72. (Verse 16) And he had in his right hand seven stars. That this signifies all the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth from Him, is evident from the signification of having in His right hand, as denoting from Himself; for hand signifies power, and hence whatever pertains to it, and thus also whatever is from it, the reason why the right hand is mentioned is because it signifies the power of good by means of truth (that the hand signifies power may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 878, 3091, 4931-4937, 6947, 10019; and therefore whatever pertains to it, and is from it, n. 9133, 10019, 10405; that the right hand signifies the power of good by truth, see n. 9604, 9736, 10061; and that the right hand of Jehovah signifies the Divine power of the Lord, thus omnipotence, see n, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 7673, 8281, 9133, 10019); and from the signification of stars, as being the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth (concerning which in what follows); and from the signification of seven, as denoting all (concerning which see above, n. 20, 24).

[2] That stars signify the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, thus goods and truths, is from appearances in the spiritual world; for there the Lord is seen as a Sun, and the angels from a distance as stars. The reason why the angels are thus seen, is from the reception of light from the Lord as a Sun, thus from the reception of Divine truth, which is from the Lord; for this is the light of heaven. This is why it is said in Daniel,

"They that be intelligent shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that justify many, as the stars for ever" (12:3).

They that are intelligent, are those who are in truths, and those that justify many, are those who are in good (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 346-348).

[3] When it is known that the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine love, thus also Divine love from the Lord, and that stars signify the truths of the church, and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof, it can also be known what is signified in the Word, where it is said that the sun shall be darkened, and that the stars shall withdrawn their shining, and also that they shall fall from heaven; and it may also be seen what stars signify when mentioned in other parts of the Word, as in the following passages in Isaiah:

I will make "the earth a waste, that he may destroy the sinners from it; the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light; the sun shall be covered with darkness in his rising, and the moon shall not give forth the splendour of her light" (13:9, 10).

The vastation of the church is there treated of, which takes place when there is no longer any good of love and truth of faith; the earth which shall be laid waste is the church (as may be seen above, n. 29).

[4] In Ezekiel:

"I will cover the heavens when I shall extinguish thee, and will darken the stars; the sun will I cover with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine; all the luminaries of light will I darken over thee, and I will give darkness over the land" (32:7, 8).

Darkness over the land denotes falsities in the church. In Joel:

"The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining" (2:10, 11; 3:15).

In Matthew:

In the consummation of the age "after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (24:29; Mark 13:24).

In Daniel:

From one of the horns of the he-goat "went forth a little horn, and it increased greatly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards glory; and it increased towards the host of the heavens, and it cast down of the host and of the stars, and trampled upon them; yea, even to the prince of the host it lifted up itself" (8:9, 10, 11).

Here, by the host of heaven are meant the goods and truths of the church in their whole extent (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019), specifically those which combat against falsities (see n. 7277); hence Jehovah is called, Jehovah Zebaoth, that is, of hosts (see n. 3448, 7988).

In the Apocalypse:

The dragon, with his tail "drew the third part of the stars of heaven to the earth" (12:4).

Stars also in that passage denote the goods and truths of the church, and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof; the third part denotes the greater part; but what is signified by the dragon will be seen in the following pages.

Again:

"The stars of heaven fell to the earth" (Apoc. 6:13).

Again:

"A star fell from heaven unto the earth" (Apoc. 9:1).

Again:

"A great star fell from heaven burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters" (Apoc. 8:10).

Because stars signify the goods and truths of the church and the knowledges (cognitiones) thereof, by their falling from heaven is signified that they perish.

In David:

Jehovah "counteth the number of the stars, he calleth them all by names" (Psalms 147:4)

and in the same:

"Praise ye Jehovah, sun and moon; praise him all ye stars of light" (Psalms 148:3).

In the book of Judges:

"The kings came, they fought from heaven; the stars fought in their courses" (5:19, 20).

Because the angels in the spiritual heaven shine as stars, and because all truth and good belonging to them are from the Lord, therefore the Lord, as He is called an angel, is also called a star; as in Moses:

"A star shall arise (orietur) out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise (surget) out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17).

And in the Apocalypse:

Jesus, "the bright and morning star" (22:16).

It is therefore clear why it was that the wise men from the east saw a star, and followed it, and that it stood where Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1, 2, 9).

From these considerations it can now be known what is signified by the seven stars which were seen in the right hand of the Son of man, who is the Lord as to the Divine Human (as may be seen above, n. 63).

63. (Verse 13) And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man. That this signifies the Lord, from whom is the all of heaven and of the church, is evident from the signification of "in the midst," as denoting in the inmost (see Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and, because all things proceed from the inmost as light from the centre into the circumferences, therefore, "in the midst," signifies from whom. This is evident also from the signification of the seven lampstands, as denoting the New Heaven and the New Church (concerning which see above, n. 62); and from the signification of the Son of man, as denoting the Lord as to the Divine Human, and also as to Divine truth, because this proceeds from His Divine Human. From these considerations it is evident that the Lord appeared in the midst of seven lampstands, because from Him proceeds the all of heaven and of the church; for the good of love and the good of faith constitute heaven and the church, and that these are from the Divine is known in the Christian world, and because they are from the Divine, they are from the Lord, because the Lord is the God of heaven, and because the Divine of the Lord makes heaven (see the work, Heaven and Hell 2-6, and n. 7-12; and that this is His Divine Human, n. 78-86).

