313. (5:6) And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders. That this signifies in the whole heaven, and specifically in the inmost heavens, is evident from the signification of, in the midst, as denoting the inmost, and hence also the whole, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of throne, as denoting heaven in its whole extent (concerning which see above, n. 253); from the signification of the four animals, as denoting the Lord's Providence and protection, that He should not be approached except by the good of love (concerning which see above, n. 277). And because that guard is especially in the third or inmost heaven, for all who are there are in the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, therefore that heaven is specifically signified by the four animals; this will more clearly appear from the following contents of this chapter; and from the signification of the elders, as denoting those who are in truths from good (concerning, which also see above, n. 270); here, therefore, those who are in the middle or second heaven, because all who are there are in truths from good; for those two heavens, the third and second, are distinguished from each other by this, that those who are in the third heaven, are in love to the Lord; and those who are in the second, in charity towards the neighbour; those who are in charity towards the neighbour are in truths from good; hence it may appear what is specifically signified by the four animals and by the elders.

[2] But in general, by the four animals is signified all Divine good which guards in the whole heaven, and in general by the elders all Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good also in the whole heaven; both guard, because they are united; thus by the four animals and elders together is signified Divine good united to the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and hence the whole angelic heaven, but specifically the two inner heavens. The reason of this is, that the angels are not angels from their proprium, but from the Divine good and the Divine truth which they receive; for the Divine with them, or received by them, causes them to be angels, and causes heaven to be called heaven from them (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 2-12, and 51-86).

[3] That the midst, or in the midst, signifies the inmost and thence the whole, is clear from many passages in the Word; but something shall first be said to explain how it is that the midst, because it signifies the inmost, signifies also the whole. This may be illustrated by comparison with light, with the sun, with the arrangement of all in the heavens, and also of all who belong to the church on earth. By comparison with light, thus; The light in the midst propagates itself round about, or from the centre, into the circumferences in every direction; and because it is propagated from the inmost, and fills the spaces around, hence by, "in the midst," is also signified the whole. By comparison with the sun: The sun is in the midst because it is the centre of its universe; and because from it are the heat and light in its world, therefore by the sun in the midst is signified its presence in every direction, or through the whole. By comparison with the arrangement of all in the heavens: There are three heavens, and the inmost of them is the third heaven; this flows into the two lower heavens, and makes them to be one with it by communication, which is effected by influx from the inmost; in every society of the heavens also the inmost is the most perfect; hence these who are round about in that society are in light and intelligence, according to the degree of distance from the inmost (as may be seen in the work concerningHeaven and Hell 43, 50, 189). By comparison with those who are of the church on the earth: The Lord's church is spread through the whole world, but its inmost is where the Lord is known and acknowledged, and where the Word is; from that inmost, light and intelligence are propagated to all who are around and belong to the church, but this propagation of light and intelligence takes place in heaven (concerning which circumstance, see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 308). From these things it is evident that the midst, or in the midst, because it signifies the inmost, signifies also the whole. Hence it is evident what is meant by, "I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb," namely, the Lord as to His Divine Human, in the whole heaven, and specifically in the inmost heavens.

[4] The midst also signifies the inmost, and hence the whole, in many passages of the Word, as in the following. In Isaiah:

"Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy [One] of Israel, in the midst of thee" (12:6).

By the inhabitant of Zion is signified the same as by the daughter of Zion, namely, the celestial church, or the church which is in the good of love to the Lord; great is the Holy [One] of Israel in the midst of thee, signifies the Lord, that He is everywhere and throughout the whole there.

[5] In David:

"We have considered thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth" (Psalms 48:9, 10).

By temple is signified the church, which is in truths from good, which is called the spiritual church; in the midst thereof, denotes in the inmost, and thence in the whole thereof; therefore it is said, "According to thy name, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth." "To the ends of the earth," denotes even to the last things of the church, the earth denoting the church.

[6] In the same:

"God is my King of old, working salvations in the midst of the earth" (Psalms 74:12).

Working salvations in the midst of the earth, signifies in every direction.

[7] In the same:

"God standeth in the assembly of God, in the midst of the gods he will Judge" (Psalms 82:1).

The assembly of God, signifies heaven; in the midst of the gods, signifies with all the angels there, thus in the whole heaven; for the angels are called gods from the Divine truth which they receive from the Lord, for God in the Word signifies the Lord as to the Divine truth which proceeds from Him, and which constitutes heaven (as may be seen above, n. 24, 130, 220, 222, 302).

[8] In Moses:

"Behold, I send an angel before thee; beware of his faces, for my name is in the midst of him" (Exodus 23:20,21).

By the angel here, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord; by "My name in the midst of him," is meant that all Divine good and Divine truth are in Him (as may be seen above, n. 102, 135, 224).

[9] In Luke,

Jesus said concerning the last times, "Then let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of it go forth out" (21:21).

