200. And I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. That this signifies that they will be in Divine good and thence in Divine truth, is evident from the signification of I will confess his name, as being that they may be according to the quality of the state of their life; for by confessing, when by the Lord, is meant to grant that they may be; for what the Lord says, or confesses, concerning a man or an angel who is in the good of love and faith, He grants and provides, because all the good of love and faith is from Him. This is why to say, in the Word, when said of the Lord, signifies to instruct, to enlighten and provide (see Arcana Coelestia 5361, 6946, 6951, 7019, 8095, 10234, 10290). That by name is meant the quality of the state of the life, may be seen above, n. 148. It is also evident from the signification of Father, when said by the Lord, as denoting the Divine good which is in Him and from Him, which will be treated of in what follows and from the signification of angels, as denoting Divine truth, which is also from the Lord (concerning which see above, n. 130). It is therefore evident that by I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels, is signified that they will be in Divine good and in Divine truth.

[2] The reason why by Father, when it is said by the Lord, is meant the Divine good which is in the Lord and from the Lord is, that the Lord called the Divine which was in Him from conception, which was the esse of His life, His Father, to which Divine He united His Human when He was in the world.

That the Lord called this His Father is quite evident from the fact that He taught that He himself was one with the Father; as in John,

"I and my Father are one" (10:30).

Again:

"Believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father (10:38).

Again:

"He that seeth me seeth him that sent me" (12:45).

Again:

"If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye have known him, and have seen him. Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus saith, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (John 14:6-17).

Again:

"If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also" (8:19).

Again:

"I am not alone, because the Father is with me" (16:32).

[3] Because the Lord is one with the Father, therefore He also declares

That all things of the Father are His, and His things are the Father's (John 17:10);

That all things that the Father hath are His (John 16:15);

That the Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35; 13:3);

Because all things are delivered to Him by the Father, no one knoweth the Son but the Father, nor any the Father except the Son (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22); also, that no one hath seen the Father except the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18; 6:46); the Word was with God, and God was the Word, "and the Word was made flesh" (John 1:1, 2, 14).

From this latter passage it is also clear that they are one; for it is said, that the Word was with God, and God was the Word. It is plain, too, that the Human of the Lord was God; for it is said, and the Word was made flesh. Since then, all things of the Father are also the Lord's, and since He and the Father are one, therefore the Lord, when He ascended into heaven, said to His disciples,

"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18);

by which He taught that they should approach Him alone, because He alone can do all things; as He also said to them before,

"Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Hence it is evident how the following words are to be understood:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6);

that is, that the Father is approached when the Lord is approached.

[4] Amongst many other reasons why the Lord so often spoke of the Father as another was this, that by Father, in the internal or spiritual sense, is meant the Divine good, and by Son, the Divine truth, each in the Lord and from the Lord; for the Word is written by correspondences, and is thus both for men and angels. The Father therefore is mentioned in order that the Divine good of the Lord may be perceived by the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word; and the Son of God and the Son of man are mentioned, in order that the Divine truth in like manner may be perceived (as is evident from what has been shown in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that Father in the Word signifies good, n. 3703, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834. That Father signifies the church as to good, thus the good of the church, and mother the church as to truth, thus the truth of the church, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897. That the Lord called the Divine good which was in Him from conception, and which was the esse of life, whence His Human was derived, Father, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897. That the Lord is acknowledged as the Father in heaven, because they are one, n. 15, 1729, 3690. That the Lord is also called Father in the Word, n. 2005. That the Lord is also a Father to those who are regenerating, because they receive new life from Him, and His life, n. 2293, 3690, 6492. That the Son of God, and Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human and as to the proceeding Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 63, 151, 166). Now, because all who are to come into heaven must be in good as well as in truth, for no man can be in the one unless he be at the same time in the other, since good is the being (esse) of truth, and truth is the manifestation (existere) of good, and as by the Father is signified the Divine good, and by angels Divine truth, both from the Lord, therefore it is said, I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Similarly in the Evangelists:

"Everyone who shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32).

"Everyone who shall have confessed me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8).

[5] Because Father signifies the Divine good, and angels Divine truth, therefore also the Lord says,

"When the Son of man shall come in his own glory, that of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26; Matthew 16:27).

