606. And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth.- That this signifies the Lord, to whom all things of heaven and the church are subject, is evident from the signification of an angel coming down out of heaven, as denoting the Lord (see above, n. 593); and from the signification of standing upon the sea and upon the earth, as denoting to whom all things of heaven and the church are subject (see above, n. 600:1-2); hence by standing upon them is signified that they are subject to Him.
Thus in David:
"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalm viii. 6).
This is said of the Lord, whose dominion over all things of heaven and the church, is meant by all things being put under His feet.
And in Isaiah:
"I will make the place of my feet honourable" (lx. 13).
The place of the feet of the Lord, in the general sense, means all things of heaven and the church, because the Lord as the Sun is above the; but, in a particular sense, by the place of His feet is signified the church, for the Lord's church is with men in the natural world, and the Natural is the ultimate, in which the Divine closes, and upon which it rests, as it were. For this reason the church on earth is also called the footstool of the Lord; as in the same prophet:
"The earth is my footstool" (lxvi. 1; Matthew v. 35).
Also in Lamentations:
"He hath cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, nor doth he remember his footstool" (ii. 1).
And in David:
"We will go into his tabernacles: we will bow down at his footstool" (Psalm cxxxii. 7).
This also is said of the Lord, and by His footstool is signified the church on earth.
[2] From these things it is evident that by standing upon the sea and upon the earth, when used in reference to the Lord, is signified that all things of heaven and the church are subject to Him. But specifically the sea and the earth, upon which He set His feet, signify the ultimate heaven, and the church on earth, as just stated. For the upper parts of the body of the angel, signify the higher heavens, because they correspond to them; for the inmost heaven corresponds to the head, the middle heaven, to the breast, as far as the loins, and the ultimate heaven to the feet, but the church on earth, to the soles of the feet, therefore this latter is meant by His footstool. It may be concluded from this correspondence that in general and particular by the angel standing upon the sea and upon the earth, by whom the Lord is meant, represented the whole heaven, for the Lord is heaven, and His Divine Human forms it according to the image of itself, for this reason the whole heaven in the sight of the Lord is as one man, and corresponds to all things of man, consequently heaven is also called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo). See what is said on this subject in Heaven and Hell (n. 59-102).
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