AC 6818. With respect to the Neighbor, more must be said, because without knowing who the neighbor is, no one can know in what way charity must be practised.  In the preface to the preceding chapter it was said that every man is the neighbor, but not one in like manner as another; and that he who is in good is more the neighbor than others, thus that it is the good in a man which is to be loved; for when good is loved, the Lord is loved, because it is the Lord from whom is good, who is in good, and who is good itself.

AC 6819. But not only is man in the singular the neighbor, but also man in the plural. For a society, smaller or greater, is the neighbor; our country is the neighbor; the church is the neighbor; the Lord’s kingdom is the neighbor; and so above all is the Lord.  All these are the neighbor who is to be benefited from charity.  These also are ascending degrees of the neighbor; for a society of many is the neighbor in a higher degree than is an individual man; our country in a higher degree than a society; in a still higher degree the church; and in a still higher degree the Lord‘s kingdom; but in the highest degree the Lord is the neighbor.  These ascending degrees are like the steps of a ladder, at the top of which is the Lord.

AC 6820. A society is more a neighbor than an individual man, because it consists of many. Charity is to be practised toward it in like manner as toward an individual man, namely, according to the quality of good in it; thus quite differently toward a society of the upright, from the way in which it is to be practised toward a society of those who are not upright.

AC 6821. Our country is more the neighbor than a society, because it is like a parent; for there the man has been born; it nourishes him, and protects him from harm.  Our country is to be benefited from love, according to its necessities, which chiefly regard its sustenance, its civil life, and its spiritual life. He who loves his country, and from good will benefits it, in the other life loves the Lord’s kingdom; for there the Lord‘s kingdom is his country.  And he who loves the Lord’s kingdom, loves the Lord, because the Lord is the all in all of His kingdom; for what is properly called ”the Lord‘s kingdom“ is the good and truth from the Lord in those who are in it.

AC 6822. The church is more the neighbor than our country, because he who has regard for the church, has regard also for the souls and eternal life of the men who are in the country. And the church is cared for when man is led to good, and he who does this from charity, loves the neighbor, for he desires and wills for another, heaven and happiness of life to eternity. Good can be insinuated into another by anyone in his country, but not truth, except by those who are teaching ministers; if others do this, heresies arise, and the church is disturbed and rent asunder. Charity is practised, if through the truth which is of the church, the neighbor is led to good. If in the church anything is called truth which leads away from good, this is not worthy of mention, for it is not truth. Everyone must first obtain for himself truth from the doctrine of the church, and afterward from the Word of the Lord; this must be the truth of his faith.

AC 6823. The Lord’s kingdom is the neighbor in a higher degree than the church in which one is born; for the Lord‘s kingdom consists of all who are in good, both on earth and in the heavens; thus the Lord’s kingdom is good with every quality of it in the complex; and when this good is loved, everyone who is in good is loved.  Thus the whole, which is all good in the complex, is the neighbor in the first degree, and is that Grand Man which has been treated of at the end of many chapters, which Man is a representative image of the Lord Himself.  This Man, that is, the Lord‘s kingdom, is loved, when from inmost affection those are benefited who are men through that Man from the Lord, thus with whom is the Lord’s kingdom.

AC 6824. These are the degrees of the neighbor, and according to these degrees charity ascends; but these are degrees in successive order, in which a prior or higher degree is always preferred to a posterior or lower one; and as the Lord is in the highest, and He is to be regarded in every degree as the end to which each tends, therefore He is above all, and is to be loved above all things.

1. And Moses was feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock behind the wilderness, and came unto the mountain of God, to Horeb.

2. And the angel of Jehovah was seen by him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bramble; and he saw, and behold the bramble burned with fire, and the bramble was in no wise consumed.

3. And Moses said, I will therefore go aside, and see this great vision, why the bramble is not burnt.

4. And Jehovah saw that he went aside to see, and God called unto him out of the midst of the bramble, and said, Moses, Moses.  And he said, Behold me!

5. And He said, Draw not nigh hither; pull off thy shoes from upon thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest a ground of holiness is this.

6. And He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses covered his faces, because he was afraid to look upon God.

7. And Jehovah said, Seeing I have seen the affliction of My people, which is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry from before their taskmasters; for I have known their sorrows;

8. And I am come down to liberate them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to make them come up out of that land unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

9. And now behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10. And now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, and do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt.

11. And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt?

12. And He said, Because I will be with thee; and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall worship God near this mountain.

13. And Moses said unto God, Behold I come unto the sons of Israel, and say to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them?

14. And God said unto Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me into you.

15. And God said further unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name forever, and this is My memorial unto generation and generation.

16. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah the God of your fathers hath been seen of me, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, saying, Visiting I have visited you, and that which is done to you in Egypt:

17. And I say, I will make you come up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land Bowing with milk and honey.

18. And they shall hear thy voice, and thou shalt go in, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt; and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah God of the Hebrews hath met us; and now let us go we pray a way of three days into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

19. And I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, and not by a strong hand.

20. And I will put forth My hand, and smite Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in the midst thereof, and afterward he will send you away.

21. And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians: and it shall be that when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

22. And every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments; and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters, and ye shall spoil the Egyptians

AC 6825. In the first chapter, in the internal sense, the subject treated of was the infestation by falsities and evils of those who are of the church; in the second chapter it was the beginnings and successive states of truth Divine with them; in this chapter in the internal sense the subject treated of is their liberation; and then for the first time they are instructed who the God is who has liberated them, that it is the Lord; and that He introduces them into heaven after they have been endowed with manifold truth and good.

AC 6826. Verses 1-3.  And Moses was feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock behind the wilderness, and came into the mountain of God, to Horeb.  And the angel of Jehovah was seen by him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bramble; and he saw, and behold the bramble burned with fire, and the bramble was in no wise consumed.  And Moses said, I will therefore go aside, and see this great vision, why the bramble is not burnt.  ”And Moses was feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,“ signifies that the law from the Divine was instructing those who were in the truth of simple good; ”priest,“ is the good of the church where such are; ”and he led the flock behind the wilderness,“ signifies after they had undergone temptations; ”and came unto the mountain of God,“ signifies that the good of love Divine appeared to him; ”to Horeb,“ signifies its quality; ”and the angel of Jehovah was seen by him,“ signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human; ”in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bramble,“ signifies love Divine in the truth of memory-knowledge; ”and he saw, and behold the bramble burned with fire,“ signifies a noticing that the truth of memory-knowledge was full of the good of love Divine; ”and the bramble was in no wise consumed,“ signifies Divine truth united to Divine good in the natural; ”and Moses said,“ signifies perception from the law from the Divine; ”I will therefore go aside, and see this great vision,“ signifies reflection upon this revelation; ”why the bramble is not burnt,“ signifies that such is the union.

AC 6827. And Moses was feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.  That this signifies that the law from the Divine was instructing those who were in the truth of simple good; and that ”the priest of Midian“ is the good of the church where such are, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (n. 6752); and in the beginning as to the truth which is of the law from the Divine (n. 6771); but here as to the law from the Divine.  So may we name the degrees of progression in the Lord, before, as to the Human, He was made the very law Divine.  In the whole Word, in its inmost or supreme sense, the Lord alone and the glorification of His Human are treated of; but as the inmost or supreme sense transcends human understanding, it is allowable to unfold the Word as to its internal sense, in which are treated of the Lord‘s kingdom and the church, and the setting up of the latter, and also the regeneration of the man of the church by the Lord.  That these subjects are treated of in the internal sense, is because the regeneration of man is a representative image of the glorification of the Lord (n. 3138, 3212, 3245, 3246, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688).

[2] From the signification of ”to feed,“ as being to instruct (n. 3795, 5201); from the signification of a ”flock,“ as being one who learns and is led by means of truth to the good of charity (n. 343), thus the ”flock“ in the general sense is the church (n. 3767, 3768), here the church where are those who are in the truth of simple good, who are signified by ”Midian“ (n. 3242, 4756); from the signification of ”father-in-law,“ as being the good from which, as from a father, comes forth that good which has been conjoined with truth, here with the truth which is of the law from the Divine, which is represented by Moses (n. 6793), the quality of this good is ”Jethro;“ and from the signification of the ”priest of Midian,“ as being the good of the church where are they who are in the truth of simple good (n. 6775). From all this it is evident that by ”Moses was feeding the flock of his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,“ is signified that the law from the Divine was instructing those who were in the truth of simple good; and that the ”priest of Midian“ is the good of the church where such are.

