When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.

731. Where she hath a place prepared by God, signifies the state of the church that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more. This is evident from the signification of "place," as being state (of which presently); also from the signification of "prepared by God," as being to be provided by the Lord, for what is done by man is prepared, but what is done by the Lord is provided. Moreover, to be provided is predicated of the state that is signified by "place," while "to be prepared" is predicated of "place." It signifies that the state in the meantime may be provided among more, because the woman's fleeing into the wilderness signifies that the church is as yet among few, because with those who are not in good and consequently not in truths (See the preceding article, n. 730; therefore it follows that these words, namely, "where the woman hath a place prepared by God" signify the state of the church, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more; and what next follows, namely, "that they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days," signifies until it grows to fullness (See below, n. 732. But this state of the church that is meant by "the place of the woman in the wilderness" is more fully treated of in what follows in this chapter, for it is said that "there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she would be nourished a time and times and half a time from the face of the dragon," with many other things.

[2] "Place" signifies state because spaces, places, and distances, in the spiritual world, are in their origin states of life. These, indeed, appear there just the same as in this world, and yet they are different in this respect, that the quality of everyone is known from the place where he dwells, and where he dwells is known from what he is; thus it is in general in respect to the places of all according to quarters, and also in particular in respect to places in societies, and more particularly in respect to places in the houses, and even in the rooms. From this it is clear that place and quality of state act as one, and this for the reason that all things in the spiritual world that appear before the eyes, even to the lands, are correspondences of things spiritual; this is why "place" signifies state. (That spaces, places, and distances, are in their origin states, and thence in the Word signify states, see (Heaven and Hell 191-199) in the work on Heaven and Hell 191-199, in the article on Space in Heaven. ) For the same reason it is customary in our world to designate state by place, as to have a high place, an eminent place, and a distinguished place, for a high, eminent or distinguished state.

[3] From this it may appear what is meant by the Lord's words to His disciples:

That in His Father's house there are many mansions, and that He would go to prepare a place for them; and if He should go and prepare a place for them that He would come and take them to Himself (John 14:2, 3).

"To prepare a place for them" signifies to provide heaven for everyone according to the state of his life, for "the disciples" mean all who are to be of His church. And in Luke:

When the unclean spirit goeth out of a man he wandereth through dry places seeking rest (Luke 11:24).

"The unclean spirit going out of a man" signifies the removal of evils and the consequent falsities from man when he is repentant; the "dry places through which he wanders seeking rest" signify the states of evil and falsity that belong to his life. So elsewhere in the Word where place and places are mentioned.