Apocalypse Revealed (Whitehead) n. 170

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170. And I will confess His name before the Father, and before His angels, signifies that they will be received who are in Divine good and in Divine truths from the Lord, thus who have the life of heaven in themselves. That "to confess the name" is to acknowledge the quality of anyone, or that he is such, is evident from the signification of "name," as given above (n. 81, 122). By "Father," is meant Divine good, and by "angels" are meant Divine truths, both from the Lord. In the Word of the evangelist "the Father" is often mentioned by the Lord, by whom is everywhere meant Jehovah, from Whom and in Whom He was, and Who was in Him, and never any Divine separate from Him: this is abundantly proved indeed in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord; and also in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence (n. 262, 263); that the Lord Himself is the Father, may be seen (n. 21, 960). The Lord made mention of the Father, because by "Father" in the spiritual sense is signified good, and by "God the Father" the Divine good of Divine love; the angels never understand anything else by "Father" when it is read in the Word, nor can they understand anything else, because no one in the heavens knows any Father, of whom they are said to be born, and whose sons and heirs they are called, except the Lord; this is meant by the Lord's words (Matt. 23:9). Hence it is evident that by "confessing His name before the Father," is signified that they will be received among those who are in Divine good from Him. The reason why by "angels" are meant those who are in Divine truths from the Lord, and, abstractly, Divine truths, is because angels are the recipients of Divine good in the Divine truths which are with them from the Lord.


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