and only-subsisting Creator, Saviour, and Illuminator from himself; and thence the All in all of heaven and the church who alone is infinite and eternal, and who is Jehovah; and that the Lord is He. That all these things, and infinitely more, are contained in these words, may be seen above, n. 13, 29. It was there said, that all the syllables or letters of the alphabet, in the spiritual world, signify things; and that thence originates the speech and writing of those who are there; and that therefore the Lord describes his divinity and infinity by Alpha and Omega; by which is signified, that he is the All in all of heaven and the church. Now every letter signifying a thing in the spiritual world, and thence in the language of the angels; therefore David wrote the 119th Psalm, in order, according to the letters of the alphabet, beginning with Aleph, and ending with Thau, as may appear from the initials of the verses; the like appears in Psalm cxi., but not so evidently. Therefore, also, Abram was called Abraham, and Sarai, Sarah; which was done to the intent that in heaven, by Abraham and Sarah they should not be understood, but the divine, as is also the case, for the letter H involves infinity, being only an aspirate: more on this subject may be seen above, n. 29.

39. "And what thou seest, write in a book;" that this signifies, that it may be revealed to posterity, is evident without explanation.

40. "And send [it] to the churches, which are in Asia," signifies, for those in the Christian world, who are in the light of truth from the Word. That they are meant by the churches in Asia, may be seen above, n. 10, 11.

41. "Unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea," signifies, specifically according to the state of reception of each. That all states of reception of the Lord and of his church are signified by these seven names, in the spiritual sense, will be seen below; for John, when he received this command, was in a spiritual state, and in that state nothing

is mentioned by name which does not signify some thing or state; therefore these things which were written by John, were not sent to any church in those places, but were told to their angels, by whom are understood those who receive. That by all the names of persons and places throughout the whole Word, are meant spiritual things, is abundantly shown in the Arcana Calestia; as what is meant by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; also by Israel, and by the names of his twelve sons; as also, what is meant by various places in the Land of Canaan, and by places in the vicinity of that land; as what by Egypt, Syria, Assyria, and other places. It is the same with these seven names. But he who chooses to abide in the literal sense, let him do so, since that sense conjoins; only let him know, that by those names the angels perceive things and states of the church.

42. "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me," signifies, inversion of the state of those who are in good of life, with respect to the perception of truth in the Word, when they turn themselves to the Lord. John says, that he heard a voice behind him, verse 10, and now, that he turned to see the voice; and again, that being turned, he saw seven candlesticks; from which it is evident, that he heard a voice from behind, and that he turned himself, to see from whence it proceeded: that there is an arcanum in this is evident; the secret is, that before man turns himself to the Lord, and acknowledges him as the God of heaven and earth, he cannot see divine truth in the Word; the reason is, because God is One, both in person and in essence, in whom there is a trinity; and that God is the Lord; therefore, they who acknowledge a trinity of persons, look primarily to the Father, and indeed to the Holy Spirit, and rarely to the Lord, and if they do look up to the Lord, they think of his Humanity as of a common man; when a man does this, he can by no means be illuminated in the Word, for the Lord is the Word, for it is from him, and concerning him; therefore they, who do not approach the Lord alone, see him and his Word behind them, and not before them; or backward, and not in front. This is the arca

num which lies concealed in these words: That John heard a voice behind him, and that he turned to see the voice, and, being turned, saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of them the Son of Man; for the voice which he heard, came from the Son of man, who is the Lord. That the Lord alone is the God of heaven and earth, he now teaches in a manifest voice, for he says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come," verse 8: and here, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," verse 11: and afterwards, "I am the First and the Last," verse 17, and ii. 8. That by a voice, when from the Lord, Divine Truth is understood, may be seen above, n. 37. And that by John are understood they of the church, who are in good of life, n. 5, 6. From these things it may now appear, that by these words, "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me," is signified inversion of the state of those who are in good of life, as to the perception of truth in the Word, when they turn themselves to the Lord.

