Apocalypse Explained (Whitehead) n. 941

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941. Thou King of saints, signifies because He is the Divine truth. This is evident from the signification of "king," when said of the Lord as being the Divine truth (see n. 29, 31, 553, 625); also from the signification of "saints," as being those who are in Divine truths from the Lord (see n. 204). Because the Divine truth proceeds from the Lord He is the Divine truth, since that which proceeds from anyone is himself. This may be illustrated from the angels, from whom a spiritual sphere proceeds, which is from the affection of their life; that same affection that is in them proceeds or is spread abroad to a distance from them, and by this others can recognize what they are and where they are. And as the sphere that proceeds from them is the same as the affection of their life that is in them, they are themselves their own sphere or proceeding affection. But from the Lord as a sun the Divine which fills the whole heaven and which makes heaven proceeds; and this Divine is called the Divine truth. From this it is clear that the Lord is the Divine truth. (Continuation) [2] When the spiritual internal is opened, and through it communication with heaven and conjunction with the Lord are given, then man becomes enlightened. He is enlightened especially when he reads the Word, because the Lord is in the Word, and the Word is the Divine truth, and the Divine truth is light to angels. Man is enlightened in the rational, for this directly underlies the spiritual internal, and receives light from heaven and transfers it into the natural when it is purified from evils, filling it with the knowledges of truth and good, and adapting to them the knowledges [scientiae] that are from the world, for the sake of confirmation and agreement. Thus man has a rational, and thus he has an understanding. He is deceived who believes that man has a rational and an understanding before his natural has been purified from evils, for the understanding is seeing the truths of the church from the light of heaven; and the light of heaven does not flow into those not purified. And as the understanding is perfected the falsities of religion and of ignorance and all fallacies are dispersed.


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