274. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. That this signifies Divine truth itself united to the Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord is evident from the signification of seven as denoting, all things in the aggregate; and from the signification of lamps of fire burning before the throne as denoting Divine truth united to Divine good proceeding from the Divine love of the Lord. For lamps signify truths; hence seven lamps signify all truth in the aggregate, which is Divine truth; and fire signifies the good of love. And because the lamps were seen burning before the throne upon which the Lord was, it is signified that the good or love was from the Lord. Because the seven spirits of God signify all the truths of heaven and the church from the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 183), it is therefore said, "which are the seven spirits of God." (That seven signify all, may be seen above, n. 256; that fire signifies the good of love may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 10,055.) [2] That lamps signify truths, which are called truths of faith, is evident from the following passages in the Word, as in David:
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps. cxix. 105).
The Word is said to be a lamp, because it is Divine truth. Again:
"Thou lightest my lamp; Jehovah God maketh my darkness resplendent" (Ps. xviii. 28).
To light a lamp signifies to enlighten the understanding by Divine truth; and to make the darkness resplendent signifies to dissipate the falsities of ignorance by the light of truth. In Luke:
Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps shining" (xii. 35).
The loins being girded signifies the good of love (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3021, 4280, 4462, 5050-5052, 9961); and the lamps shining signifies the truths of faith from the good of love.
[3] In Matthew:
"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness" (vi. 22, 23).
The eye is here called a lamp, because it signifies the understanding of truth, and hence also the truth of faith; and because the understanding derives its all from the will - for the quality of the former is according to that of the latter, just as the truth of faith derives its all from the good of love, - when therefore, the understanding of truth is from the good of the will, then the whole man is spiritual, which is signified by the words, "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." but the contrary is the case when the understanding is formed from evil of the will; that it is then in mere falsities is signified by the words, "if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness (That the eye signifies the understanding may be seen above, n. 152, and that darkness signifies falsities, in Arcana Coelestia, n. 1839, 1860, 3340, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711, 7712). He who does not know that the eye signifies the understanding cannot by any means comprehend the meaning of these words. [4] In Jeremiah
"I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp (xxv. 10).
To take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness signifies to remove the interior happiness derived from the good of love and the truths of faith. To take away the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride signifies to remove all the conjunction of good and truth, which constitutes heaven and the church with man. To take away the voice of the millstones and the light of the lamp signifies to deprive them of the doctrine of charity and faith. (What is signified by a millstone, and by grinding, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 4335, 7780, 9995, 10,303). Similarly in the Apocalypse:
"And the light of a lamp shall shine no more in" Babylon; "and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more" there (xviii. 23).
In Isaiah:
"Let your salvation burn as a lamp" (lxii. 1),
signifying that the truth of faith should be from the good of love.
In Matthew:
"The kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. The five foolish took their lamps, but no oil: but the five wise took oil also." Wherefore when the bridegroom came the wise went in to the marriage, but the foolish were not admitted (xxv. 1-12).
By lamps are here signified the truths of faith, and by oil is signified the good of love. (What the rest of this parable signifies may be seen above, n. 252, where it is particularly explained.)
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