1. In the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, we find the Lord talking to his disciples about the close of the age, the last time of the church. ¹ At the end of his prophecies concerning the sequence of states of its love and faith ² he says:

Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Human-born One will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will lament. And they will see the Human-born One coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a trumpet and a loud voice, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens all the way to the other end. (Matthew 24:29-31)

When people understand these words according to their literal meaning, they can only believe that all these things are going to happen just as this meaning describes them, at that end of time called the Last Judgment. This does not mean only that the sun and moon will be darkened and that the stars will fall from heaven, that the sign of the Lord will appear in heaven, and that he will be seen in the clouds with angels blowing trumpets. It also includes matters prophesied elsewhere, statements that the whole visible world is going to be destroyed and that afterward a new heaven and a new earth will come into being.

Many people in the church these days are of this opinion. However, people who believe such things are not aware of the hidden depths that lie within the details of the Word. There is in fact spiritual meaning in these details, for they intend not only the outward and earthly events that we find on the literal level but spiritual and heavenly events as well. This holds true not just for the meaning of phrases but even for each word. ³

The Word is in fact written in pure correspondences ⁴ so that there may be deeper meaning in the details. Questions about the nature of this meaning can be resolved by all the things I have set forth about it in Secrets of Heaven. A selection of these may be found also in my explanation of the white horse in the Book of Revelation. It is in this deeper sense that we are to understand what the Lord said in the passage just cited about coming in the clouds of heaven. The sun that will be darkened means the Lord in respect to love, ⁵ the moon means the Lord in respect to faith. ⁶ The stars mean insights into what is good and true, or into love and faith. ⁷ The sign of the Human-born One in heaven means the appearing of divine truth. The wailing tribes of earth mean all the elements of what is true and good, or of faith and love. ⁸ The Lord's coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means his presence in the Word, and revelation. ⁹ The clouds refer to the literal meaning of the Word ¹⁰ and the glory to the Word's inner meaning. ¹¹ The angels with a trumpet and a loud voice mean heaven, which is where divine truth comes from. ¹²

This enables us to see what these words of the Lord mean. They mean that at the end of the church, when there is no longer any love and therefore no longer any faith, the Lord will open the Word by disclosing its deeper meaning and will reveal the heavenly contents hidden within it. The particular hidden contents to be disclosed in the pages that follow have to do with heaven and hell and with our own life after death.

Church people these days know practically nothing about heaven and hell or their life after death, even though there are descriptions of everything available to them in the Word. In fact, many who have been born in the church deny all this. In their hearts they are asking who has ever come back to tell us about it.

To prevent this negative attitude - especially prevalent among people who have acquired a great deal of worldly wisdom - from infecting and corrupting people of simple heart and simple faith, it has been granted me to be with angels and to talk with them person to person. I have also been enabled to see what is in heaven and in hell, a process that has been going on for thirteen years. Now I am being allowed therefore to describe what I have heard and seen, in the hopes of shedding light where there is ignorance, and of dispelling skepticism.

The reason this kind of direct revelation is taking place today is that this is what the Coming of the Lord means.

Imibhalo yaphansi:

594. Encompassed with a cloud, signifies the ultimate of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "encompassed," as being by what is outside of one, for that which is round about is also without, for it is more remote in the circumference; so here it means the ultimate. Also from the signification of a "cloud," as being Divine truth in ultimates, consequently the Word in the sense of the letter. This signification of "cloud" is evident from appearances in the spiritual world; also from the Word wherever "clouds" are mentioned. From appearances in the spiritual world, as follows: the universal angelic heaven consists solely of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord; the reception of this constitutes angels. In the highest heaven this truth appears like a pure aura which is called ether; in the next lower heaven as less pure, almost like the atmosphere that is called air; in the lowest heaven it appears like something thinly aqueous over which is a vapor like a cloud; such is the appearance of Divine truth according to degrees in its descent. There is a like appearance when angels of the higher heavens speak about Divine truths; what they say is then presented to the view of those who are in the lowest heaven under the appearance of a cloud that floats hither and thither; the more intelligent of them know from its movement and brightness and form what the angels of the higher heavens are speaking about with each other. This makes evident why a "cloud" signifies Divine truth in ultimates. As most things in the Word were taken from the appearances in the spiritual world, and thence have a like significance as they have there, so is it with "clouds."

