9315. 'When My angel goes before you' means a life in keeping with the Lord's commandments. This is clear from the meaning of 'going before you' - when it refers to the Lord, who is 'the angel of Jehovah' here - as teaching the commandments of faith and life, and therefore also a life in keeping with those commandments, ('going' and 'travelling on' mean living, see 1293, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, 8557, 8559); and from the meaning of 'the angel of Jehovah' as the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with above in 9303, 9306. The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is meant by 'the angel' is that the numerous angels who appeared in times before the Lord's Coming into the world were Jehovah Himself in human form, that is, in that of an angel. This is plainly evident from the fact that angels who appeared were called Jehovah, such as those who appeared to Abraham and are spoken of in Genesis 18. The fact that they were called Jehovah may be seen in verses 1, 13, 14, 17, 20, 26, 33, of that chapter, as was the one who appeared to Gideon and is spoken of in Judges 6. The fact that this angel too was called Jehovah may be seen in verses 12, 14, 16, 22-24, of that chapter. The same may be seen in other places besides these. Jehovah Himself in human form, or what amounts to the same thing, in that of an angel, was the Lord.

[2] His Divine Human appeared in those times as an angel, of whom the Lord Himself speaks in John,

Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and saw it and was glad. Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:56, 58.

And in the same gospel,

Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was. John 17:5.

Jehovah could not have appeared in any other way, as is again clear from the Lord's words, in John,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in the same gospel,

No one has seen the Father except Him who is with God, ¹ He has seen the Father. John 6:46.

From all this one may see what is meant by 'the Lord from eternity'.

[3] The reason why the Lord was pleased to be born as Man (Homo) was in order that He might in reality take on a Humanity and make it Divine, to save the human race. Know therefore that the Lord is Jehovah Himself or the Father in human form, as yet again the Lord Himself teaches in John,

I and the Father are one. John 10:30.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, From now on you know and have seen the Father. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. John 14:7, 9, 11.

And in the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

[4] This great mystery is described in John in the following words,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:1-3, 14, 18.

'The Word' is Divine Truth which has been revealed to mankind; and since it could not have been revealed except by Jehovah as Man, that is, except by Jehovah in human form, thus by the Lord, it says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. It is well known in the Church that 'the Word' is used to mean the Lord, for it is explicitly stated, 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father'. The fact that Divine Truth could not have been revealed to mankind except by Jehovah in human form is also clearly stated, 'Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known'.

[5] From all this it is evident that the Lord from eternity was Jehovah or the Father in human form, but not yet so in earthly flesh, for an angel does not have such flesh. And since Jehovah or the Father wished to take on everything human in order to save the human race, He also took flesh. This is why it says, The Word was God, and the Word became flesh, and in Luke,

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:39.

By this the Lord taught that He was no longer Jehovah under the form of an angel but that He was Jehovah as Man. This is also what the following words spoken by the Lord serve to mean,

I came out from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and going off to the Father. John 16:28.

The Lord made His Human Divine when He was in the world, see 1616, 1725, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2033, 2034, 2083, 2523, 2751, 2798, 3038, 3043, 3212, 3241, 3318 (end), 3637, 3737, 4065, 4180, 4211, 4237, 4286, 4585, 4687, 4692, 4724, 4738, 4766, 5005, 5045, 5078, 5110, 5256, 6373, 6700, 6716, 6849, 6864, 6872, 7014, 7211, 7499, 8547, 8864, 8865, 8878.

And everything human received from the mother was cast out, till at length He was not Mary's son, 2159, 2649, 2776, 4963, 5157, and especially 3704, 4727, 9303, 9306, as well as the things shown regarding these matters in the places referred to in 9194, 9199.

脚注:

9303. 'Behold, I send an angel before you' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'sending', when it refers to the Lord, as going forth, dealt with in 6831, at this point causing to go forth; and from the meaning of 'an angel' as one who goes forth, for the word for 'angel' in the original language means one who has been sent. This is the derivation of the word, and 'one sent' means one going forth, as becomes clear from the places in the Word referred to in 6831. From this it is evident that 'the angel of Jehovah' is used to mean the Lord's Divine Human, for this comes forth from Jehovah as the Father. Jehovah as the Father is the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is Essential Being (Esse), 3704; and He who comes forth from the Father is the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good. He is accordingly the Divine Coming-into-Being (Existere) that arises from the Divine Being; and this Coming-into-Being is meant here by 'an angel'. The like occurs in Isaiah,

The angel of His face delivered them; because of His love and His compassion He redeemed them, and took them and carried them all the days of eternity. Isaiah 63:9.

And in Malachi,

Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Malachi 3:1-2.

'To the Lord's temple' means to His Human. The Lord Himself teaches that this is His temple, in Matthew 26:61, and in John 2:19, 21-22.

[2] The Church declares that from the three who are named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exists a Divine Unity, also called One God, and that the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son. But what proceeding or going forth means remains unknown. Angels' ideas about this are altogether different from those of people in the Church who have given thought to the matter. The reason for this is that the ideas of people in the Church are based on three, but those of angels on one. And the reason why the ideas of people in the Church are based on three is that they distinguish the Divine [Being] into three separate persons, to each of whom they attribute particular and specific functions. Consequently although they are indeed able to say that God is one, they can conceive only of three made one through mystical union, as they call it. This indeed allows them to conceive of Divine Unity but not of One God, since they have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in mind. Divine Unity is unity arrived at through agreement and so unanimity; but One God is wholly and completely one.

[3] What kind of idea or way of thinking members of the Church have about one God is perfectly clear in the next life, for each individual person takes his ideas and thoughts with him. In their thinking they envisage three gods, but they dare not to use the word 'gods', only 'God'. Few moreover make one out of three through union; for they think of the Father in one way, of the Son in another, and of the Holy Spirit in yet another. This has shown what kind of belief the Church has regarding the most essential thing of all, namely the Deity Himself. And since the belief and thoughts and the love and affections of all in the next life bring them together or set them apart, those who have been born outside the Church and have believed in one God shy away from those within the Church. They say that those within the Church do not believe in one God but in three gods, and that those who do not believe in one God in human form believe in no God at all, since they think of the whole universe, endless in extent, and so think of the natural order, which they acknowledge in place of God. When members of the Church are asked what they understand by 'proceeding' when they say that the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son, they reply that 'proceeding' is a term which has to do with union and is all part of that mystery.

[4] But when their ideas and thoughts about it have been examined, they have proved to be no more than those of a term and nothing of real substance. But angels' ideas about the Godhead, about the Trinity, and about proceeding are altogether different from those of members of the Church, because angels' ideas and thoughts, as stated above, are based on one, whereas those of members of the Church are based on three. Angels think - and what they think they believe - that there is one God and He is the Lord, that His Human is the Deity Himself in outward form, and that the holiness proceeding from Him is the Holy Spirit, thus that though there is a Trinity the Deity is intrinsically One.

[5] An idea concerning the angels in heaven may serve to make this intelligible. An angel there is seen in human form; nevertheless there are three things with him which make one. There is the inward part of him which does not appear before people's eyes, there is the outward part which does appear, and there is the sphere of the life belonging to his affections and thoughts, which flows out far and wide from him, regarding which see 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1519, 1695, 2489, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 7454, 8063, 8630. These three make one angel. But angels are finite, created beings, whereas the Lord is Infinite and Uncreated; and since no one, not even an angel, can have an idea of the Infinite except from things that are finite, it is permissible to use such an example to shed light on what the Three in One is, on the truth that there is One God, and on the truth that He is the Lord, and no other. See in addition what has been shown already on these matters in the places referred to in 9194, 9199.