AC 6828. And he led the flock behind the wilderness.  That this signifies after they had undergone temptations, namely, they who were in the truth of simple good, is evident from the signification of a ”flock,“ as being the church where they are who are in the truth of simple good (n. 6827); and from the signification of ”wilderness,“ as being a state of temptation.  For a ”wilderness“ signifies what is but little inhabited and cultivated, and also what is not inhabited and cultivated at all, thus in the spiritual sense a man vastated as to good and desolated as to truth, consequently a man who Is in temptation; for he who is in temptation is in vastation and in desolation, because the falsity and evil in him come out and darken and almost take away the influx of truth and good from the Lord; and the truth which flows in does not appear to him to have sufficient life to disperse the falsities and evils. Moreover evil spirits are then present, who inject grief, and despair of salvation.  That a ”wilderness“ signifies such a state, is evident from very many passages in the Word (n. 2708); and as a ”wilderness“ signified a state of temptation, and the number ”forty“ its duration, however long or short (n. 730, 862, 2272, 2273), therefore the sons of Israel were in the wilderness forty years; and therefore the Lord was in the wilderness forty days when He was tempted (Matt. 4:2; Mark 1:13).

AC 6829. And came to the mountain of God.  That this signifies that the good of love Divine then appeared, is evident from the signification of the ”mountain of God,“ as being the good of love Divine. A ”mountain“ is the good of love, see (n. 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435). That this good appeared after they had undergone temptations, is signified by his coming to that mountain behind the wilderness. The case herein is this.  When a man is in temptation, he is beset round by falsities and evils which impede the influx of light from the Divine, that is, the influx of truth and good, and then the man is as it were in darkness.  Darkness in the other life is nothing else than this besetment by falsities, for these take away the light from the man who is in temptation, and thus the perception of consolation by truths. But when the man emerges from temptation, then the light appears with its spiritual heat, that is, truth with its good, and from this he has gladness after anxiety. This is the morning which in the other life follows the night. The reason why good is then perceived, and truth appears, is that after temptation truth and good penetrate toward the interiors, and there take root. For when a man is in temptation, he is as it were in hunger for good, and in thirst for truth; and therefore when he emerges he draws in good as a hungry man devours food, and receives truth as a thirsty man imbibes drink. Moreover when light from the Divine appears, falsities and evils are removed, and when these are removed, the way is opened for truth and good to penetrate more interiorly. These are the reasons why after temptations the good of love appears with its light from the Lord.  That after the obscurity and anxiety of temptations, brightness and gladness appear, is known to all in the other life, because it is there a common occurrence.

AC 6830. Unto Horeb.  That this signifies the quality, namely, of the good of love Divine which appeared, is evident from the fact that when names are added they involve the quality of the thing treated of.  The quality involved by ”Horeb“ is plain from the things there seen, namely, from the flame of fire out of the midst of the bramble; thus it is the Divine good of love shining forth through the truth which is of the law Divine.

AC 6831. And the angel of Jehovah was seen of him.  That this signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human, is evident from the signification of ”the angel of Jehovah,“ as being the Divine Human of the Lord (n. 6280). The reason why the Divine Human is called the ”angel of Jehovah,“ is that before the coming of the Lord, when Jehovah passed through heaven, He appeared in a human form as an angel.  For the whole angelic heaven bears relation to a man, which is called the Grand Man, and which has been treated of at the end of many chapters. Therefore when the Divine Itself passed through the angelic heaven, it appeared in human form as an angel before those with whom He spake: this was the Divine Human of Jehovah before the coming of the Lord. The Lord’s Human when made Divine is the same, for the Lord is Jehovah Himself in the Divine Human. That the Lord as to the Divine Human is called an ”angel,“ may be seen above (n. 6280); and it is also evident from many passages in the New Testament where the Lord says that He was ”sent by the Father;“ to be ”sent“ signifies to proceed, the word ”sent“ in the Hebrew tongue being the same as ”angel.“ The Lord speaks of Himself as ”sent,“ (Matt. 10:40; 15:24; Mark 9:37; Luke 4:43; 9:48; 10:16; John 3:17, 34; 4:34; 5:23, 24, 36-38; 6:29, 39, 40, 44, 57; 7:16, 18, 28, 29; 8:16, 18, 29, 42; 9:4; 10:36; 11:41, 42; 12:44, 45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 16:5, 7; 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25).

AC 6832. In a flame of fire out of the midst of the bramble.  That this signifies love Divine in the truth of memory-knowledge, is evident from the signification of a ”flame of fire,“ as being love Divine; and from the signification of a ”bramble,“ as being the truth of memory-knowledge, That a ”bramble“ denotes the truth of memory-knowledge, is because all small shrubs of every kind signify memory-knowledges, but the greater shrubs signify real knowledges and perceptions. As a ”bramble“ produces flowers and berries, it signifies the truth of memory-knowledge.  The truth of memory-knowledge of the church is nothing else than the Word in the sense of the letter, and also every representative and significative of the church which existed among the descendants of Jacob. In their external form these truths are called truths of memory-knowledge, but in the internal form they are spiritual truths. But as truths in the internal form, that is, in their spiritual form, could not appear to the posterity of Jacob, because they were in mere externals, and were quite unwilling to learn anything internal, therefore the Lord appeared in the bramble; for when the Lord appears, He appears according to the quality of the man, because a man receives the Divine no otherwise than according to his own quality.  Therefore when the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai, He appeared to the people as fire burning even to the heart of heaven, and as darkness, clouds, and thick darkness (Deut. 4:11; 5:22-25; Exod. 19:18). He would have appeared altogether otherwise if the people who were looking on beneath the mountain had not been of such a quality; and because that people was in mere externals, therefore when Moses entered unto the Lord on Mount Sinai, it is said that he ”entered into a cloud“ (Exod. 24:2, 18; 34:5). That a ”cloud“ denotes the external of the Word, (n. 2135a, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343); consequently also it was representative of the church as looked at in its outward form.

[2] That the Lord appears to everyone according to his quality, is evident from the fact that the Lord appears to those who are in the inmost or third heaven as a sun, from which proceeds ineffable light, because those who are there are in the good of love to the Lord; and that He appears to those who are in the middle or second heaven as a moon, because those who are there are more remotely and obscurely in love to the Lord, being in love toward the neighbor; but in the lowest or first heaven, the Lord does not appear as a sun nor yet as a moon, but only as a light which far surpasses the light of the world.  And as the Lord appears to everyone according to his quality, therefore also He cannot appear to those who are in hell except as a dusky cloud and thick darkness; for as soon as the light of heaven which is from the Lord sinks down into any bell, shades and darkness are produced there. From all this it can now be seen that the Lord appears to everyone according to his quality, because according to his reception; and as the descendants of Jacob were in externals only, therefore the Lord appeared unto Moses in the bramble, and also in a cloud, when he entered in unto the Lord upon Mount Sinai.

[3] That ”flame“ denotes love Divine is because love in its first origin is nothing else than fire and flame from the Lord as a sun. It is the fire or flame of this sun which gives the being of life to every man; and it is the vital fire itself which fills the interiors of man with heat, as can be seen from love, for in proportion as love increases with man, he grows warm, and in proportion as love decreases, he grows cold.

[4] Hence it is that when the Lord appeared in vision, He appeared as fire and Same, as in Ezekiel:--

The appearance of the four animals (which were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; it was going along among the animals, as the brightness of fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. Above the expanse that was over their head was as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above.  And I saw the appearance of a burning coal as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward; but from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, which had a brightness round about (Ezek. 1:13, 26, 27).

That the details of this vision are significative and representative of something Divine, no one can deny; but unless it is known what is signified by ”cherubs,“ by ”burning coals of fire like the appearance of torches,“ by a ”throne,“ by the ”appearance of a man upon it,“ by the ”loins from which was the appearance of fire upward and downward, and brightness from the fire,“ it is impossible to know the holy secret contained within it.  That ”cherubs“ denote the providence of the Lord, see (n. 308); that a ”throne“ denotes heaven, properly the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which forms heaven, (n. 5313).  That ”the appearance of a man upon the throne above“ denotes the Lord as to the Divine Human, is plain; that ”loins“ denote conjugial love and from this all heavenly love, (n. 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062); which love was represented by the appearance of burning coal as the appearance of fire, which had a brightness round about.