[2] That a "cloud" signifies in the Word the sense of the letter, which is Divine truth in ultimates, can be seen from the following passages. In the Gospels:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a high mountain; and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became as the light. And behold, there appeared Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. While Peter was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him (Matthew 17:1-10; Mark 9:1-11).

And in Luke:

While Peter thus spake there came a cloud and overshadowed them; hence they feared as they entered into the cloud. But there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him (Luke 9:34, 35).

In this transfiguration the Lord represented Divine truth, which is the Word; for the Lord, when He was in the world, made His Human Divine truth, and when He went out of the world He made His Human Divine good by uniting it with the Divine Itself, that was in Him from conception. (That the Lord made His Human Divine truth when He was in the world, and afterwards Divine good, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 303-306; and that the Lord is the Word, n. 263.) Consequently the particular things that were seen when He was transfigured signify the proceeding of Divine truth from the Lord's Divine good. The Divine good of Divine love which was in Him, and from which He had Divine truth in His Human, was represented by "His face did shine as the sun;" for the "face" represents the interiors, since these shine forth through the face; and the "sun" signifies the Divine love (See above, n. 401, 412). The Divine truth was represented by the "garments" which became as the light; "garments" in the Word signify truths, and "the Lord's garments" Divine truth (See also above, n. 64, 271, 395); this is why they appeared "as the light;" for Divine truth makes the light in the angelic heaven, and is therefore signified by "light" in the Word (respecting which see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Because it was the Word, which is Divine truth, that was represented, therefore "there appeared Moses and Elijah speaking with Him;" "Moses and Elijah" signifying the Word; "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical Word. The Word in the letter was represented by the "cloud that overshadowed the disciples, and into which they entered;" for the "disciples" represented in the Word the church, which at that time and afterwards was only in truths from the sense of the letter; and because, as has been said in the article above, revelations and responses are made by Divine truth in ultimates, and because this truth is such as is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word, it came to pass that "a voice was heard out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him," meaning that He is Divine truth, or the Word.

[3] He who does not know that a "cloud" in the spiritual sense of the Word means the Word in the letter, cannot know what arcanum is involved in this:

That in the consummation of the age they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:61, 62; Luke 21:27).

And in Revelation:

Behold, Jesus Christ cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see Him (Genesis 1:7).

And again:

I saw, and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man (Numbers 14:14).

And in Daniel:

I was seeing in the night visions, and behold, there was coming with the clouds of the heavens one like the Son of man (Daniel 7:13).

He who is ignorant that "the clouds of heaven" signify the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter, cannot know otherwise than that in the consummation of the age, that is, in the end of the church, the Lord is to come in the clouds of heaven, and manifest Himself to the world; but it is well known that since the Word was given, the Lord manifests Himself through that only, for the Word, which is Divine truth, is the Lord Himself in heaven and in the church. From this it can now be seen that the manifestation here predicted signifies His manifestation in the Word; and His manifestation in the Word was effected through His opening and revealing the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, for in that sense is the Divine truth itself, such as it is in heaven, and the Divine truth in heaven is the Lord Himself there. This makes clear that "the Lord's coming in the clouds of heaven with glory" signifies the revelation of Him in the sense of the letter of the Word from its spiritual sense. "The clouds of heaven" signify the things belonging to the sense of the letter, and "glory" signifies those belonging to the spiritual sense (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 1), also the revelation itself of the spiritual sense (in the small work on The White Horse); "Son of man" also signifies the Lord in relation to Divine truth (as may be seen above, n. 63, 151).

[4] That a "cloud" signifies Divine truth in ultimates, consequently the Word in the sense of the letter, can be seen further from the following passages. In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud, and cometh into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt are moved before Him, and the heart of the Egyptian melteth in the midst of him (Isaiah 19:1).

"Egypt" here does not mean Egypt, but the natural man when separated from the spiritual, which is then in falsities and evils, and through these perverts all the truths and goods of the church; that the natural man is destroyed by these falsities and evils when truth from good flows in from the Lord is described by these words of the prophet understood in the internal sense. Jehovah is said "to ride upon a light cloud" to signify that the Lord enlightens the understanding with truths; "to ride" in reference to Jehovah or the Lord, signifying to enlighten the understanding, and "a light cloud" signifying truth; that then "the idols of Egypt are moved, and the heart of the Egyptian melteth," signifies that the evils and falsities of the natural man, separated from the spiritual, then destroy the natural man; "idols" meaning falsities, the "heart" evils, and "Egypt" the natural man.

