1094. And the earth was lightened with his glory.- That this signifies the church now in light from the influx and reception of Divine Truth, is evident from the signification of the earth, as denoting the church, of which we have frequently spoken; and from the signification of being lightened, as denoting to be in light; and from the signification of glory, is here said of the Lord, who is meant there by the angel, as denoting Divine Truth (concerning which see n. 33, 288, 345, 874). That the Divine Truth is denoted by glory, because it is the light of heaven from which the angels derive all their wisdom and happiness, and also their magnificence, may be seen above (n. 678).

It is said of the angel coming down out of heaven, that he had great power, and that the earth was lightened with his glory because the Last Judgment was accomplished upon those meant by the harlot, or Babylon, this being the meaning of the words of the angel: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and is become a habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird" (verse 2). And when judgment was accomplished upon them, then the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord came into its light and into its power; for as long as the Babylonians were tolerated under heaven, they were like dense and dusky clouds between heaven and the earth which intercept the rays of light from the sun, and obscure the day. The reason was that they not only falsified, but also rejected the Divine Truth, that is the Word, and also destroyed the Lord's Divine Power by transferring it to themselves. As long as they were permitted to make habitations for themselves under the heavens, these and several other things were like dusky clouds between heaven and earth, through which the Divine Truth could not pass and enlighten any man of the Church. But as soon as they had been driven away and cast into hell, then the Divine truth which proceeded from the Lord as a Sun, increased in power and light to such a degree that the Lord could not only more powerfully lead, and more clearly enlighten, the spirits under the heavens, but also men in the Church. This is the reason why the spiritual sense of the Word was not revealed before, nor the state of heaven and hell manifested until the Last Judgment was accomplished, for previous to this, the Divine Truth would not have had power and light.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- Since a man at his birth, is not in any society either heavenly or infernal, being without thought, and yet is born for eternal life, it follows that, in course of time, he opens either heaven or hell to himself, enters into societies, and becomes an inhabitant either of heaven or of hell, even while he is in the world. The reason why a man becomes an inhabitant there is, that his real dwelling place, and country, as it is called, is in the spiritual world; after he has dwelt a few years in the natural world, he will live there for ever. It may be inferred, from these things, how necessary it is for a man to know, what it is that opens heaven in him, and introduces him into its societies; also, what it is that opens hell in him, and introduces him into its societies. This will be shown in the sections appended to the following articles. We will merely state here that a man introduces himself successively into more and more societies of heaven, according to the increase of wisdom, and successively into more and more interior societies, according to the increase of the love of good; again, so far as heaven is opened to him, so far hell is closed; but it is man himself that opens hell to himself, for heaven is opened to man by the Lord.

678. And gave glory to the God of heaven.- That this signifies that they acknowledged and worshipped the Lord, is evident from the signification of giving glory or of glorifying, as denoting to acknowledge and worship, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the God of heaven, as denoting the Lord. That the Lord is the God of heaven, He himself made clear while He was in the world, and when He departed out of the world. When He was in the world, He said,

"The Father hath given all things into the hand" of the Son (John 3:35).

In the same:

The Father hath given to the Son "power over all flesh" (17:2).

And in Matthew:

"All things have been delivered to me by the Father" (11:27).

And when He departed out of the world He said to His disciples,

"All power is given to me in heaven and on earth" (28:18).

[2] It is evident from these passages that the Lord is the God of heaven. To give glory denotes to acknowledge and worship Him; for to give glory signifies that glory belongs to Him alone, because He is the God of heaven and earth, and acknowledgment also that all things of the church are from Him, thus all salvation and eternal life. From these things it follows, that to give glory and to glorify, when spoken of God, mean to worship and adore Him. Glory, in the Word, when used in reference to the Lord, properly signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from Him, because this Divine Truth is the light of heaven, and from that light angels and men have not only all their intelligence and wisdom, but also all their happiness; and further all magnificence in the heavens, which is ineffable [is from the same source.] This, therefore, is what is properly signified by the glory of God. And because this is glory, it follows, that the glory of the Lord means to enlighten angels and men, to bestow intelligence and wisdom, to bless with happiness and delights, and also to make all things in the heavens magnificent; and it means that this glory is not from the love of glory, but from love towards the human race. The Lord therefore says in John:

"In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and may become my disciples" (15:8);

and again,

"The words which thou hast given me, I have given unto them, and I am glorified in them" (17:8, 10).

[3] That this is the glory of the Lord, is evident from this fact, that the light of heaven, from which are all wisdom, beauty, and magnificence in the heavens, proceeds from the Lord, as the Sun; and it is the Divine Love of the Lord that appears to the angels as a sun. It is therefore clear that the light of heaven, which in its essence is Divine Truth and Divine Wisdom, is the proceeding Divine Love; and love desires nothing else than to give that which is its own to another, thus to fill others with blessedness. What then will not the Divine Love do? But the Lord cannot give His glory to anyone, and fill him with wisdom and blessedness, unless He is acknowledged and worshipped, since by this means man conjoins himself to Him in love and faith. For acknowledgment and worship, in order to be acknowledgment and worship, must be from love and faith; and without conjunction by means of these, good cannot possibly flow in from the Lord, because it is not received. From these things it is now evident, that to give glory to the God of heaven, is to acknowledge and worship the Lord.

[4] That glory signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and that the glory of the Lord with man is the reception of Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 33, 345). That the glorification of the Lord is from the Lord Himself, and that with men and angels it is reception, and acknowledgment that all good and truth, and everything of salvation and life, are from the Lord, may also be seen above (n. 288).