[5] In Daniel:--

I beheld even until the thrones were cast forth, and the Ancient of days did sit; His garment was like white snow, and the hair of His head was like clean wool; His throne was a flame of fire; His wheels were burning fire, a stream of fire issued and went forth from before Him (Daniel 7:9, 10);

the Divine good of the Lord‘s Divine love was here also seen as a flame of fire.  In John:--

He that sat upon the white horse had eyes as a flame of fire (Rev. 19:12);

that ”He that sat upon the white horse“ is the Lord as to the Word, is there openly said (Rev. 19:13, 16); thus the ”Same of fire“ is the Divine truth which is in the Word, which is from the Lord’s Divine good.  Again:--

In the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot. His head and hairs were white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire (Rev. 1:13, 14);

here also ”eyes as a flame of fire“ denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine good.

[6] That a ”flame of fire“ denotes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is evident also in David:

The voice of Jehovah falleth down like a flame of fire (Ps. 29:7);

”the voice of Jehovah“ denotes the Divine truth. That the Divine truth might be represented as proceeding from the Lord’s Divine good, the command was given that they should make a lampstand of pure gold with seven lamps, and that it should be set in the tent of the congregation by the table on which were the loaves of setting forth, and that the lamps should burn continually before Jehovah (Exod. 25:31-40; 37:17-24; 40:24, 25; Lev. 24:4; Num. 8:2; Zech. 4:2). By the lampstand with the seven lamps was represented the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine good.

[7] That the Divine good itself might also be represented, it was commanded that there should be a perpetual fire on the altar:--

The fire shall burn upon the altar, and shall not go out; the priest shall kindle pieces of wood upon it every morning. The fire shall burn continually upon the altar, and shall not go out (Lev. 6:12, 13).

That fire was very well known to the ancients to be representative of the Divine love, is very evident from the fact that this representative spread from the Ancient Church even to remote nations which were in idolatrous worship, and who are known to have instituted a sacred perpetual fire, and to have appointed to it virgins, called the Vestals.

[8] That in the opposite sense ”fire and flame“ signify filthy loves, such as the loves of revenge, of cruelty, of hatred, of adultery, and in general the concupiscences which are from the loves of self and of the world, is evident also from many passages in the Word, of which it is enough to cite only the following:

Behold they are become as stubble, the fire hath burned them; they rescue not their soul from the hand of the Same; no coal to warm at, or a fire to sit before (Isa. 47:14).

Behold I will kindle a fire in thee, which shall devour in thee every green tree, and every dry tree; the flame of a grievous Same shall not be quenched, whence all faces shall be burned up from the south to the north (Ezek. 20:47);

by ”fire“ and ”flame“ are signified the cupidities of evil and falsity, which extinguish all the good and truth of the church, whence comes its vastation.

[9] In Luke:--

The rich man said to Abraham, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this Same (Luke 16:24);

they who do not know that the fire of life in man is from a different origin than is elementary fire, cannot possibly know otherwise than that by the ”fire of hell“ is meant such fire as is in the world; when yet in the Word no such fire is meant, but the fire which is of love, thus which is of man’s life, proceeding from the Lord as a sun; which fire, when it enters into those who are in things contrary, is turned into the fire of cupidities, which, as before said, are those of revenge, hatred, and cruelty, springing forth from the love of self and of the world.  This is the fire which torments those who are in the hells, for when the rein is given to their cupidities, they rush one upon another, and torture one another in direful and unspeakable ways, because everyone desires to be pre-eminent, and by secret or open artifices to take from another what belongs to him. This being the case on both sides, deadly hatreds come forth from it, and from these the perpetration of savage deeds, especially by means of magical arts and also by means of phantasies, which arts are innumerable and are quite unknown in the world.

[10] They who do not believe in spiritual things, especially the worshipers of nature, can never he brought to believe that the heat in living beings, which makes the internal life itself, is from any other origin than the heat of this world; for they cannot know, still less acknowledge, that there is a heavenly fire proceeding from the Lord as a sun, and that this fire is pure love. Consequently they cannot know innumerable things that exist in the Word, where no other fire is meant; neither can they know innumerable things in man, who is an organ receptive of this fire.

AC 6833. And he saw, and behold the bramble burned with fire.  That this signifies a noticing that the truth of memory-knowledges was full of the good of love Divine, is evident from the signification of ”seeing,“ as being to notice (n. 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400); from the signification of a ”bramble,“ as being the truth of memory-knowledge (n. 6832); and from the signification of ”fire,“ as being love Divine (n. 934, 4906, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832).  Hence ”to burn with fire“ denotes to be full of the good of love Divine.

AC 6834. And the bramble was in no wise consumed.  That this signifies Divine truth united to Divine good in the natural, is evident from the signification of a ”bramble,“ as being the truth of memory-knowledge (n. 6832, 6833), here being said of the Lord, it denotes Divine truth in the natural, and the natural is signified because the truth of memory-knowledge is there; and from the signification of ”not being consumed by fire,“ as being not to be dissipated by the good of Divine love. ”Fire“ is the good of Divine love, (n. 6832), thus it is united, namely, Divine truth with Divine good in the natural.  This is the signification of these words in the supreme sense, in which the Lord is treated of.  The case herein is this.  The Divine good of the Divine love is the very solar fire in the other life, which fire is so ardent that if it were to light on anyone without an intermediate tempering, even on an angel of the inmost heaven, he would be deprived of all sense, and would perish.  Such is the ardor of the Lord‘s Divine love.  But when the Lord was in the world, and united the human essence to the Divine essence, He received the fire of this love in His Human, and united it to the truth there when He made Himself the law Divine. This then is what is meant by the Divine truth being united to the Divine good in the natural.

AC 6835. And Moses said.  That this signifies perception from the law from the Divine, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ in the historicals of the Word, as being perception; and from the representation of Moses, as being the law from the Divine (n. 6827).

AC 6836. I will therefore go aside, and see this great vision.  That this signifies reflection on this revelation, is evident from the signification of ”going aside and seeing,“ as being to reflect, for in the spiritual sense ”to go aside“ denotes to turn aside from the present thought; and ”to see“ denotes to perceive, thus both expressions together denote to reflect; and from the signification of a ”vision,“ as being revelation (n. 6000). It is called a ”great vision,“ because in the supreme sense by the ”flame in the bramble“ is signified the Divine truth united to the Divine good in the Lord’s Human (n. 6834).

AC 6837. Why the bramble is not burnt.  That this signifies that such is the union, is evident from what was said above (n. 6834).

AC 6838. Verses 4-6. And Jehovah saw that he went aside to see, and God called unto him out of the midst of the bramble, and said, Moses, Moses.  And he said, Behold me!  And He said, Draw not nigh hither; pull off thy shoes from the feet, for the place whereon thou standest a ground of holiness is this.  And He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  And Moses covered his faces, because he was afraid to look upon God.  ”And Jehovah saw that he went aside to see,“ signifies reflection from the Lord; ”and God called unto him,“ signifies influx from the Divine; ”out of the midst of the bramble,“ signifies from the truths of memory-knowledge ”and said, Moses, Moses; and he said, behold me!“  signifies internal exhortation, and hearing; ”and He said, Draw not nigh hither,“ signifies that he must not still think of the Divine from sensuous things; ”pull of‘ thy shoes from upon thy feet,“ signifies that sensuous things, which are the externals of the natural, must be removed; ”for the place whereon thou standest a ground of holiness is this,“ signifies that otherwise the Divine cannot enter; ”and He said, I am the God of thy father,“ signifies the Divine which was of the Ancient Church; ”the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,“ signifies the Divine Itself, and the Divine Human, thus the Lord; ”and Moses covered his faces,“ signifies that the interiors were guarded; ”because he was afraid to look upon God,“ signifies lest they should be injured by the presence of the Divine Itself.

AC 6839. And Jehovah saw that he went aside to see.  That this signifies reflection from the Lord, is evident from the signification of ”going aside to see,“ as being reflection (n. 6836); as also that ”Jehovah“ denotes the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303).  The nature of the sense of the letter of the Word is evident here also.  It is said that Jehovah saw that he went aside to see, as if He had not known before, and as if He had not enabled him and moved him to go aside to see.  Nevertheless it is so said because this is according to the appearance.  But the internal sense teaches how this is to be understood, namely, that the Lord flowed into his thought, in order that he might reflect upon it. This shows how the case is with the sense of the letter of the Word relatively to the internal sense; and that the contents of the sense of the letter are of such a nature as to accommodate themselves to the apprehension of the simple, who believe only as it appears; what does not appear they do not believe, because they cannot enter into the interiors of things; and therefore unless the Word had been of this nature in the letter, it would not have been received.  He who is in sensuous things, and is engrossed by worldly ones, in no wise apprehends interior things. He desires to see the things he must believe; those which he does not see are as it were foreign, and when he is thinking from himself about them, he rejects them as matters worthy of denial, or at any rate as worthy of doubt.