[5] In Moses:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth in heaven and in His magnificence upon the clouds, the abode of the God of antiquity, and underneath are the arms of the world (Deuteronomy 33:26, 27).

Here, too, "riding in heaven upon the clouds" signifies to enlighten the understanding by the influx of spiritual truth into natural truth, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word. Because Divine truth in the heavens is spiritual, and Divine truth on the earth is natural, and the latter is enlightened by the former, therefore it is said, "and in His magnificence upon the clouds;" "the abode of the God of antiquity" means Divine truth with the angels, and "the arms of the world," mean Divine truths with men; the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are what are meant by "the arms of the world," for that sense is the very strength of Divine truth, "arms" signifying strength. (That the strength of Divine truth is in the sense of the letter can be seen in the article just above.)

[6] In David:

God rode upon a cherub and did fly, and was borne upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place; His tent round about Him the darkness of waters, the clouds of the heavens. At the brightness before Him the clouds passed (Psalms 18:10-12).

This, too, describes the enlightenment of the Word, and thus of the church; enlightenment by the influx of Divine truth from the heavens is signified by "God rode upon a cherub and did fly;" Divine truth in ultimates which is enlightened is signified by "the wings of the wind," "the darkness of waters," and "the clouds of the heavens," these signifying the various degrees of the understanding receiving enlightenment; that the obscurities of the ultimate sense are thereby dissipated is meant by "at the brightness before Him the clouds passed."

[7] In the same:

Sing unto God, praise His name; extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Psalms 68:4).

Here, too, "Him that rideth upon the clouds" means the Lord as to enlightenment; "clouds" meaning truths in ultimates, which are enlightened, and these are enlightened by the influx of light, which is Divine truth, from the spiritual world or heaven.

[8] In Nahum:

Jehovah hath His way in the storm and in the tempest, and the clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3).

Truth in ultimates, which is the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word, is called "clouds, the dust of the feet of Jehovah," because it is the natural and lowest truth, into which Divine truth in heaven, which is spiritual, closes, and upon which it subsists. Divine truth in ultimates, because it is but little understood unless there is enlightenment from heaven, is a subject of discussion and controversy, and this is meant by "storm and tempest in which Jehovah hath His way," spiritual "storm and tempest" meaning discussion concerning the genuine sense, which nevertheless, with those who desire truth, the Lord enlightens by means of influx.

[9] In David:

His seed shall be to eternity, and His throne as the sun before Thee. ¹ It shall be established as the moon to eternity, and as a faithful witness in the clouds (Psalms 89:36, 37).

This is said of the Lord, and the "seed that shall be to eternity" signifies Divine truth which is from Him. The "throne that shall be as the sun and as the moon" signifies heaven and the church as to the good of love and as to the truth of faith; "throne" signifying heaven and the church; "as the sun" in respect to the good of love, and "as the moon" in respect to the truth of faith. "A faithful witness in the clouds" signifies that He is Divine truth, for "witness" in reference to the Lord, signifies that which proceeds from Him, and as that is His, it witnesses respecting Him.

[10] In the same:

Jehovah layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; He maketh the cloud ² His chariot; He walketh upon the wings of the wind (Psalms 104:3).

These few words describe heaven and the church, and at the same time doctrine from the Word. "He layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters" signifies that the Lord forms the heavens and the church from Divine truths; "waters" signify Divine truths; "Jehovah's chambers" signify the heavens and the church, and "to lay beams" signifies to form. "He maketh the clouds His chariot" signifies doctrine from ultimate Divine truths; "clouds" meaning ultimate Divine truths, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word, and a "chariot" doctrine; this is said because every doctrine of the church is to be formed from and confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word. "He walketh upon the wings of the wind" signifies the life which doctrine has from spiritual influx; "to walk" signifying to live, and in reference to the Lord life itself; "the wings of the wind" mean the spiritual things of the Word. (That "waters" signify truths, see above, n. 71, 483, 518, 537, 538.)

[11] In Isaiah:

I will lay waste My vineyard, I will even command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isaiah 5:6).

This means that the church shall have no understanding of Divine truth or of the Word; "vineyard" signifying the church, "clouds" the Word in the letter, and "their raining no rain," that there shall be no understanding of Divine truth from the Word.

[12] In David:

Jehovah who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains (Psalms 147:8).