43. "And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks," signifies, the New Church, which will be in illumination from the Lord out of the Word. That the seven candlesticks are the seven churches, is said in the last verse of this chapter; and that by the seven churches are to be understood all who are in the Christian world, and accede to the church, may be seen above, n. 10; and specifically according to the state of reception of each, n. 41. The reason why the New Church is meant by the seven candlesticks, is, because in it, and in the midst of it, the Lord is; for it is said, that in the midst of the seven candlesticks he saw one like unto the Son' of Man, and by the Son of Man is meant the Lord as to the Word. They appeared to be golden candlesticks, because gold signifies good, and every church is a church from good, which is formed by truths; that gold signifies good, will be seen in what follows. Those candlesticks were not placed one close to another, or in contact, but at certain distances, forming a kind of circle, as is evident

from these words in the subsequent chapter, "These things saith he, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,' verse 1. Nothing is said of the lamps of those candlesticks; but in what follows it is said, that the Holy Jerusalem, that is, the New Church, hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, for the Lamb is the light [lamp] thereof, and the nations which are saved shall walk in his light, Apoc. xxi. 23, 24. And moreover, they need no lamp, for the Lord God giveth them light, xxii. 5; for they who will be of the Lord's New Church, can only be candlesticks which will have. their light from the Lord. By the golden candlestick in the tabernacle, was represented the church as to illumination from the Lord, concerning which candlestick, see Exod. xxv. 11 to the end, xxxvii. 17—20, Lev. xxiv. 3, 4, Numb. viii. 2, 3, 4; that it represented the Lord's church as to divine love spiritual, which is love towards the neighbor, may be seen in The Arcana Cœlestia, n. 9548, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9572, 9783; also, below, n. 493. By the candlestick in Zechariah iv. is also signified the New Church to be established by the Lord, because it signifies the new house of God, or the new temple; as is evident from what follows there; and by the house of God, or temple, the church is signified, and, in a supreme sense, the Lord's Divine Humanity, as he himself teaches, John ii. 19-21, and elsewhere: but it shall be shown what is signified in its order, in the 4th chap. of Zechariah, when he saw the candlestick. By what is contained from verse 1-7, is signified the illumination of the New Church by the Lord, from the good of love by truth; the olive trees there signify the church as to the good of love: by the contents from verse 8—10, is signified that these things are from the Lord; by Zerubabel, who is to build the house, thus the church, the Lord is represented: by what is contained from verse 11-14 is signified, that in that church there will also be truths from a celestial origin: this explanation of that chapter was given me from the Lord through heaven.

44. "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man," signifies the Lord as to the

Word, from whom that church is. It is well known from the Word, that the Lord called himself the Son of God, and also the Son of Man; that by the Son of God he meant himself as to his Divine Humanity, and by the Son of Man, himself as to the Word, is fully demonstrated in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, n. 19-28; and as it is there fully confirmed from the Word, it is unnecessary to add any further confirmation here. Now, as the Lord represented himself unto John as the Word, therefore, as seen of him, he is called the Son of Man. He represented himself as the Word, because the New Church is the subject treated of, which is a church from the Word, and according to the understanding thereof; that the church is from the Word, and that such as its understanding of the Word is, such is the church, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 76-79. As the church is a church from the Lord through the Word, therefore the Son of Man was seen in the midst of the candlesticks; in the midst signifies in the inmost, from which the things which are round about, or which are without, derive their essence, in this instance, their light and intelligence: that the inmost is the all in the things which are round about, or without, is abundantly shown in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom; it is like light or flame in the centre, from which the circumference is illuminated and warmed. In the midst, has the same signification in the following passages in the Word: "Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee," Isaiah xii. 6. "God, my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth," Psalm lxxiv. 12. "We have thought of thy loving kindness in the midst of his temple," Psalm xlviii. 9. "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth in the midst of the gods," Psalm lxxxii. 1. They are called gods who are in divine truths from the Lord, and, abstractedly, the truths themselves. "Behold, I send an angel before thee, beware of him and obey his voice, for my name is in the midst of him,”