AC 6840. And God called unto him.  That this signifies influx from the Divine, is evident from the signification of ”calling,“ as being influx; for in the internal sense there is not meant a calling by means of speech, as in the external historic sense, but a calling by influx into the will; and this calling is internal, for Jehovah, or the Lord, flows into the will and moves it to do what pleases Him.  When this internal thing falls into what is historic, in which there are nothing but external things, it falls either into a command, or a call, or an address, or into other like terms.

AC 6841. Out of the midst of the bramble.  That this signifies from the truths of memory-knowledge, is evident from the signification of a ”bramble,“ as being the truth of memory-knowledge (n. 6832, 6833).

AC 6842. And said, Moses, Moses; and he said, Behold me! That this signifies internal exhortation, and hearing, is evident from the signification of being ”called by God,“ in the historicals of the Word, as being influx from the Divine (n. 6840). The call itself is in these words: ”and Jehovah said, Moses, Moses;“ and because these words involve all things that follow, and first that he should not draw nigh hither, but that he should pull off his shoes from upon his feet, they signify exhortation; and the reply of Moses, ”behold me,“ signifies hearing.

AC 6843. And He said, Draw not nigh hither.  That this signifies that he must not still think of the Divine from sensuous things, is evident from the signification of ”drawing nigh to Jehovah,“ as being to think of the Divine. That ”to draw nigh,“ when said of a man’s approach to the Lord, denotes thought about the Divine, is because man cannot approach the Divine with the body, as a man approaches a man, but with the mind, thus with the thought and the will.  There is no other access to the Divine, because the Divine is above the things of place and time, being in those things with man which are called ”states,“ namely, states of love and states of faith, thus states of both faculties of the mind, that is, of the will and of the thought; by these man can approach the Divine.  Hence it is that here, by ”Draw not nigh hither,“ is signified that he must not think of the Divine, that is, from the external sensuous things which are signified by the ”shoes that he was first to pull of,.“ It is said still, because the external sensuous things of the natural are the last to be regenerated, and thus let receive influx from the Divine; and the state here treated of was not yet such that sensuous things could receive the influx. As regards sensuous things, see what now follows.

AC 6844. Pull off thy shoes from upon thy feet.  That this signifies that sensuous things, which are the externals of the natural, must be removed, is evident from the signification of ”shoes,“ as being the sensuous things which are the externals of the natural (n. 1748); and from the signification of ”feet,“ as being the natural (n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952).  That ”to pull off“ denotes to remove is evident, because it is said of sensuous things; for terms must be applied to their subject that is being treated of; thus ”to pull off,“ to the shoes; and ”to be removed,“ to sensuous things. How the case herein is, must be told.  Everyone can see that shoes here represent something that was not in agreement with the holy Divine, and thus that to pull of, the shoes was representative of the removal of such things; otherwise what would it matter to the Divine whether man approached in shoes or with the soles of his feet bare, provided that he was interiorly of such a character as to be able to approach the Divine in faith and love? Therefore by ”shoes“ are signified sensuous things, and these being the externals of the natural are of such a nature that they cannot be present when the Divine is the object of holy thought; therefore, as at that time representatives were to be observed, Moses was not allowed to approach with shoes on his feet.

[2] That sensuous things, which are the externals of the natural, are of such a nature that they cannot receive the Divine, is because they are in things worldly, bodily, and even earthly, for they proximately receive these things; hence the things that are in the memory from sensuous things derive from the light and heat of the world all that belongs to them, and but little from the light and heat of heaven, and therefore they are the last things that can be regenerated, that is, receive anything of the light of heaven.  Hence it is that when a man is in these sensuous things, and is thinking from them, he thinks no otherwise of the Divine than as he thinks about earthly things, and if he is in evil he thinks from these sensuous things quite against the Divine.  Therefore if when a man is thinking about such things as are of faith and love to God he is in good, he is elevated from the sensuous things which are the externals of the natural, toward interior things, consequently from earthly and worldly things nearer to heavenly and spiritual things.

[3] This a man knows not, because he does not know that the interiors in him are distinct from the exteriors, and that thought is more and more interior and also more and more exterior; and as he does not know these things, he cannot reflect upon them.  But see what has been before said about thought from sensuous things, namely, that they who think from them, have very little wisdom (n. 5089, 5094, 6201, 6310, 6312, 6314, 6316, 6318, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6694); that man is elevated from sensuous things, and that when thus elevated he comes into a milder light; and that this is especially the case with those who are being regenerated (n. 6183, 6313, 6315). From all this is now plain what is meant by ”putting off the shoes from upon the feet.“ That the natural with man is external, middle, and internal, see (n. 4570, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649).  The internal natural is signified by the ”feet,“ the middle natural by the ”soles of the feet,“ and the external by the ”shoes.“

AC 6845. For the place whereon thou standest a ground of holiness is this.  That this signifies that otherwise the Divine cannot enter, is evident from the signification of ”place,“ as being state (n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605), whence ”the place whereon thou standest“ denotes the state in which he as yet is; and from the signification of ”ground of holiness,“ as being the holy which proceeds from the Lord.  Thus it is a state of the holy proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine Human which is meant by these words.  That it signifies that otherwise the Divine cannot enter, follows from what goes before, namely, that if man were not removed from sensuous things, which are the externals of the natural, that is, if he were not elevated from these to things interior, the Divine could not flow in. The reason why the Divine cannot flow in with man so long as he is in these sensuous things, is that the influx from the Divine passes on even to those things which are last in order, thus down to the sensuous things which are the externals of the natural with man; and if the things therein be merely bodily and earthly, the Divine things which flow in are there dissipated, because they are not in agreement.  Therefore when man is about to receive the Divine, that is, the things which are of faith and love, he is elevated from sensuous things; and when he has been elevated from them, the Divine no longer flows in thither, namely, into the external sensuous, but into the interior plane into which the man has been elevated. That this is the case it has been given me to know from much experience.

AC 6846. And He said, I am the God of thy father.  That this signifies the Divine which was of the Ancient Church, is evident from the signification of ”father,“ as being the Ancient Church (n. 6075).  The Ancient Church is called ”father“ because from it were born the churches which came after it, namely, the Hebrew Church, and afterward the church that was among the posterity of Jacob.  For the rites and statutes which were commanded to the posterity of Jacob through Moses, were not new, but had previously existed in the ancient churches, and were only restored among the sons of Jacob. They were restored because with other nations they had become idolatrous, and in Egypt and in Babel had been turned into magic.  That these rites and statutes existed in the ancient churches, can be seen from many passages in the Word. Hence then it is that the Ancient Church is meant by ”father,“ and is also called ”father“ in the Word where the church is treated of.  The God who was worshiped in the Ancient Church was the Lord as to the Divine Human, and it was known to them that it was the Lord who was represented in every rite of their church; and many of them also knew that the Lord was to come into the world, and was to make the Human in Himself Divine.  Nor in that church was any other meant by Jehovah, for He had appeared to them as a Divine Man, and was called ”Jehovah“ (n. 1343, 5663), as also afterward to Abraham (Gen. 18:2), to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15), to Gideon (Judges 6:11), and to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:3).  And He was acknowledged as the God of the universe, and the Only One whom they should adore.  Hence then it is that by ”the God of thy father,“ is meant in the internal sense the Divine which was of the Ancient Church, that is, the Lord; but in the external historic sense there is meant Abraham, and also Isaac and Jacob.

AC 6847. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  That this signifies the Divine Itself, and the Divine Human, thus the Lord, is evident from the representation of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, as being the Divine Itself, and the Divine Human of the Lord. Abraham represents the Lord as to the Divine Itself, Isaac as to the Divine rational, and Jacob as to the Divine natural, (n. 1893, 2011, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 3194, 3210, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3704, 4180, 4286, 4538, 4570, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6425, 6804). By ”God“ is signified the Divine, and by these names the representative; hence these things in the Lord are what are meant by ”the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.“

AC 6848. And Moses covered his faces.  That this signifies that the interiors were guarded, is evident from the signification of the ”faces,“ as being the interiors (n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 4797, 5102).  That ”to cover“ denotes to guard, follows from the connection in the internal sense, for it is said that ”he covered his faces because he was afraid to look upon God,“ and by this is signified lest the interiors should be injured by the presence of the Divine Itself. How this is will be told in what follows.