"To cover the heavens with clouds" signifies to defend and preserve the spiritual things of the Word which are in the heavens, by means of natural truths such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word; "who prepareth rain for the earth" signifies instruction therefrom for the church; "who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains" signifies nourishment thereby for those who are in the good of love.

[13] The like is signified by the following words in Isaiah:

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds stream down with righteousness; let the earth open and bring forth the fruit of salvation (Isaiah 45:8).

And in Judges:

Jehovah, when Thou didst go forth out of Seir, when Thou didst march out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, yea, the clouds dropped waters (Judges 5:4).

"To go forth out of Seir, and to march out of the field of Edom," signifies, in reference to Jehovah, the enlightenment of the Gentiles by the Lord when He assumed the Human; "the earth trembling" signifies the state of the church then changed; "the heavens dropped, and the clouds dropped waters," signifies instruction, influx, and perception of Divine truth; "to drop" signifying instruction and influx; "waters" truths; "the heavens" the interior things of truth, and "clouds," the exterior, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word.

[14] In David:

The clouds poured out waters; the skies gave forth a voice, and Thine arrows went forth (Psalms 77:17).

"The clouds poured out waters" signifies that there are genuine truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the skies gave forth a voice" signifies influx from the heavens; "Thine arrows went forth" signifies Divine truths therefrom. In Job:

God bindeth up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them. He spreadeth His cloud upon His throne (Job 26:8, 9).

Here, too, "clouds" stand for truths ultimate in order, and because these contain in themselves and enclose spiritual truths that they may not be dispersed, this is described and signified by "God bindeth up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud is not rent;" because exterior truths, which are called natural, also encompass and enclose interior truths, which are called spiritual, and are proper to the angels of the heavens, this is described and signified by "He spreadeth His cloud upon His throne."

[15] In Isaiah:

Jehovah said, I will be quiet, and I will behold in My dwelling place like clear heat upon light, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest (Isaiah 18:4);

a "cloud of dew" signifying truth bringing forth fruit from good. In the same:

Jehovah will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her convocations a cloud by day, and a smoke and the brightness of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering (Isaiah 4:5).

"The dwelling place of Mount Zion" signifies the good of the celestial church, and "her convocations" signify the truths of that good; protection lest it should be hurt by too much light or too much shade is signified by "a cloud by day and a smoke, and the brightness of a flame of fire by night," and as every spiritual good and truth is preserved from harm by natural good and truth, it is said that "upon all the glory shall be a covering," "glory" meaning spiritual good and truth.

[16] The same is signified by:

The cloud that was upon the tabernacle by day, and the fire by night (Exodus 40:36-38; Numbers 9:15-23to the end;Numbers 10:11, 12, 34;14:14;Deuteronomy 1:33).

Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21).

The pillar of the cloud stood between the camp of the sons of Israel and the camp of the Egyptians (Exodus 14:19-21).

In David:

God led them in the daytime in a cloud, and all the night in the light of fire (Psalms 78:14).

And elsewhere in the same:

Egypt was glad when they went forth, for the dread of them had fallen upon them. He spread out a cloud for a covering, and fire to make light the night (Psalms 105:38, 39).

"There was a cloud upon the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night," because the "tabernacle" represented heaven and the church, the "cloud" the Lord's presence through Divine truth, and the "fire" His presence through Divine good, which is called the good of faith, each ultimate in order; therefore they were as coverings over the tabernacle; for this reason it is said in the passages cited above from Isaiah and David, "over all the glory shall be a covering," and "He spread out a cloud for a covering."

The like is signified by:

The cloud that covered Mount Horeb, into which cloud Moses entered (Exodus 24:15-18).

And the like by:

The cloud in which Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16, 18; 34:5).

And the like by:

The pillar of cloud that stood at the door of Moses' tent (Exodus 33:9, 10).

[17] So again of the "cloud" in Ezekiel:

I looked, and behold a wind of a tempest came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself in itself, and a brightness round about it (Ezekiel 1:4).

And in the same:

The cherubim stood on the right side of the house when the man entered in; and the cloud filled the inner court; and the glory of Jehovah mounted up from above the cherub upon the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory (Ezekiel 10:3, 4).