Here the consummation of the age is treated of, by which is signified the last time of the church when judgment takes place. By Judea is not meant Judea, but the church; and by the mountains are not meant mountains, but the good of love to the Lord; and because these things are said concerning the end of the church, it is evident what is signified by, "Let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of it go forth"; namely, that when judgment takes place, all those of the church who are in the good of love to the Lord will be safe.

[10] In Isaiah:

"In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land; whom Jehovah shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance" (19:24, 25).

By Israel is meant the Spiritual of the church; by Assyria, the Rational of the men thereof, and by Egypt, the knowledges (cognitiones) and scientifics. Hence it is evident what is signified by Israel being the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land; namely, that the Spiritual shall be the everything there, as well the Rational as the Cognitive and Scientific; for when the Spiritual, which is truth from good, is the inmost, then also the Rational, which is thence, is spiritual too, and also the Cognitive and Scientific; for both are formed from the inmost, which is truth from good or the Spiritual.

[11] In Jeremiah:

"My heart is broken in the midst of me, all my bones are shattered" (23:9).

The heart broken in the midst of me, signifies grief from inmost to ultimates, or throughout the whole; therefore it is said, "All my bones are shattered," the bones signifying the ultimates.

In the following passages, also, "in the midst," signifies in the whole, or through the whole.

[12] In Isaiah:

It shall be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done" (24:13).

These things are said concerning the church vastated as to good and as to truth, in which there is nothing but evil and falsity. In the midst of the earth, denotes that throughout the whole of the church there is evil; and in the midst of the peoples, denotes that throughout the whole of it there is falsity; therefore it is compared to the shaking of an olive tree, and to the gleanings left when the vintage is done, the olive signifying the good of the church, the vintage the truth thereof, and the shaking and gleaning thereof signifying vastation.

[13] In David:

"They search out perversities; for the midst of man and the heart are deep" (Psalms 64:6).

The midst of man denotes the Intellectual where truth should be, and the heart the Voluntary, where good should be; in the present case, both perverted, the latter into evil, and the former into falsity.

[14] In the same:

"There is nothing sure in the mouth of any one; their midst are destructions" (Psalms 5:9).

In the same:

"They bless with their mouth, but in their midst they curse" (Psalms 62:4).

In the same:

"The saying of prevarication to the impious in the midst of my heart, there is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psalms 36:1).

In Jeremiah:

"They have taught their tongue to speak a lie; it is theirs to dwell in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me" (9:5, 6).

In these passages also, besides others, in the midst, signifies in the whole because in the inmost; for such as is the inmost such is the whole; because from the inmost all other things are produced and derived, as the body is from its soul. The inmost of any thing whatever is also that which is called the soul. For example: the inmost of man is his will and the understanding therefrom, and according to the quality of the will and of the understanding, therefrom, such is the whole man; also, the inmost of man is his love and the faith therefrom, and according to the quality of his love and the faith therefrom, such is the whole man.

[15] That the whole man is such as is his midst or inmost, is also meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:

"The lamp of the body is the eye; if the eye be good, the whole body is light; if the eye be evil, the whole body is dark" (6:22, 23).

By the eye is signified the understanding of man (as may be seen above, n. 37, 152), which, if good, that is, if from truths that are from good, then the whole man is such, which is signified by the whole body being then full of light; but, on the other hand, if the understanding is from the falsities of evil, that the whole man is such, is signified by the whole body being then full of darkness. The eye is called good, but, in the original tongue, it is said, single eye, and single signifies that it is one; and it is one when truth is from good, or the understanding from the will. By the right eye also is signified the understanding of good, and by the left eye the understanding of truth, which, if they make one, constitute the single eye, thus the good eye.

222. And I will write upon him the name of my God. That this signifies their quality according to Divine truth implanted in the life is evident from the signification of writing upon any one, when it is said to be done by the Lord, as denoting to implant in the life, concerning which we shall speak presently, also from the signification of name, as denoting the quality of their state (concerning which see above n. 148); and from the signification of God, as denoting Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven, and thus the Lord in heaven (see n. 220); for the Lord is above the heavens, for He appears to those who are in heaven as a Sun (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell. n. 116-125). The Divine proceeding from the Sun of heaven, which is called Divine truth, and which constitutes heaven in general and in particular, is what in the Word is meant by God; hence it is that the angels are called gods, and that the term for God, in the Hebrew tongue, is Elohim, in the plural. From these considerations it is clear why the Lord here says, "the name of my God;" also above, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God" (n. 219), and in what follows, "I will write upon him the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (n. 223).

The reason why writing upon any one denotes to implant in the life is, that to write is to commit anything to paper from the memory, thought and mind, in order that it may remain; therefore, in the spiritual sense it signifies that which will remain in the life of man, inscribed and implanted in him. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into the spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper, or in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when it is implanted in faith and love; for love and faith constitute the spiritual life of man.

[2] Because to write signifies to implant in the life, therefore also it is said of Jehovah, or the Lord, that He writes, and that He has written in a book, by which is meant what is inscribed by the Lord on man's spirit, that is, in his heart and soul, or, what is the same, in his love and faith. As, in David:

"My bone was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret; upon thy book were all the days written when they were formed, and not one of them is wanting" (Psalms 139:15, 16).