AC 6849. Because he was afraid to look upon God.  That this signifies lest they should be injured by the presence of the Divine Itself, is evident from the signification of ”being afraid,“ as being fear lest they should be injured, namely, the interiors, for this was the cause of the fear; and from the signification of ”looking upon God,“ as being the presence of the Divine Itself; for the Lord is presented before man in no other way than by an internal looking, which is effected through the faith that is from charity.  If the Lord appears to anyone in an outward form, still it is the interiors which are affected, for the Divine penetrates to the inmosts.  In regard to the interiors not being injured by the presence of the Divine Itself, and that on this account they were protected, the case is this. The Divine Itself is pure love, and pure love is like a fire which is more ardent than the fire of the sun of this world; and therefore if the Divine love in its purity were to flow into any angel, spirit, or man, he would utterly perish.  Hence it is that Jehovah or the Lord is in the Word so often called a ”consuming fire.“ Lest therefore the angels in heaven should be injured by the influx of heat from the Lord as a sun, they are each of them veiled over by a certain thin and suitable cloud, whereby the heat flowing in from that sun is tempered.

[2] That without this preservation everyone would perish at the presence of the Divine, was known to the ancients; and therefore they were afraid to see God, as is evident in the book of Judges:--

Gideon saw that he was an angel of Jehovah; and therefore Gideon said, Ah Lord Jehovih! forasmuch as I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said to him, Peace be to thee; fear not, for thou shalt not die (Judges 6:22, 23).

In the same book:--

Manoah said unto his wife, Dying we shall die, because we have seen God (Judges 13:22).

And in the book of Exodus:--

Jehovah said unto Moses, Thou canst not see My faces, for no man shall see Me and live (Exod. 33:20).

When therefore it was given Moses to see God, he was put into a hole of the rock (Exod. 33:22);

by which was represented the obscurity of faith, and also the cloudiness which covered him over, and by which he was protected.

[3] How dangerous it would be for the angels if they were looked upon by the Divine, without being veiled with a cloud, can be plainly seen from the fact that when the angels look at any spirit who is in evil, he appears to be turned into something inanimate, as has been frequently given me to see.  The reason is, that through the angelic sight the light and heat of heaven fall there, and with these the truth of faith and the good of love, and when these penetrate, the wicked are almost deprived of life by them.

[4] This being the effect of a look from the angels, how much more would be the effect of a look from the Lord!  This is the reason why the hells are quite removed from heaven, and why they who are there desire to be removed, for unless this is done they are direfully tormented.  From this it is plain what is meant by these words:--

They shall say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne (Rev. 6:16; Luke 23:30; Hosea 10:8).

[5] From the fact that the presence of the Divine Itself is of such a nature that no angel can endure it unless he is protected by a cloud, which tempers and moderates the rays and heat from that sun, it is very evident that the Lords Human is Divine; for unless it were Divine, it could never he so united to the Divine Itself which is called the ”Father,“ that they may be one, according to the Lord’s words in (John 14:10), and elsewhere.  For what so receives the Divine must needs be altogether Divine; what is not Divine would be utterly dissipated by such a union.  To speak by comparison, what can be put into the solar fire, and not perish, unless it is of a solar nature? and in the same way, who can be introduced into the ardor of infinite love except him who is in the ardor of the like love? consequently, who but the Lord alone? That the Father is in Him, and that the Father does not appear except in His Divine Human, is evident from the Lord‘s words in John:--

No one hath ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).

Ye have neither ever heard His voice, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

AC 6850. Verses 7, 8.  And Jehovah said, Seeing I have seen the affliction of My people, which is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry from before their taskmasters; for I have known their sorrows; and I am come down to liberate them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to make them come up out of that land unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk honey, unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ”And Jehovah said, Seeing I have seen the affliction of My people,“ signifies mercy toward those who are of the spiritual church after infestations by falsities ”and I have heard their cry from before their taskmasters,“ signifies the aid of mercy against those who desired to compel them to serve; ”for I have known their sorrows,“ signifies foresight in regard to how much they would be immersed in falsities; ”and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,“ signifies that He would let Himself down to them to set them free from the power of false memory-knowledges, which endeavor to destroy the truths of the church; ”and to make them come up out of that land,“ signifies that they should be elevated; ”unto a land good and broad,“ signifies to heaven, where are the good of charity and the truth of faith; ”flowing with milk and honey,“ signifies the pleasantness and delight thence; ”unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite,“ signifies the region occupied by evils from falsities; ”and the Amorite, and the Perizzite,“ signifies by evils and the derivative falsities; ”and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,“ signifies by idolatry in which there is somewhat of good and truth.

AC 6851. And Jehovah said, Seeing I have seen the affliction of My people.  That this signifies mercy toward those who are of the spiritual church after infestations by falsities, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ in the historicals of the Word, as being perception; but when it is said of Jehovah, or the Lord, it does not denote perception, but omniscience, because the Lord perceives and knows each and all things from eternity; and from the signification of ”Seeing I have seen,“ when said of Jehovah or the Lord, as being mercy, for when the Lord sees anyone in misery, or in affliction, He is merciful to him. The Lord indeed sees all, and thus is merciful to all, but it is not said that He is merciful with respect to any but those who receive His mercy, that is, who are in good; and from the signification of ”affliction,“ as being infestation (n. 6663), here by falsities, because by the Egyptians, by whom are signified false memory-knowledges (n. 6651, 6679, 6683) and from the signification of ”a people,“ as being those who are of the spiritual church (n. 2928).  They who are of the celestial church are in the Word called ”a nation.“

AC 6852. And I have heard their cry from before their taskmasters.  That this signifies the aid of mercy against those who desired to compel them to serve, is evident from the signification of a ”cry,“ as being entreaty (n. 6801) and from the signification of ”to hear,“ as being to obey and notice (n. 5017); but when it is said of Jehovah or the Lord, it denotes to bring the aid of mercy to him who implores it. It is with hearing as it is above (n. 6851) with seeing, namely, that the Lord hears all, and thus brings aid to all, but according to the necessities. They who cry, and implore Him for themselves alone, and thus against others, as the wicked are wont to do: these also the Lord hears, but He does not bring them aid, and when He does not bring aid, it is said that He ”does not hear “and from the signification of ”taskmasters,“ as being those who desire to compel to serve.  That a ”taskmaster“ or ”exactor“ denotes one who compels to serve, is evident from these passages:--

The peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place, and they shall rule over their exactors. It shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt utter this parable concerning the king of Babylon, How hath the exactor ceased! (Isa. 14:2-4).

I will encamp about My house because of the army, because of him that goeth and of him that returneth, that the exactor may not pass through upon them any more (Zech. 9:8).

They were called ”exactors“ who exacted tribute (2 Kings 23:35; Deut. 15:3), and also they who compelled them to work according to the imposition of the tributes. They are also called ”princes of tributes“ (Exod. 1:11); that these are they who compelled them to serve may be seen above (n. 6659).

AC 6853. For I have known their sorrows.  That this signifies foresight in regard to how much they would be immersed in falsities, is evident from the signification of ”knowing,“ when said of the Lord, as being foresight (that ”to know“ denotes foresight is because the Lord knows each and all things from eternity); and from the signification of ”sorrows,“ as being immersion in falsities; for when they who are in good are immersed in falsities, they come into anguish and anxieties, and are tormented; for they love truths and abhor falsities, and constantly think about salvation, and about their unhappiness if falsities should rule with them. But they who are not in good, care not whether they are in falsities or in truths, for they do not think at all about salvation, or about unhappiness, because they do not believe in these things. The delights of the loves of self and of the world take away all belief about the life after death.  These persons are perpetually immersed in falsities.  Immersion in falsities appears in the other life like one who is immersed in waves, which according to the abundance of falsities rise higher and higher, until at last they rise over his head; the waves appearing thinner or denser according to the quality of the falsities.  With the wicked the immersion appears as a mistiness and as a cloudiness more or less dusky, which compasses them about, and quite separates them from the serenity of the light of heaven.

AC 6854. And I am come down to liberate them out of the hand of the Egyptians.  That this signifies that He would let Himself down to them, to set them free from the power of the false memory-knowledges which endeavor to destroy the truths of the church, is evident from the signification of ”coming down,“ as being to let Himself down; from the signification of ”to liberate,“ as being to set free, for he who sets free from falsities, liberates; from the signification of ”hand,“ as being power (n. 878, 3387, 3563, 4931-4937, 5544) and from the signification of the ”Egyptians,“ as being false memory-knowledges which are contrary to the truths of the church (n. 6651, 6679, 6683), thus which endeavor to destroy them. As regards the fact that the Lord comes down, the case is this. The Lord is said to ”come down,“ or to ”let Himself down,“ when He comes to Judgment (n. 1311); and also when He comes to lower regions, here to those who are of the spiritual church, who are signified by the ”sons of Israel;“ for these are treated of in the internal sense, how they are infested by falsities, and then endure temptations, and afterward are liberated, that they may be introduced into heaven.

