8813. 'That there were voices and lightnings' means a Divine state in which revelation took place. This is clear from the meaning of 'voices', which are the sounds made by claps of thunder, as God's truths; and from the meaning of 'lightnings' as the radiance and brilliance which those truths possess, for God's truths are made brilliant and radiant by the fiery brightness of light that shines from the sun of heaven. This is why 'voices and lightnings' means a Divine state in which revelation takes place, a Divine state being meant by the fact that they come down out of the sky, and revelation by the fact that 'voices' and 'lightnings' mean God's truths. For the meaning of 'voices', which are the products of lightning from the sky, as God's truths, see 7573; and the fact that 'lightnings' means brilliant flashes from them which strike a person's inward eye, enlightening those guided by truth derived from good and bewildering those steeped in falsity arising from evil, is clear from places in the Word where 'lightnings' are mentioned, as in David,
The clouds dropped water, the skies gave voice; and Your arrows went out The voice of Your thunder went into the world, 1
the lightnings lit up the earth, the earth was shaken violently and quaked. Psalms 77:17-18.
Here 'the voice of thunder' stands for God's truth, 7573, 'lightnings' for its brilliance, and 'the earth' for the Church. Consequently ' the lightnings lit up the earth' stands for the enlightenment of the Church by God's truth.
[2] Something similar occurs in the same author,
His lightnings will enlighten the earth, the earth will see and fear; the mountains will melt like wax before Jehovah. Psalms 97:4-5.
In the same author,
What Jehovah wills He does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deep places. He causes the vapours to go up from the ends of the earth, He makes lightnings for the rain. Psalms 135:6-7; Jeremiah 10:13; 51:16.
'Lightnings for the rain' stands for the brightness of the truth coming down from heaven. In John,
There were lightnings, voices, and thunders. Revelation 11:19; 16:18.
'Voices, lightnings, and thunders' stands for God's truths which enlighten the good and terrify the evil.
[3] In Ezekiel,
The appearance of the living creatures (who were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, Like the appearance of lamps. It was moving between the living creatures, so that there was the brightness of fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran forth and back, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:13-14.
Here 'fire' stands for the good of love, and 'out of the fire went forth lightning' for God's truth derived from that good. The Lord's Divine providence, which is God's truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, is described here by 'the cherubs'.
[4] In Daniel, behold, one clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and his body was like tarshish; 2
his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like fiery torches. Daniel 10:5-6.
'A face like the appearance of lightning' stands for the love of truth; for truth radiated by love carries with it a characteristic, meant by 'lightning', which is like a flame flashing from fire.
[5] In Zechariah,
Jehovah will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; and the Lord Jehovih will sound a blast on the trumpet, and move forward in storms of the south. Zechariah 9:14.
'The arrow which will go forth like lightning' stands for God's truth which strikes and penetrates, 'an arrow' being truth coming from doctrine, see 2686, 2709, so that 'an arrow from Jehovah' is truth coming from God.
[6] In Nahum,
The glitter of the sword, the lightning-flash of the spear, 3
and the multitude of the slain. Nahum 3:3
In Moses,
I will sharpen My flashing sword 4
. Deuteronomy 32:41.
This stands for the penetration of God's truth as experienced by the evil, 'sword' standing for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 8294, and 'lightning' for its brightness which strikes the understanding and deprives it of the ability to see truth. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel 21:15, 28. From all this it is also evident that 'lightning' is used to mean God's truth in Matthew 28:3, and Luke 17:24.
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