Again:

"Let them be blotted out of the book of lives, and not be written with the just" (69:28).

In Daniel:

"The people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (12:1).

In Moses:

"Blot me, I pray out of the book which thou hast written. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:32, 33).

In the Apocalypse:

"A book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals," which no one was able to open but the Lamb only (5:1).

Again:

"All whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb" shall worship the beast (13:8; 17:8).

And again:

"I saw that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (20:12, 13, 15).

And again:

And none shall enter into the New Jerusalem except "those that are written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:27).

From these passages it is not to be understood that the persons referred to are written in a book, but that all the things of faith and love are inscribed on man's spirit (as is evident from what is said upon this subject in the work, Heaven and Hell 461-469).

[3] That to write, in the Word, signifies to inscribe and implant in the life, is also evident from other passages where it is mentioned; as in Jeremiah:

"I will put my law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart" (31:33).

To put the law in the midst of them, denotes Divine truth in them, in the midst, signifies inwardly in man (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1074, 2940, 2973); and to write it on their heart, is to impress it upon the love, for the heart signifies the love (see Arcana Coelestia 7542, 9050, 10336). In Ezekiel:

"The prophet saw the roll of a book written within and without, and there were written thereon lamentations, mourning and woe" (2:9, 10; 3:1-3).

By the roll of a book written within and without is signified the state of the church at that time, thus the quality of the life of those who belonged to the church; therefore the roll of the book here mentioned has a signification similar to that of the book of life mentioned above; and because their life was destitute of the goods of love and truths of faith, it is said, that "There was written thereon, lamentations, and mourning and woe."

By the law being written upon tables of stone, and with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4:13; 9:10),

was signified that it must be impressed on the life (Arcana Coelestia 9416); for by the law, in the strict sense, the ten precepts of the Decalogue are meant, but in a broad sense, the whole Word (see Arcana Coelestia 6752, 7463). By stone is signified truth, and there it signifies Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). The same is signified by

The words of the law being written upon the twelve stones taken out of Jordan (Deuteronomy 27:2-4, 8; Josh. 4:3, and the following verses).

[4] In Ezekiel:

"Son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions: and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, and his companions. Afterwards join them one to another into one stick, that they may both be one in my hand" 37:16, 17).

What these things signify no one can know unless he knows what was represented by Judah, and what by Joseph. By Judah was represented the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and by Joseph his spiritual kingdom; and by writing for them upon two sticks of wood, was signified the state of the love, and thence of the life of both. Their conjunction into one heaven was signified by joining them one to another into one piece, that they might be one in my hand. The signification of this is similar to that of the Lord's words,

"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd" (John 10:16).

The reason why the writing was to be upon wood was, because wood signifies good, and it is good which conjoins. (But these things will be clearer from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the spiritual kingdom before the Lord's coming was not like it was after his coming, n. 6372, 8054: that the spiritual especially were saved by the coming of the Lord into the world, and that they were then conjoined with those who were of His celestial kingdom into one heaven, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8159, 8321, 9684. That there are two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual, and three heavens, and that they are conjoined into one heaven, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28, and 29-40. That by Judah, in the representative sense, is signified the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363: that by Joseph is signified the Lord's spiritual kingdom, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417: that by Ephraim is signified the Intellectual of the spiritual church, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296: that by wood is signified the good of love, n. 643, 3720, 8354.)

[5] In Isaiah:

"This one shall say, I am of Jehovah; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel" (44:5).

These things are said concerning the Lord and His Divine Human. By Jacob and by Israel, where the Lord is treated of, is signified His human; and that it was also Jehovah is meant by one saying, "I am of Jehovah," and by subscribing with his own hand unto Jehovah. (That, in the highest sense, Israel and Jacob denote the Lord, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 4286, 4570, 6424.)

[6] In Jeremiah:

"Jehovah the hope of Israel, all that forsake me shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed" (17:13, 14).

To be written in the earth, is to be condemned on account of the state of the life, because by earth is signified what is condemned (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2327, 7418, 8306).

[7] Hence it is evident what is signified by the Lord's writing with his finger on the earth, as recorded in John:

"The Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery; they said, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act." They asked whether, according to the law of Moses, she should be stoned. "Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the earth, and rising said, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the earth." These things being heard they went out one after another, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman to whom he said, "Where are thine accusers; hath no man condemned thee? And he said, Go and sin no more" (John 8:3-11).

By the Lord writing on the earth, is signified the same as above in Jeremiah, where it is said, "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth," namely, that they were equally condemned on account of adulteries; therefore Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

That the Lord twice wrote on the earth in the temple, signified, in the spiritual sense, their condemnation for adulteries. For the Scribes and Pharisees were those who adulterated the goods and falsified the truths of the Word, consequently of the church; and adulteries in the spiritual sense are adulterations of good and falsifications of truth (as may be seen above, n. 141, 161); therefore also He called that nation an adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38).