[2] But in the contents of this and the following verses, in the internal sense, there is a still greater mystery, which is not yet known in the church, and therefore is to be made known.  They who are called ”the spiritual“ (who are such as can be regenerated only as to the intellectual part, but not as to the will part, and in whose intellectual part therefore a new will is implanted by the Lord, which will is according to the doctrinal things of faith pertaining to their church): these, namely such spiritual men, were saved only by the Lord’s coming into the world. The reason is that the Divine passing through heaven, which was the Divine Human before the Lord‘s coming, could not reach them, because the doctrinal things of their church were for the most part not true, and consequently the good which is of the will was not good (n. 6427) As these could be saved only by the coming of the Lord, and thus could not before be raised into heaven, therefore they were meanwhile kept in the lower earth, in places there which in the Word are called ”pits;“ which earth was beset about by the hells where are falsities, by which they were then much infested, and yet were guarded by the Lord. But after the Lord came into the world, and made the Human in Himself Divine, then He delivered those who were there in ”pits,“ and raised then to heaven; and out of them He also formed the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven.  This is meant by the descent of the Lord to the lower regions, and by the deliverance of those who were bound.

[3] This is the mystery which in the internal sense is also described in this and the following verses.  See what was shown above about these spiritual men, namely: That the spiritual are in obscurity as to the truth and good of faith (n. 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289): That their obscurity is illumined by the Lord’s Divine Human (n. 2716, 4402): That as they are in obscurity as to the truth and good of faith, they are very much assaulted by the hells, but that the Lord continually protects them (n. 6419): That the spiritual cannot be regenerated as to the will part, but only as to the intellectual part, and a new will is there formed by the Lord (n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113): That the spiritual were saved by the coming of the Lord into the world (n. 2833, 2834, 3969).

[4] In the prophetic Word occasional mention is made of the ”bound,“ and of the ”bound in the pit,“ and that they were delivered by the Lord; by whom are specifically meant those who are here spoken of, as in these passages:--

I Jehovah have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, because I will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the bound from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isa. 42:6, 7).

I kept Thee, and gave Thee for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to divide the wasted heritages; to say to the bound, Go forth, to them that are in darkness, Be ye revealed.  They shall feed upon the ways, and on all hillsides is their pasture (Isa. 49:8, 9);

this is manifestly said of the Lord.  Specifically ”the bound“ denote those who were detained in the lower earth until the Lord‘s coming, and who were then raised into heaven; and in general all those who are in good, and are kept by falsities as it were bound, from which they nevertheless desire to work their way out.

[5] Again:--

By the blood of Thy covenant I will send forth Thy bound out of the pit (Zech. 9:11).

Gathering they shall be gathered together, the bound in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; after a multitude of days they shall be visited (Isa. 24:22);

”the bound in the pit“ denote the same.

Jehovah hath anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives, to the bound, to the blind,   to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s good pleasure (Isa. 61:1).

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined (Isa. 9:2).

AC 6855. And to make them come out of that land.  That this signifies that they should be raised, namely, from the place and state where they are being infested by falsities, is evident from the signification of ”to make to come lip,“ as being to be raised; and from the signification of ”land,“ here the land of Egypt, as being the place and state where they are infested by falsities. That ”Egypt“ is the false memory-knowledge which infests has been already shown; the like is also signified by the ”land of Egypt.“

AC 6856. Unto a land good and broad.  That this signifies to heaven where are the good of charity and the truth of faith, is evident from the signification of ”land,“ here the land of Canaan, as being the Lord‘s kingdom, thus heaven (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4447); from the signification of a ”good land,“ as being the good of charity there; and from the signification of a ”broad land,“ as being the truth of faith there. That ”breadth“ denotes the truth which is of faith, see (n. 3433, 3434, 4482).

AC 6857. Flowing with milk and honey. That this signifies the pleasantness and delight thence, is evident from the signification of ”milk,“ as being the celestial spiritual, or the truth of good (n. 2184); and as it denotes the truth of good, it denotes also the pleasantness thereof, for these are conjoined; and from the signification of ”honey,“ as being delight (n. 5620). From what was shown above (n. 6854) it can be seen what is meant by ”making to come up out of that land to a land good and broad, flowing with milk and honey,“ namely, that they who had been detained in the lower earth in pits there until the Lord’s coming, should then he raised to heaven where are the good of charity and the truth of faith and the derivative pleasantness and delight.  These things are specifically signified by these words; but in general are signified all of the spiritual church who are in temptation and are liberated from it.

AC 6858. Unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite.  That this signifies the region occupied by evils from falsities, is evident from the representation of the Canaanites, as being evils from the falsities of evil (n. 4818); and from the representation of the Hittites, as being falsities from which are evils (n. 2913). By the nations in the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:18, 19; Exod. 23:23, 28; 33:2; 34:11; Deut.  7:1; 20:17; Josh. 3:10; 24:11; Judges 3:5), are signified all kinds of evil and falsity. What is meant by the region occupied by evils from falsities, and also by the other kinds of evil and falsity, must be told.  Before the coming of the Lord into the world, evil genii and spirits occupied all that region of heaven to which the spiritual were afterward taken up; for before the coming of the Lord many such roamed at large and infested the good, especially the spiritual who were in the lower earth; but after the coming of the Lord they were all thrust down into their hells, and that region was set free, and was given for an inheritance to those who were of the spiritual church.  It has been frequently observed that as soon as any place is left by good spirits it is occupied by evil ones; and that the evil are driven out of it and as soon as this is done it again passes to those who are in good.  The reason is that the infernals continually burn to destroy the things of heaven, especially those to which they are in opposition; and therefore when any place is left, being then without protection, it is immediately occupied by the evil.  As before said, this is especially meant by the region occupied by evils and falsities, which is signified by the place where the nations were that were to be driven out.  This, together with what was said above (n. 6854), is a great mystery, which cannot be known without being revealed.

AC 6859. And the Amorite, and the Perizzite. That this signifies by evils and the derivative falsities, is evident from the representation of the Amorite, as being evil (n. 1857, 6306); and from the representation of the Perizzite, as being falsity (n. 1573, 1574).  There are two origins of evil, and also two origins of falsity. One origin of evil is from falsity of doctrine or of religiosity the other is from the cupidities of the love of self and of the world.  As just said, the falsity of the first origin is from falsity of doctrine or of religiosity; and the falsity of the other origin is from the evil of the cupidities of the said loves.  These evils are what is signified by the ”Canaanite“ and the ”Amorite,“ and these falsities by the ”Hittite“ and the ”Perizzite.“

AC 6860. And the Hivite, and the Jebusite.  That this signifies by idolatry in which there is somewhat of good and truth, is evident from the representation of the Hivite, as being idolatry in which there is somewhat of good; and from the representation of the Jebusite, as being idolatry in which there is somewhat of truth. That such things are signified by these nations, can be seen from the fact that it was permitted that a covenant should be made with the Gibeonites by Joshua and the elders (Josh. 9:3); and that they were made hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of God (Josh. 9:23, 27); that these were Hivites see (verse 7), and (Josh. 11:19).  That by the Jebusites are represented those who were in idolatry, but in which there was somewhat of truth, can be seen from the fact that the Jebusites were long tolerated in Jerusalem, and were not driven out of it (Josh. 15:63; 18:28; 2 Sam. 5:6-10).

AC 6861. Verses 9-12.  And now behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. And now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, and do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt.  And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt?  And he said, Because I will be with thee; and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall worship God near this mountain.  ”And now behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me,“ signifies pity for those who are of the spiritual church; ”and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them,“ signifies by reason of the endeavor of subjugation by those who were in falsities; ”and now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,“ signifies the holy preceding from the Lord‘s Human, by which the infesting falsities would be dispersed; ”and do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt,“ signifies the consequent liberation of those who were of the spiritual church from infesting falsities ”and Moses said unto God,“ signifies perception from the Divine and humiliation; ”who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh:,“ signifies not being yet in such a state as to seem to himself to be able to go to and remove the infesting falsities; ”and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel?“ signifies and thus to liberate those of the spiritual church; ”and He said, Because I will be with thee,“ signifies that the Divine will be in the Human; ”and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee,“ signifies the knowledge that the Divine proceeded from Himself; ”when thou has brought forth the people out of Egypt,“ signifies when the spiritual are liberated from infestation by falsities ”ye shall worship God near this mountain,“ signifies then perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love.