[2] That by the Son of man is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human, and also as to Divine truth, because Divine truth proceeds from His Divine Human, is evident from those passages in the Word where mention is made of the Son of man. Thus in John:

The multitude said unto Jesus, "How sayest thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Jesus answered them, Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light" (12:34-36).

From these words it is clear that by the Son of man is signified the same as by light; for when they inquired, "Who is this Son of man?" the Lord answered that He was the light in which they should believe. (That light is the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 49; thus also that the Son of man is the Divine truth.) It is said in Luke:

[3] "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake" (6:22).

For the Son of man's sake is for the sake of the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord. Divine truth is the all of faith and love to the Lord; and because they who are evil deny those things, and they who deny also hate them, and the good acknowledge them, therefore it is said, that these latter are blessed. Again, in the same:

[4] "The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say to you, Behold here, or behold there; go not away, nor follow them" (17:22, 23).

To desire one of the days of the Son of man, is to desire something of genuine Divine truth. The end of the church is there meant, when there will be no longer any faith, because no charity, at which time all Divine truth will perish; and because Divine truth is signified by the Son of man, therefore it is said, "Then shall they say, Behold here, or behold there; follow them not." And in the same:

[5] "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (18:8);

that is, when Divine truth shall be revealed out of heaven, it will not be believed. The Son of man, in this place also, is the Lord as to Divine truth; the coming of the Lord is the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church. (See Arcana Coelestia 3900, 4060.)

[6] And in Matthew:

"As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory" (24:27, 30).

(That by the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven, is there signified the revelation of Divine truth at the end of the church, may be seen above, n. 36.)

[7] And in the same:

"I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (26:64).

And in Luke:

"Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God" (22:69).

The Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, and as to Divine truth proceeding from It; to sit on the right hand of power, means that He has omnipotence; its being said that they should see this now, means, that Divine truth was in its omnipotence when the Lord in the world had conquered the hells, and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and that thus those would be saved who should receive Him in faith and love. (See Arcana Coelestia 9715. That to sit on the right hand denotes omnipotence, may be seen Arcana Coelestia 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133; that all the power of good is by truth, n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643. That Divine power itself is by Divine truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord, see n. 6948; that the clouds in which the Son of man will come are the Word in the letter, which is Divine truth in the ultimate of order, see the preface to the eighteenth chapter of Genesis, Arcana Coelestia 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that glory is the Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.)

[8] From these considerations it is now evident what is signified by these words in the Apocalypse:

"I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown" (14:14).

And in Daniel:

"I saw in the visions of the night, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of the heavens" (7:13).

Because all judgment is executed from truth, therefore it is said, that it is given to the Lord "to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:27); and that "the Son of man shall render to every one according to his deeds" (Matthew 16:27); and that "when the Son of man shall come, he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and shall judge" (Matthew 25:31).

[9] And again in Matthew, it is said:

"He who soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil" (13:37, 38).

The good seed is Divine truth, therefore it is said that the Son of man soweth it; the sons of the kingdom are Divine truths in heaven and the church; for son denotes truth (see Arcana Coelestia 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and, in an opposite sense, falsity, which also is the son of evil.

[10] In the same:

"The Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (8:20);

by which is signified, that Divine truth had not a place anywhere, or with any man, at that time. Again it is said, that the Son of man would suffer and be put to death (Matthew 17:12, 22; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31); by which is signified, that thus they would treat Divine truth, consequently the Lord, who was Divine truth itself, as He also teaches in Luke:

"The Son of man must first suffer, and be rejected of this generation" (17:25).

[11] In Jeremiah:

"No man [vir] shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man [hominis] abide there" (49:18, 33).

In the same:

In the cities "no man shall dwell, nor shall a son of man pass through them" (51:43).

He who is not acquainted with the spiritual sense of the Word, believes that by cities here are meant cities, and that by man, and by a son of man, are meant a man and a son; also, that the cities were thus to be desolated, so that no one should be in them; but it is the state of the church as to the doctrine of truth which is described by those words; for cities denote the doctrinals of the church (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493); and man is the essential truth thereof, conjoined with good (see n. 3134, 7716, 9007); thus the Son of man is truth. Because the Son of man signified Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, therefore the prophets also, through whom it was revealed, were called "sons of man," as Daniel (8:17); and Ezekiel (2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5, 6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27). As most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also has the signification of a son of man, which in that sense denotes falsity opposed to truth. Thus in Isaiah:

"What art thou, that thou fearest man? he dies; and a son of man? he is as grass" (51:12).

And in David:

"Place not your trust in princes, in a son of man, with whom there is no salvation" (Psalm 146:3).

Princes denote primary truths (see Arcana Coelestia 2089, 5044); thus, in an opposite sense, primary falsities; and son of man denotes falsity itself.