which had gathered between heaven and earth. But more will be said upon this subject below.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- It is evident from what has been said, that the thoughts of man are extensions into societies either heavenly or infernal, and that unless they were extensions they would have no existence. Man's thought is like the sight of his eyes, and, unless this had extension beyond itself, there would be either no sight, or blindness. But it is man's love that gives his thoughts their determination into societies, good love into heavenly societies, and evil love into infernal societies. For the whole heaven is arranged into societies, according to all the varieties of the affections that belong to love, generally, specifically, and in particular; while hell is arranged into societies according to the lusts (cupiditates) of the love of evil, opposite to the affections of the love of good.

[3] Man's love is comparatively like fire, and his thoughts are like the rays of light from it; if the love is good, then the thoughts, which are like rays, are truths; if the love is evil, the thoughts which go forth like rays are falsities. Thoughts from good love, which are truths, tend towards heaven; but thoughts from evil love which are falsities, tend towards hell, and are so completely conjoined with, and as it were ingrafted upon homogeneous societies, that is, such as are in similar love, that a man becomes entirely one with them.

[4] Man, by means of love to the Lord, is an image of Him. The Lord is Divine Love, and He appears as a Sun before the angels in heaven. Light and heat go forth from that Sun, light being the Divine Truth, and heat the Divine Good; the whole heaven, and all the societies of heaven, are from these. The Lord's love with a man who is an image of him, is as fire from that Sun, from which fire, light and heat similarly go forth; the light is the truth of faith, and the heat is the good of love, each of them being from the Lord, and each implanted in the societies with which such a man's love acts in unison. That man from creation is an image and likeness of God, is evident from Genesis (1:26); and He is an image and likeness of the Lord by means of love, because by means of love man is in the Lord and the Lord in him (John 14:20, 21). In a word, the very least thought that can exist is received in some society, not by the individuals or angels of the society, but by the affection of love from which and in which that society is; for this reason the angels are not conscious of the influx, neither does that influx disturb the society in any way.

[5] From these considerations the truth is evident that man is in conjunction with heaven while he lives in the world, and also in consociation with angels, although both men and angels are ignorant of it. They know nothing of this is because a man's thought is natural, and an angel's thought spiritual, and these make one only by correspondence. Since man by means of the thoughts of his love, is inaugurated into societies either of heaven or hell, therefore, on his entrance into the spiritual world, which takes place immediately after death, his character is known merely from the extension of his thoughts into societies, and in this way every one is explored. Man is also reformed by the admission of his thoughts into the societies of heaven, and he is condemned by the immersion of his thoughts in the societies of hell.

10331. 'In wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work' means in respect of those things which compose the will and those which constitute the understanding within the internal man and within the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'wisdom' as those things which compose the will within the internal man; from the meaning of 'intelligence' as those things which constitute the understanding, also within the internal man; from the meaning of 'knowledge' as those things which constitute the understanding and consequent speech within the external man; and from the meaning of 'work' as those things which compose the will and consequent practice within the external man. So the words used here mean everything - everything interior and everything exterior residing with a person in whom the good of celestial love exists - that receives the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord and is consequently seen in light. This influx and enlightenment are dealt with immediately above.

[2] But a brief statement needs to be made showing what wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are. People who do not know what the internal man is and what the external man is, nor what understanding and will are, cannot see in what ways wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are distinct and separate each from the others. They cannot do so because they cannot form any clear idea of one or of another. The people therefore who do not know those things call someone wise when he is merely intelligent or has only knowledge. But someone wise is a person who is moved by love to put truths into practice; someone intelligent is a person who is moved by faith to put them into practice; someone with knowledge is a person who applies his knowledge to doing so; and 'work' is that which is actually done by them. Thus 'work' means those three talents when put to use, within which they all combine.

[3] Nobody therefore can be said to have wisdom, intelligence, or knowledge in the true sense of these words if they are not put to use by him; for wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge have to do with the life a person should lead, and not with doctrine without reference to that life. Life is the end for the sake of which they exist. What the end is like therefore determines what kind of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge they are. If real good, which is the good of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, constitutes the end, then they are wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in the proper sense of these three words; for then these three as they exist with a person have their origin in the Lord. But if acting for the sake of some good desired by self-love and love of the world constitutes the end, they are not wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, because then those three as they exist in a person have their origin in self. For any good which self-love and love of the world have as their end in view is evil, and when evil is the end in view nothing of wisdom and intelligence, nor even of knowledge, can be attributed in any way at all. For what use is knowledge if it does not hold an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good within it? Knowledge devoid of these leads a person to think that evil is good and falsity is truth.

[4] In the case of those in whom the good of love to the Lord is present wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work follow in order from inmost to last and lowest. Wisdom there is inmost, since it consists in a will, inspired by love, that desires what is right. Intelligence is second, since it consists in an understanding, governed by a will desiring what is right, that perceives what is right. These two belong to the internal man. Knowledge consists in knowing what is right, and work in doing what is right, each governed by the will desiring what is right. These two belong to the external man. From this it is evident that wisdom must exist within intelligence, this within knowledge, and this within work. The work accordingly contains and embraces all the inner virtues, since it is last and lowest and that in which they terminate.

[5] From all this it becomes clear what should be understood by 'works' and 'deeds', mentioned so many times in the Word, as in the following places: In Matthew,

The Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds. Matthew 16:27.

In Jeremiah,

I will requite them according to their work and according to the deed of their hands. Jeremiah 25:14.

In the same prophet,

... O Jehovah, whose eyes have been opened upon all the ways of man, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works. Jeremiah 32:19.

In the same prophet,

Turn back each of you from his evil way, and cause your works to be good. Jeremiah 35:15.

In Hosea,

I will punish his ways ¹ , and requite him for his works. Hosea 4:9.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah deals with us according to our ways and according to our works. Zechariah 1:6.

In John,

I will give to you each according to his works. Revelation 2:23.

In the same book,

They were judged every one according to their works. Revelation 20:13, 15.

In the same book,

Behold, I am coming, and My reward with Me, to give to everyone according to his works. Revelation 22:12.

By 'works' in these places all that exists within a person should be understood, because all that constitutes what a person wills and understands is present in his works; for the things in his will and understanding are what causes him to do them. From what is within them the works derive their life; for without it works are like a shell without the nut or a body without the soul. What proceeds from a person does so from the things within him; therefore works are manifestations of those inner things, and they are effects through which those inner things reveal themselves.

[6] It is a general rule that as is a person's character, so is every work he performs. For this reason 'the works' according to which there will be reward or retribution must be taken to mean a person's character so far as his love and faith are concerned. For works are the product of the love and faith residing in a person. Nothing other than his love and his faith constitute the person, or what amounts to the same thing, his good and his truth, see 10076, 10177, 10264, 10284, 10298.

[7] Furthermore the actual desires in a person's will are what constitute a work; for what a person desires in his will he also does, provided that nothing insurmountable stands in the way. Consequently being judged according to one's deeds means being judged according to the desires of one's will. In the Word those who do good because it is their will to do it are called 'the righteous', as is evident in Matthew 25:37, 46. Of them it is said that they will shine forth like the sun in heaven, Matthew 13:43; and in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars. Daniel 12:3.

'Those who have intelligence' are those who are moved by their intelligence to do what is true; and 'those who turn many to righteousness' are those who are stirred by the desires in their will to do what is good.

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