AC 6862. And now, behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me.  That this signifies pity for those who are of the spiritual church, is evident from the signification of a ”cry,“ as being entreaty for aid (n. 6801), and therefore when it is said that ”a cry comes unto Jehovah,“ or the Lord, it involves the same as ”hearing,“ and ”hearing“ denotes to bring the aid of mercy, or compassion (n. 6852); and from the signification of the ”sons of Israel,“ as being those who are of the spiritual church (n. 6637).

AC 6863. And I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. That this signifies by reason of the endeavor to subjugate by those who are in falsities, is evident from the signification of ”the oppression wherewith they oppress,“ as being an endeavor to subjugate (that it denotes an endeavor to subjugate, and not subjugation itself, is because they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church cannot be subjugated by those who are in falsities, because the Lord protects them); and from the signification of ”the Egyptians,“ as being falsities (n. 6692).

AC 6864. And now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh.  That this signifies the holy proceeding from the Lord‘s Human by which infesting falsities would be dispersed, is evident from the representation of Moses, who was to go, and who was sent, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (n. 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827), thus as to the Human; for when the Lord was in the world, He first made His Human Divine truth, which is the same as the law Divine; and afterward He completely glorified His Human, and made it Divine good (between Divine truth and Divine good there is a difference such as there is between the light from the sun and the fire in the sun); and from the signification of ”to be sent,“ as being to proceed (n. 2397, 4710, 6831), here holy truth (that holy is predicated of truth see (n. 6788); and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being falsity (n. 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692). It is added that infesting falsities would be dispersed, namely, by the holy proceeding from the Lord’s Human, because in what follows the subject treated of is the liberation of the sons of Israel, that is, of those who were of the Lord‘s spiritual church, from falsities; from which they can in no wise be liberated except by the holy which proceeds from the Lord.  For the holy proceeding from the Lord not only disperses infesting falsities, but also reduces all things into Divine order, both those which are in the heavens, and those which are in the hells; and causes the heavens to be most distinct according to goods and the derivative truths, and the hells also to be most distinct according to evils and the derivative falsities; and likewise causes evils to be opposite to goods, and falsities to truths, in order that a spiritual equilibrium may exist, and everything be in a free state.

AC 6865. And do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt. That this signifies the consequent liberation of those who are of the spiritual church from infesting falsities, evident from the signification of ”bringing forth,“ as being liberation; from the signification of the ”sons of Israel,“ as being those of the spiritual church (n. 6637); and from the signification of ”Egypt,“ as being the false memory-knowledge which is against the truths of the church; thus infesting falsity (n. 6692).

[2] It is false memory-knowledge which chiefly infests those of the spiritual church; because they have no perception of truth from good, but only the memory-knowledge of truth from doctrine; they who are such are very much infested by memory-knowledges For memory-knowledges are the most general vessels, which sometimes appear contrary to truths, until truths being let into them make them transparent, and thus not to be noticed. Moreover memory-knowledges are full of the fallacies of the senses, which cannot be dispelled by those who are in mere knowledges from doctrine, and not in the perception of truth from good; mainly because the light of the world predominates with them, which light appears clear so long as the light of heaven does not flow into it, but as soon as the light of heaven flows in, instead of light it becomes obscurity.  Hence it is that these persons are enlightened and clever in the things of the world, but obscured and dull in the things of heaven.

[3] These believe themselves enlightened when they have confirmed in themselves the doctrinal things of the church, but it is a sensuous light from the light of the world which then deceives them; for doctrinal things of every kind can be confirmed, as Jewish doctrinal things by the Jews, enthusiastic ones by enthusiasts, Socinian ones by the Socinians, and heresies by heretics of every sort; and when they have been confirmed, they appear to their in the sensuous light as very truths. But they who are in the light of heaven are in enlightenment from the Lord; and before confirmations, by looking into the memory-knowledges which are beneath and are there arranged in order, they discern whether it is a truth that may be confirmed or not.  Hence it is evident that these latter have an interior view, which is above the memory-knowledges, and thus is distinct; whereas the former have a lower view, which is within the memory-knowledges, and thus is an entangled one (n. 2831).

AC 6866. And Moses said unto God.  That this signifies perception from the Divine and humiliation, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ as being perception; and from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (n. 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827). The Divine is signified by ”God.“ That these words also involve humiliation is plain from what follows, for Moses says, ”Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring forth the sons of Israel?“  As by Moses is represented the Lord, and mention is here made of humiliation, something must be said about the state of the Lord’s humiliation when He was in the world. So far as the Lord was in the human not yet made Divine, so far He was in humiliation; but so far as He was in the Human made Divine, so far He could not be in humiliation, for so far He was God and Jehovah. The reason why He was in humiliation when in the human not yet made Divine, was that the human which He took from the mother was by heredity evil, and this could not come near to the Divine without humiliation; for in genuine humiliation a man divests himself of all ability to think and do anything from himself, and wholly leaves himself to the Divine, and thus draws near to the Divine.  The Divine was indeed in the Lord, because He was conceived of Jehovah, but this appeared remote in so far as His human was in the heredity from the mother; for in spiritual and heavenly things it is unlikeness of state that causes removal and absence, and it is likeness of state that causes approach and presence; and it is love that makes likeness and unlikeness.  All this shows whence came the state of humiliation with the Lord when He was in the world; but afterward, when He put off all the human which He took from the mother, insomuch that He was no longer her son, and put on the Divine, then the state of humiliation ceased, for then He was one with Jehovah.

AC 6867. Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?  That this signifies not being yet in such a state as to seem to himself to be able to go and remove the infesting falsities, is evident from the signification of ”Who am I?“ as being that he was not yet in such a state; and from the signification of ”going to Pharaoh,“ as being to go to the infesting falsities, for by ”Pharaoh“ is signified falsity which infests (n. 6651, 6679, 6683). That it also denotes to remove, is because the holy proceeding from the Lord‘s Human (n. 6864) removes falsities and evils, because these are quite unable to endure its presence. As these things were said from humiliation, it is said that he did not yet seem to himself able to do this.

AC 6868. And that I should bring forth the sons of Israel. That this signifies and thus to liberate those of the spiritual church, is evident from the signification of ”bringing forth,“ as being to liberate (n. 6865); and from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being those of the spiritual church (n. 6637, 6862, 6865).

AC 6869. And He said, Because I will be with thee.  That this signifies that the Divine will be in the Human, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (n. 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827), thus as to the Human, for as shown above, the Lord made His Human the law Divine, that is, Divine truth, when He was in the world; and from the signification of ”I will be with thee,“ as being the Divine, for it is Jehovah who speaks.

AC 6870. And this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee. That this signifies the knowledge that the Divine proceeded from Himself, is evident from the signification of a ”sign,“ as being the confirmation of truth, and hence the knowledge that it is so; and from the signification of ”being sent,“ as being to proceed (n. 2379, 4710, 6831); thus ”to be sent of God“ denotes to proceed from the Divine; and it also denotes that the Divine proceeds from Himself, for he who proceeds from the Divine, receives the Divine and advances it further.

AC 6871. When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt. That this signifies when the spiritual have been liberated from infestation by falsities, is evident from the signification of ”bringing forth,“ as being to liberate (n. 6865, 6868); from the signification of the ”sons of Israel,“ who in this case are ”the people,“ as being the spiritual, that is, those of the spiritual church (n. 6637, 6862, 6865); and from the signification of ”Egypt,“ as being false memory-knowledge infesting (n. 6692).

AC 6872. Ye shall worship God upon this mountain. That this signifies then perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love, is evident from the signification of ”worshiping God,“ as being adoration of the Divine, but when said of the Lord, it denotes the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine in the Human; and from the signification of ”mountain,“ as being the good of the Divine love (n. 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435, 6829).  Hence it is evident that by ”worshiping God upon this mountain,“ when said of the Lord, is signified the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love.

[2] What the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love are, must be told.  Every man’s quality is known from his love; for love is the being of the life of everyone, from it springing the veriest life itself; such therefore as the love is with a man, such is the man.  If there is the love of self and of the world, consequently the love of revenge, of hatred, of cruelty, of adultery, and the like, the man is a devil as to his spirit, or as to the interior man which lives after death, however he may appear in the outward form.  But if there is with a man the love of God and the love of the neighbor, and consequently the love of good and truth, also of what is just and honorable, then however he may appear in the outward form, he is an angel as to his spirit which lives after death.  But He with whom there is Divine love, which was with the Lord alone, is God; thus His Human was made Divine when He received in the Human the love of His Father, which was the being of His life.  From all this it can be seen what is meant by the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love.