The "cherubim" signify the Lord in respect to guarding, that there be no approach except through the good of love; so, too, the "cherubim" signify the heavens, in particular the inmost or third heaven, because the angels who are there receive Divine truth in the good of love, therefore it is Divine truth, which is in its essence the good of love, that guards. This Divine truth, as it comes down out of the inmost heaven into the lower heavens, and at length into the world where men are, from being pure becomes thus by degrees more dense, consequently in the lowest degree it appears like a cloud; this is why it signifies Divine truth accommodated to the apprehension of the angels who are in the lowest heaven, who are spiritual-natural, and finally to the apprehension of men in the natural world. Moreover, as Divine truth in this degree is similar to the Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word, "cloud" signifies the Word as to the sense of the letter. It was this Divine truth that filled the court like a cloud, and at length the house, at the right side of which stood the cherubim; and as this Divine truth is inwardly the spiritual that shines from heavenly light, therefore it is called "glory," and it is said that "the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory." Also in Job:

When God maketh the light of His cloud to be bright (Job 37:15).

[18] Because the higher heavens appear before the eyes of those who are in the lower heavens as covered by a light and bright cloud (for the reason that the lower angels are unable to see the higher or interior Divine otherwise than in accordance with their own quality), therefore also Divine truth in the higher heavens, or what is the same thing, the higher heavens themselves, are meant in some passages in the Word by "clouds;" for whether you say Divine truth or the heavens it is the same, since the heavens are heavens from Divine truth, and the angels there are angels from the reception of Divine truth. It is in this sense that "clouds" are mentioned in Isaiah:

Lucifer, thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend above the heights of the cloud; I will become like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13, 14).

In Jeremiah:

Forsake Babylon, and let us go everyone into his own land; for her judgment hath reached even unto the heavens, and it hath lifted up itself even to the clouds (Jeremiah 51:9).

And in David:

Give ye strength unto God; His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is above the clouds (Psalms 68:34).

The same is here signified by "clouds" as:

By the waters above the expanse (Genesis 1:7).

And by the waters above the heavens (Psalms 148:4);

for clouds consist of water. That "waters" signify Divine truths may be seen above (n. 71, 483, 518).

[19] As there are clouds that are lighter and brighter, also clouds that are denser and blacker, and lighter and brighter clouds appear beneath the heavens, but dense and black clouds are seen about many of the hells, it is evident that "clouds" in the contrary sense signify the falsities of evil which are contrary to truths from good, as in the following passages. In Ezekiel:

Egypt a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity (Ezekiel 30:18).

He shall ascend like a cloud to cover the land (Ezekiel 38:9).

Sheep scattered in the day of cloud and thick darkness (Ezekiel 34:12).

So the Last Judgment, when those who are in the falsities of evil are to perish, is called:

A day of cloud and of obscurity (Joel 2:2; Zephaniah 1:15).

The like is signified by:

The clouds and thick darkness that appeared to the sons of Israel when the law was given from Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:11, 12, 15; 5:22-26);

for although Jehovah, that is, the Lord, came down upon that mountain in a bright cloud, yet it appeared before the eyes of the people, who were in the falsities of evil, as a thick dark cloud (See Arcana Coelestia 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551).

Imibhalo yaphansi:

2135. PREFACE to Genesis 18

[Each chapter belonging to Volume Two of the Latin (Genesis 16-21) was published separately, and therefore this Preface belongs to Chapter 18 only.]

At the end of the previous chapter the subject dealt with was the Last Judgement, and there it was shown what is meant by it - not the destruction of the world, but the final period of the Church. When this is imminent, says the Lord, He will come in the clouds of heaven with power and glory, Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27. Nobody until now has known what was meant by 'the clouds of heaven'. But it has been disclosed to me that nothing else is meant than the literal sense of the Word, and that by 'power and glory' is meant the internal sense of the Word; for the internal sense of the Word holds glory within itself, since everything within that sense has regard to the Lord and His kingdom; see Volume One, in 1769-1772. Something similar is meant by 'the cloud' which surrounded Peter, James, and John when the Lord appeared to them in glory, concerning which the following is said in Luke,

A voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son; listen to Him! When however the voice had gone Jesus was found alone. Luke 9:35-36.

