sellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," ix. 5. In the same: "Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, thy name is from everlasting," lxiii. 16: and in John, " If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye do know him, and have seen him: Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father; Jesus saith unto him, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, show us the Father? believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me," xiv. 7, 8, 9, 11. See n. 960, below.

22. "To him be glory and might for ever and ever," signifies, to whom alone belongs divine majesty, and divine omnipotence to eternity. By glory, in the Word; where the Lord is treated of, is understood the divine majesty ; this being predicated of his divine wisdom; and by might, is meant divine omnipotence, this being predicated of his divine love; and by, for ever and ever, is meant eternity. That such is the meaning of glory, might, and ever and ever, when spoken of Jehovah or the Lord, may be confirmed from many passages in the Word.

23. "Amen," signifies, divine confirmation from the truth, thus from himself. Amen signifies truth; and because the Lord was truth itself, he so often said, amen, (verily) I say unto you, as in Matt. v. 18, 26; vi. 16; x. 23, 42; xvii. 20; xviii. 13, 18; xxv. 12; xxviii. 20; John iii. 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 7; xiii. 16, 20, 21; xxi. 18, 25; and in the following passage in the Apocalypse: "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness," iii. 14; that is, the Lord. That the Lord is truth itself, he himself teaches in John xiv. 6; xvii. 19.

24. "Behold, he cometh with clouds," signifies, that the Lord will reveal himself in the literal sense of the Word, and will open its spiritual sense at the end of the church. He who does not know any thing of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, cannot know what was meant by the Lord concerning his coming in the clouds. of heaven; for he said unto the high priest, who adjured him, to declare whether he was the Christ the Son of

God, "Thou hast said; nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven,' Matt. xxvi. 64; Mark xiv. 61, 62; and where the Lord speaks to his disciples of the consummation of the age, he says, "and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and they shall see the Son of Man coining in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," Matt. xxiv. 30; Mark xiii. 26. By the clouds of heaven in which he is to come, nothing else is meant but the Word in its literal sense; and by the glory in which they will see him, the Word in its spiritual sense. That this is the case, is difficult to be believed by those who do not think beyond the literal sense of the Word; with such, a cloud is a cloud, and thence comes their belief, that the Lord will appear in the clouds of heaven, when the last judgment is at hand; but this idea falls to the ground, when it is known what is the meaning of cloud, and that it denotes divine truth in ultimates, and thus the Word in its literal sense. In the spiritual world there appear clouds as well as in the natural world; but the clouds in the spiritual world appear beneath the heavens, with those who are in the literal sense of the Word, darker or brighter according to their understanding and reception of the Word; the reason is, because the light of heaven there is divine truth; and darkness there proceeds from falses; consequently bright clouds are the divine truth veiled in appearances of truth, such as the Word is in the letter with those who are in truths; and dark clouds are the divine truth covered with fallacies and confirmed appearances, such as the Word is in the letter with those who are in falses I have often seen those clouds, and it was evident from whence and what they are. Now because the Lord, after the glorification of his humanity, was made divine truth, or the Word, even in ultimates, he said unto the high priest, that hereafter they should "see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven." But his saying to his disciples, that in the consummation of the age the sign of the Son of Man should appear, and that they should see him coming in the clouds of heaven with power

and glory, signifies, that at the end of the church, when the last judgment shall take place, he will appear in the Word, and reveal its spiritual sense, which is also accomplished at this day, because now is the end of the church, and the last judgment has taken place, as may appear from the Treatises on the Last Judgment and its Continuation: this, therefore, is what is meant in the Apocalypse, by "behold, he cometh with clouds:" also in the following passages: "I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man," Apoc. xiv. 14. As also in Daniel: "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man with clouds of heaven," vii. 13; that by the Son of Man is meant the Lord as to the Word, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, n. 19-28. That by cloud, in other parts of the Word, is meant, also, divine truth in ultimates, and thence the Word in the letter, may be seen in other passages where clouds are mentioned; as in these: "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the clouds," Deut. xxxiii. 26. 66 'Sing unto God, sing praises to his name, extol him that rideth upon the clouds," Psalm lxviii. 4. "Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud," Isaiah xix. 1: to ride upon the clouds, signifies to be in the wisdom of the Word, for a horse signifies the understanding of the Word; who cannot see that Jehovah does not ride upon the clouds? "And he rode upon a cherub, and made the clouds of heaven his pavilion," Psalm xviii. 10, 11; here there is a similar signification; cherubs also signify the Word, as may be seen below, n. 239, 672. Pavilion