[3] That man is altogether as is his love, is a constant truth, as is plain from the angels in the other life, who when seen appear as forms of love, the love itself not only shining forth, but also exhaling from them, so that you would say that they are wholly nothing but loves.  The reason is, that all the interiors of an angel, as also of a man, are nothing but forms recipient of life, and because they are forms recipient of life, they are forms recipient of loves, for loves make the life of man.  When therefore the inflowing love and the recipient form are in agreement, it follows that the angel or man is such a. his love is; and this not only in his organic beginnings, which are in the brain, but also in the whole body, for the body is nothing but an organ derived from its beginnings.

[4] From all this it can be seen that man is made altogether new when he is being regenerated, for then each and all things with him are so disposed as to receive heavenly loves.  Nevertheless with man the prior forms are not destroyed, but only removed; but with the Lord the prior forms, which were from the maternal, were completely destroyed and extirpated, and Divine forms were received in their place.  For the Divine love does not agree with any but a Divine form; all other forms it absolutely casts out; hence it is that the Lord when glorified was no longer the son of Mary.

AC 6873. Verses 13-15.  And Moses said unto God, Behold I come unto the sons of Israel, and say to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said further unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name forever, and this is My memorial unto generation and generation. ”And Moses said unto God,“ signifies perception from the Divine; ”Behold I come unto the sons of Israel,“ signifies about those who are of the spiritual church; ”and say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you,“ signifies that the Divine of the Ancient Church will be with those who are of the spiritual church; ”and they say to me, What is His name?“ signifies His quality; ”what shall I say unto them?“ signifies what answer; ”and God said unto Moses,“ signifies the first instruction; ”I AM WHO I AM,“ signifies the Being and Coming-forth of all things in the universe; ”and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel,“ signifies the second instruction; ”I AM hath sent me unto you,“ signifies that the Divine Coming-forth shall be in that church; ”and God said further unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel,“ signifies the third instruction; ”Jehovah the God of your fathers,“ signifies the Divine of the Ancient Church; ”the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,“ signifies the Divine Itself, and the Divine Human, thus the Lord; ”hath sent me unto you,“ signifies that He will be in their church; ”this is My name forever,“ signifies that the Divine Human is the quality of the Divine Itself; ”and this is My memorial unto generation and generation,“ signifies that He must be worshiped perpetually.

AC 6874. And Moses sad unto God.  That this signifies perception from the Divine, is evident from the signification of ”saying,“ in the historicals of the Word, as being perception.  That ”God“ denotes the Divine is plain. It is said perception from the Divine, because all perception is thence.

AC 6875. Behold I come unto the sons of Israel. That this signifies about those who are of the spiritual church, is evident from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being those of the spiritual church (n. 6637, 6862, 6865).

AC 6876. And say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you.  That this signifies that the Divine of the Ancient Church will be with those of the spiritual church, is evident from the signification of the ”God of their fathers,“ as being the Divine of the Ancient Church. ”Fathers“ denote those who are of the Ancient Church, (n. 6050, 6075, 6846); from the representation of the sons of Israel, here meant by ”you,“ as being those of the spiritual church (n. 6875); and from the signification of ”being sent,“ as being to proceed (n. 2397, 4710, 6831); here that He will be with them, for it is said of the Divine of the Ancient Church that this shall be in the spiritual church, which is represented by the sons of Israel.

[2] The Divine which was of the Ancient Church was the Lord as to the Divine Human; the Ancient Church had this from the Most Ancient, and also from the fact that Jehovah was seen by them in a human form. When therefore they thought of Jehovah, they did not think of a Universal Entity, of which they could have had no idea, but of the human Divine, into which they could determine their thought; for in this way they could both think of Jehovah and be conjoined with Him by love. Those who were of the Ancient Church, and especially those of the Most Ancient, were much wiser than the men of our times, and yet they could not think otherwise of Jehovah than as of a Man, whose Human was Divine; nor did there then flow into their thought any unbecoming idea taken from the natural man, and his infirmity and evil, but that which flowed in concerning Him was all holy.  The angels themselves, who so far excel men in wisdom, cannot think otherwise of the Divine, for they see the Lord in the Divine Human; they know that an angel, with whom all things are finite, can have no idea whatever of the Infinite, except by what is like the finite.

[3] That in ancient times they adored Jehovah under a human Divine, is very evident from the angels seen by Abraham in human form, also afterward by Lot, and likewise by Joshua, by Gideon, and by Manoah, which angels were called ”Jehovah,“ and were adored as the God of the universe. At this day if Jehovah were to appear in the church as a man, men would take offence, and would think that He could not possibly be the Creator and Lord of the universe, because He was seen as a man; and moreover they would not have any other idea of Him than as of a common man.  In this they believe themselves wiser than the ancients, not knowing that in this they are altogether removed from wisdom; for when the idea of the thought is directed to a Universal Entity altogether incomprehensible, the idea falls into nothing, and is totally dissipated; and then in its place comes the idea of nature, to which each and all things are attributed.  Hence the worship of nature is at this day so common, especially in the Christian world.

AC 6877. And they say to me, What is His name?  That this signifies His quality, is evident from the signification of ”name,“ as being quality (n. 1754, 1896, 2009, 2628, 2724, 3006, 6674). From this question of Moses appears the quality of the posterity of Jacob, namely, that they had not only forgotten the name ”Jehovah,“ but also that they acknowledged a number of gods, one of which was greater than another; hence it was that they would desire to know His name; they believed also that it was sufficient to acknowledge God as to name. That the posterity of Jacob were such was because they were only in externals without internals; and they who are without internals cannot think otherwise about God, because they cannot receive anything of light from heaven to enlighten their interiors. In order therefore that they might acknowledge Jehovah, it was said to them that the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, had been seen, and that He sent; thus they were induced to acknowledge Jehovah from a blind veneration for their fathers, but not from any internal perception.  It was also sufficient for that people to worship Jehovah merely as to name, because they could not receive anything but the external of a church, thus that which only represented its internal; the external was instituted among them also in order that what was represented thereby might be presented in heaven in the internal form, and thus that there might still be some conjunction of heaven with man.

AC 6878. What shall I say unto them? That this signifies what answer, is evident without explication.

AC 6879. And God said unto Moses. That this signifies the first instruction, is evident from the signification of ”God said“ (here to Moses, by whom is represented the Lord as to the Divine truth, and from Moses to the people, thus from the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord‘s Divine Human, to those of the spiritual church), as being instruction, here the first instruction, because it is in regard to God Himself who is to be worshiped. For the first of the church is the knowledge that there is a God, and that He is to be worshiped.  His first quality to be known is that He created the universe, and that the created universe subsists from Him.

AC 6880. I AM WHO I AM That this signifies the Being and Coming-forth of all things in the universe, is evident from the fact that ”I AM“ is Being, and because He alone is Being, it is said in the nominative case. That it is twice said ”I AM,“ that is, ”I AM WHO I AM,“ is because the one signifies Being and the other Coming-forth; thus the one signifies the Divine Itself, which is called the ”Father,“ and the other the Divine Human, which is called the ”Son;“ for the Divine Human comes-forth from the Divine Itself.  But when the Lord as to the Human also was made the Divine Being (Esse) or Jehovah, then the Divine truth, which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human, is the Divine Coming-forth from the Divine Being. From this it can be seen that the Divine Being cannot communicate Itself to anyone except through the Divine Coming-forth; that is, the Divine Itself cannot communicate Itself except through the Divine Human, and the Divine Human can not communicate itself except through the Divine truth, which is the Holy of the Spirit: this is meant by its being said that all things were made by the Word (John 1:3). It appears to man as if the Divine truth were not such that anything can come forth by means of it; for it is believed that it is like a voice, which being uttered with the lips, is dissipated But it is altogether otherwise: the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is the veriest reality, and such a reality that all things have come forth from it, and all things subsist from it; for whatever proceeds from the Lord is the veriest reality in the universe; and such is the Divine truth, which is called the ”Word,“ through which all things were made.

AC 6881. And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel.  That this signifies the second instruction, is evident from the signification of ”God said,“ when said a second time, as being something new of perception (n. 2061, 2238, 2260); here the something new of perception is the second instruction; and from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being those of the spiritual church, for whom that instruction was.

AC 6882. I AM hath sent me unto you. That this signifies that the Divine Coming-forth shall be in that church, is evident from the signification of ”I AM,“ as being the Divine Itself and the Divine Human (n. 6880); and from the representation