Here the Lord calls His own glory, the glory of the Father and of the angels, for He says, in His own glory, that of the Father and of the holy angels; but in another place He says, in the glory of the Father with the angels; and in another place, in His own glory with the angels; as in Mark:

"When he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (8:38).

And in Matthew:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him" (25:31).

To what has been said above it must be added by way of appendix, that if it be assumed as doctrine, and acknowledged, that the Lord is one with the Father, and that His Human is Divine from the Divine in Himself, light will be seen in every particular of the Word; for what is assumed as doctrine, and acknowledged from doctrine, is in light when the Word is read. The Lord also, from whom all light proceeds and who has all power, enlightens those who are in this acknowledgment. But, on the other hand, if it be assumed and acknowledged as doctrine that the Divine of the Father is something else than the Divine of the Lord, nothing will be seen in light in the Word, because the man who is in that doctrine turns himself from one Divine to another and from the Divine of the Lord, which he may see, which is effected by thought and faith, to a Divine which he cannot see; for the Lord says:

"Ye have never heard the voice of the Father, nor seen his form" (John 5:37; and also chap. 1:18);

and to believe in and love a Divine which cannot be thought of under any form is impossible.

9504. 'Which I shall give you' means its representative. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses', the one to whom it was going to be given, as the Lord in respect of Divine truth, dealt with in 9372.

130. (Verse 12) And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write. That this signifies for remembrance to those within the church who are in temptations, is evident from the signification of writing, as being for remembrance (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 8620); from the signification of angel, as being a recipient of Divine truth, and, in the highest sense, the Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord (concerning which more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of the church in Pergamos, as being those within the church who are in temptations. That such are meant by the church in Pergamos, is evident from the things written to that church, which follow; for from no other source can it be known what is signified by each of the seven churches. For, as was before shown, by the churches here mentioned are not meant churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, but all those who belong to the Lord's church, and by each church something which constitutes the church with man. And because the primary things of the church are the knowledges of truth and good and the affection of spiritual truth, therefore the subject first treated of are those things, written to the angel of the church of Ephesus and Smyrna; concerning the knowledges of truth and good to the angel of the church of Ephesus, and concerning the spiritual affection of truth to the angel of the church of Smyrna. And because no one can be infilled with the knowledges of truth and good as to life, and persevere in the spiritual affection of truth, unless he undergoes temptations, therefore the subject now treated of in what is written to the angel of the church in Pergamos is those temptations.

[2] It is therefore clear in what order the things taught under the names of the seven churches follow. The reason why it is said, "To the angel of the church, write," and not to the church is, that by angel is signified the Divine truth which constitutes the church; for Divine truth teaches how man is to live that he may become a church. That by angel in the Word, in the spiritual sense, is not meant any angel, but, in the highest sense, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and, in a relative sense, he who receives it, is evident from this consideration, that all the angels are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, and that no angel is of himself an angel; also, that in proportion as he receives Divine truth, in the same proportion he is an angel. For angels know and perceive better than men, that all the good of love and truth of faith are not from themselves, but from the Lord; and, because the good of love and truth of faith constitute their wisdom and intelligence, and these the whole angel, therefore they know and acknowledge that they are only recipients of the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and thus that they are angels in that degree in which they receive it. This is why they are desirous that the term angels should be understood spiritually, that is, impersonally, and be interpreted as meaning Divine truths.

By Divine truth is meant also Divine good, because they proceed unitedly from the Lord (as may be seen in the work,Heaven and Hell 13, 140).

[3] Now because Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes an angel, therefore, in the highest sense, in the Word, by angel is meant the Lord Himself, as in Isaiah:

"The angel of the faces of Jehovah liberated them; on account of his love, and his indulgence, he redeemed them; and he bore, and carried them all the days of eternity" (Isaiah 63:9).

And in Moses:

"The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Genesis 48:16).

In the same:

"Behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; beware of his faces, and obey his voice, for my name is in the midst of him" (Exodus 23:20-23).

[4] Because the Lord as to Divine truth is called an angel, therefore also Divine truths are meant, in the spiritual sense, by angels, as in the following passages:

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. In the consummation of the age the angels shall go forth, and sever the wicked from among the just" (Matthew 13:41, 49).

"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together the elect from the four winds" (Matthew 24:31).

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (Matthew 25:31).

