Spiritual Meaning of REVELATION 10:1
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AR 464. In this and the following chapter the Lord is treated of, that He is the God of heaven and earth, and that as to His Human also He is God; consequently that He is Jehovah Himself. That this is the subject treated of in these two chapters, may be seen from the particulars in the spiritual sense, and from their conclusion (Apoc 11:15-17).

AR 465. Verse 1. And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, signifies the Lord in Divine majesty and power. That this "angel" is the Lord, is evident from the description of him, as being "encompassed with a cloud, a rainbow over his head, his face as the sun, his feet like columns of fire," and that he set his feet upon the sea and upon the earth; as also that he cried with a great voice and a lion roareth, and spake as thunder. He was seen as an angel, because He appears as an angel in the heavens and below the heavens, when He manifests Himself; for He fills some angel with His Divine in accommodation to the reception of those to whom He grants to see Him. His presence itself, such as He is in Himself or in His own essence, cannot be supported by any angel, much less by any man; wherefore He appears above the heavens as a sun, at a distance from the angels, as the sun of this world is from men. There He dwells in His Divine from eternity, and at the same time in His Divine Human, which are a one like soul and body. He is here called "a mighty angel" from His Divine power; and it is said, "another angel," by reason of another Divine attribute of His, different from the former, being here described.

AR 466. Encompassed with a cloud;and a rainbow was over His head, signifies His Divine natural and Divine spiritual. By "the cloud" with which He was encompassed, is signified the Divine natural; wherefore the Word in its natural sense, which also is from Him, thus is His and Himself, is signified by "cloud" (n. 24). By "the rainbow" is signified the Divine spiritual, and as this is above the natural, therefore the rainbow appeared over the head. It is to be known, that the Lord is present with men in His Divine natural, but, with the angels of His spiritual kingdom, in His Divine spiritual, and with the angels of His celestial kingdom, in His Divine celestial; still He is not divided, but appears to everyone according to his quality. The Lord’s Divine spiritual is also signified by the rainbow in Ezekiel:--

And above the expanse of the cherubim was the likeness of a throne, and upon it the appearance of a man; and from the fire of His loins there was as it were the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud in the day of rain, this was the appearance of the glory of Jehovah (Ezekiel 1:26-28).

By "the throne" is signified heaven; by "the man upon it" the Lord; by "the fire of the loins," celestial love; and by "the rainbow," Divine truth spiritual, which also is of His Divine wisdom. It is written in Moses:--

I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth, and when I shall see it in the cloud, I will remember the eternal covenant (Gen. 9:12-17).

By "the rainbow" here nothing else is meant but the Divine truth spiritual in the natural with the man who is regenerated; for man, when he is regenerated, from natural becomes spiritual; and in as much as there is then a conjunction of the Lord with him, therefore it is said, that the bow in the cloud should be for "a sign of the covenant." "Covenant" signifies conjunction. That there is no conjunction of the Lord with man by rainbows in the world, is evident.

AR 467. And his face was as the sun, signifies the Divine love, and at the same time the Divine wisdom, as is evident from the explanation in (n. 53); where the same is said of the Son of man.

AR 468. And his feet as pillars of fire, signifies the Lord‘s Divine natural as to the Divine love, which sustains all things. This also appears from the explanation in (n. 49), where it is said of the Son of man, that "His feet were like fine brass, as if glowing in a furnace." The reason why His feet seemed like "pillars of fire" is, because the Lord’s Divine natural, which in itself is the Divine Human which He assumed in the world, sustains His Divine from eternity, and the body does the soul, and in like manner as the natural sense of the Word sustains its spiritual and celestial sense; on which subject see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (Sacred n. 27-49). That "the feet" signify the natural, may be seen (n. 49); and that "a pillar" signifies support (n. 191). "Fire" signifies love, because spiritual fire is nothing else; therefore it is customary in worship to pray, that "heavenly fire may kindle the heart;" that is, celestial love. That there is a correspondence between fire and love, may be known from this that man grows warm from love, and grows cold from the privation thereof, there being nothing else that produces vital heat, but love in both senses. The origin of correspondences is from two suns, one in the heavens which is pure love, and the other in the world which is pure fire; hence, also, is derived the correspondence between all spiritual and natural things. Since "fire" signifies the Divine love, therefore:--

Jehovah was seen by Moses upon Mount Horeb in a bush in fire (Exod. 3:1-3).

And He came down on Mount Sinai in fire (Deut. 4:36).

And therefore:--

The seven lamps of the lampstand in the tabernacle were kindled even evening, that they might burn before Jehovah (Lev. 24:2-4).

Also that the fire burned perpetually upon the altar, and was not extinguished (Lev. 6:13).

And that they took fire from the altar in the censers, and offered incense (Lev. 16:12, 13; Num. 16:46, 47).

That Jehovah went before the sons of Israel by night in a pillar of fire (Exod. 13:21, 22).

That there was fire by night upon the habitation (Exod. 40:38; Ps. 105:39; Isa. 4:5, 6).

That fire from heaven consumed the burnt-offerings upon the altar, as a sign of good pleasure (Lev. 9:24; 1 Kings 18:38).

That the burnt-offerings were called offerings by fire to Jehovah, and the offerings by fire for an odor of rest to Jehovah (Exod. 29:18; Lev. 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9-11; 3:5, 16; 4:31, 35; 5:12; 6:18; 21:6; Num. 28:2; Deut. 18:1).

That the eyes of the Lord were seen as a flame of fire (Apoc. 1:14; 2:18; 19:12; Dan. 10:5, 6).

That the seven lamps of fire burned before the throne (Apoc. 4:5).

Hence it is manifest what is signified by:--

The lamps with oil and without oil (Matt. 25:1-11).

By "the oil" is meant fire, and thus love. Besides many other places. That "fire" in the opposite sense signifies infernal love, is manifest from so many places in the Word, that it is needless to adduce them on account of their abundance: see (HH n. 566-575).

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Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002. www.BibleMeanings.info