signifies a habitation. "Jehovah layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot," Psalm civ. 3. Waters signify truths, chambers signify doctrinals, and chariot doctrine, all which, because they belong to the literal sense of the Word, are called clouds. "He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them; he holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it," Job xxvi. 8, 9: this is to be understood in like manner,

"God caused the light of his cloud to shine," Job xxxvii. 15. "Ascribe ye strength unto God, his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds," Psalm lxviii. 34. The light of a cloud, signifies the divine truth of the Word, and strength, signifies its divine power. "Thou, O Lucifer, hast said in thine heart, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High," Isaiah xiv. 14. "Forsake ye Babylon, for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the clouds," Jer. li. 9. By Lucifer and Babylon are signified those who profane the goods and truths of the Word, therefore, these truths are to be understood there by clouds. "Jehovah spread a cloud for a covering," Psalm cv. 39. "Jehovah will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, a cloud and smoke by day, for upon all the glory shall be a defence," Isaiah iv. 5: here, also, by cloud, is meant the Word in its literal sense, which sense, as it includes and covers the spiritual sense, is called a covering upon the glory; that the literal sense of the Word is a covering, or defence, lest its spiritual sense should be violated, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 33; and that it is a defence, n. 97. Divine truth in ultimates, which is the same with the Word in its literal sense, is also represented by the cloud, in which Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai, and promulgated the law, Exod. xix. 9; xxxiv. 5. Also by the cloud which covered Peter, James, and John, when Jesus was transfigured, concerning which it is written: "While Peter yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, hear ye him," Matt. xvii. 5, Mark ix. 7, Luke ix. 34, 35. The Lord in this transfiguration caused himself to be seen as the Word; therefore a cloud overshadowed them; and a voice was heard out of the cloud, saying, that he was the Son of God; a voice out of the cloud, means out of the Word. That by cloud, in an opposite sense, is meant the Word as to its literal sense falsified, will be seen elsewhere.

25. "And every eye shall see him," signifies, that all

who are in the understanding of divine truth from affection will acknowledge him. In the spiritual sense, by eye, is not meant the eye, but the understanding; therefore, by every eye shall see him, denotes that all who are in the understanding of divine truth from affection will acknowledge him, because, they alone understand and acknowledge; the rest see, indeed, and also understand, but do not acknowledge; the former, then, are signified, because it follows, that they, also, who pierced him will see him, by whom are understood they who are in falses. That the eye signifies understanding, will be seen below, n. 48.

26. "And they also, who pierced him," signifies, that they, also, will see who are in falses in the church. By piercing Jesus Christ, nothing else is meant but the destruction of his Divine Truth in the Word; this, also, is understood by "one of the soldiers piercing his side, and water and blood coming thereout," John xix. 34. Blood and water are divine truth, spiritual and natural, thus the Word in its spiritual and its natural sense; and to pierce the Lord's side, is to destroy both by falses, as was also done by the Jews; for all the circumstances of the Lord's passion represented the state of the Jewish church, as to the Word, on which subject, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, n. 15-17. The reason why piercing him, signifies to destroy the Word by falses, is, because this is said of Jesus Christ, who presently after is called the Son of Man, and by the Son of Man is meant the Lord as to the Word, therefore to pierce the Son of Man, is to do the same to the Word.

27. "And all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of him," signifies, that this will be when there are no longer any goods and truths in the church. That the tribes of the earth, signify the goods and truths of the church, will be seen in the explanation of the seventh chapter, where the twelve tribes of Israel are treated of; wailing signifies lamentation, by reason of their being dead. The same is meant here as by the Lord's words in Matthew: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not