Jesus said, "Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51).

In these passages, in the spiritual sense, by angels are meant Divine truths, and not angels; as in the foregoing passages, where it is said that, in the consummation of the age, the angels shall gather out all things that offend, shall sever the wicked from the just, that they shall gather together the elect with a great sound of a trumpet from the four winds, and that the Son of man with His angels shall sit upon a throne of glory. It is not meant that the angels will do these things, together with the Lord, but the Lord alone by His Divine truths; for an angel has no power of himself, but all power is from the Lord by means of His Divine truth (see the work, Heaven and Hell 230-233). Similarly by the angels of God seen ascending and descending upon the Son of man is meant, that Divine truths were in Him and from Him.

[5] By angels also in other places are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, consequently the Lord as to Divine truths, as where it is said, that

to the seven angels were given seven trumpets, and that the angels sounded the trumpets (Apoc. 8:2, 6-8, 10, 12, 13; 9:1, 13, 14).

It is said, that to the angels were given trumpets, and that they sounded them, because trumpets and the sound of them signify Divine truth to be revealed (see above, n. 55). Similar things are also meant

by the angels fighting against the dragon (Apoc. 12:7, 9);

by the angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel (Apoc. 14:6);

by the seven angels pouring out the seven vials (Apoc. 16:1-4, 8, 10, 12);

by the twelve angels at the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem (Apoc. 21:12).

[6] That this is the case will also be seen in what follows. That by angels are meant Divine truths from the Lord, is quite clear in David:

Jehovah "maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flaming fire" (Psalms 104:4).

By these words are signified Divine truth and Divine good; for the wind of Jehovah in the Word signifies Divine truth, and His fire Divine good. (As is evident from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as, that the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah denotes Divine truth, n. 8286; that the four winds denote all things of truth and good, n. 3708, 9642, 9668; that hence to breathe in the Word signifies the state of the life of faith, n. 9280; from which it is evident what is signified by Jehovah breathing into the nostrils of Adam (Genesis 2:7); by the Lord breathing upon His disciples (John 20:22): and by these words of the Lord, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, and knowest not whence it cometh" (John 3:8); concerning which see n. 96, 97, 9229, 9281; and, moreover, n. 1119, 3886, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893. That flaming fire denotes Divine love, and thence Divine good see in the work, Heaven and Hell 133-140, 566, 567, 568; and above, n. 68.)

[7] That an angel signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is quite clear from these words in the Apocalypse:

"He measured the wall" of the New Jerusalem "an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (21:17).

That the wall of the New Jerusalem is not the measure of an angel anyone may see; but that the term signifies all truths for defence, which are there meant by angel, is evident from the signification of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the signification of the number one hundred and forty-four. (That a wall signifies all truths for defence, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 6419; that the number one hundred and forty-four signifies all things of truth in the aggregate, n. 7973; that measure signifies the quality of a thing as to truth and good, n. 3104, 9603, 10262. These things may also be seen explained as to the internal sense in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1.)

[8] Because by angels in the Word are meant Divine truths, therefore men through whom Divine truths are made known are sometimes called angels, as in Malachi:

"The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of Jehovah" (2:7).

He is said to be the angel of Jehovah, because he teaches Divine truth; not that he is the angel of Jehovah, but the Divine truth which he teaches is. It is also known in the church that no one has Divine truth from himself. Lips, in the above passage, also signify the doctrine of truth, and law the Divine truth itself. (That lips signify the doctrine of truth may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1286, 1288, and that the law is the Divine truth itself, n. 3382, 7463.) This also is why John the Baptist is called an angel:

Jesus said, "This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee" (Luke 7:27).

[9] The reason why John is called an angel is, because by him, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Word, which is Divine truth, just as by Elias. (See Arcana Coelestia 7643, 9372; and that what is signified, the same is meant, by a person in the Word, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229.)

[10] It is said, that by angels in the Word, in the spiritual sense, are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, because these constitute angels, and when angels utter them, they do not speak from themselves but from the Lord. That this is the case, the angels not only know but also perceive. A man who believes that nothing of faith is from himself, but from God, also knows this, but he does not perceive it. That nothing of faith is from man, but all from God, is the same thing as if it were said, that nothing of truth which has life is from man, but from God; for truth has relation to faith, and faith to truth.