Moses and Elijah there who conversed with the Lord represented the Old Testament Word, which is also called Moses and the Prophets - 'Moses' representing the books by him, together with the historical books, 'Elijah the prophet' representing all the Prophets. Peter, James, and John however represented, as they do wherever else they are mentioned in the Gospels, faith, charity, and good flowing from charity. Their presence alone on that occasion meant that no others are able to see the glory of the Lord which is present in His Word than those with whom faith, its partner charity, and good flowing from charity are present. All others do indeed have the ability to see; nevertheless they do not see because they do not believe. Such is the internal sense of these two passages. In various places in the Prophets as well, 'cloud' means the Word as to its letter, and 'glory' the Word as to its life. What the internal sense of the Word is, and the nature of it, has been stated in many places, and has been shown in the word-by-word explanation that has been given. Those expert in the Law in the Lord's time had least belief of all in the idea that anything in the Word had been written regarding the Lord. Today such experts do, it is true, recognize this, but they perhaps will have least belief of all in the idea that any glory is present in the Word other than that visible in the letter - though the letter is in fact the cloud which has the glory within it.

From this chapter especially do the nature of the internal sense of the Word and the manner in which angels perceive the Word when it is read by man become clear. From the historical sense that belongs to the letter nothing else is understood than that Jehovah appeared to Abraham in the guise of three men, and that Sarah, Abraham, and his servant prepared food for them, namely cakes of fine flour, a young bull, and also butter and milk. Although these are historically true descriptions of things which actually took place, they are nevertheless not perceived by angels in any such historical manner. Instead the angels perceive abstractedly, quite apart from the letter, the things which are represented and are meant spiritually by such descriptions; that is to say, they perceive them according to the explanation set out in the Contents. In place of the historical details stated in this chapter they perceive the state of the Lord's perception within the Human, and also the communication at that time with the Divine, before the perfect union existed of His Divine Essence with His Human Essence and of His Human Essence with His Divine Essence, which state is also what the Lord is referring to when He says,

Nobody has even seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

[2] Also, by the different kinds of food mentioned in this chapter angels perceive nothing else than celestial and spiritual goods, details of which goods are given in the explanation of the chapter. And by what is said further on in it about a son whom Sarah would bear at the appointed time in the following year, angels perceive nothing else than this, that the Lord's human rational would be made Divine. By what is stated at the end of the chapter about Abraham speaking to Jehovah concerning the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah they perceive nothing else than the Lord's interceding on behalf of the human race. By the numbers fifty, forty-five, forty; thirty, twenty, and ten mentioned there they perceive His interceding on behalf of those with whom truths were to be allied to goods, and to whom goods were to come through temptations and conflicts, or through other states. And their perception is the same with everything else in the Word, as may become clearer still from the word-by-word explanation that is given, where it is shown that similar things are embodied within each individual expression in the Word, both in the historical part and in the prophetical part.

[3] That such an internal sense is present everywhere in the Word, which deals solely with the Lord, with His kingdom in heaven, with His Church on earth, and in particular with every individual, and so deals with the goods of love and the truths of faith, may also become clear to anyone from Old Testament texts quoted in the Gospels, as in Matthew,

The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool. Matthew 22:44; Psalms 110:1.

That these words refer to the Lord cannot be seen from the literal sense of them as they stand in David; yet that no one other than the Lord is meant, He himself teaches at this point in Matthew.

[4] In the same gospel,

You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel. Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2.

Those who confine themselves to the literal sense, as Jews do, do indeed know from this that the Lord was to be born there; but because they are waiting for a leader and king who will lead them back into the land of Canaan they therefore explain the words here literally. That is to say, they take 'the land of Judah' to mean the land of Canaan and '[My people] Israel' to mean [the tribes of] Israel, even though they do not know where the latter are now; and 'a leader' they still take to mean their Messiah. But in fact 'Judah' and 'Israel' are used to mean things other than Judah and Israel; that is to say, 'Judah' means those who are celestial and 'Israel' those who are spiritual, in heaven and on earth. And 'a leader' is used to mean the Lord.

[5] In the same gospel,

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, crying out, and much wailing; Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be consoled because they are not. Matthew 2:18; Jeremiah 31:15.

Those who confine themselves to the literal sense cannot possibly gain from it that sense which is the internal meaning of these words. Yet the existence of this internal sense is evident from the gospel itself. In the same gospel,

Out of Egypt have I called My son. Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1.

In Hosea the wording is,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. [As] they called them, so they went away from their presence. And I taught Ephraim to walk. Hosea 11:1-3.

Those who have no knowledge of the existence of the internal sense cannot know otherwise than that here Jacob is meant when he entered Egypt, and his descendants when they left, and that 'Ephraim' is used to mean the tribe of Ephraim - thus the same things as occur in historical sections of the Word. Nevertheless it is clear from the Word of the Evangelists that they mean the Lord, though what each detail means could not possibly be known unless it were disclosed by means of the internal sense.