222. And I will write upon him the name of My God, signifies their quality in respect to Divine truth implanted in the life. This is evident from the signification of "writing upon one," when spoken of the Lord, as being to implant in the life (of which presently); also from the signification of "name," as being quality of state (see above, n. 148); and also from the signification of "God," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in heaven, thus the Lord in heaven (concerning which see above, n. 220); for the Lord is above the heavens, appearing to those who are in heaven as a sun (see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 116-125). The Divine proceeding therefrom, which is called Divine truth, and which makes heaven in general and in particular, is what is meant in the Word by "God;" from this it is that angels are called "gods," and that "God," in the Hebrew is Elohim, in the plural. This makes clear why the Lord here says, "the name of My God;" and above, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God" (n. 219); and below, "I will write upon him the name of the city of My God, of the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God" (n. 223). [2] "To write upon one" means to implant in the life, because to write is to commit to paper anything from the memory, thought, or mind, that is to be preserved; in the spiritual sense, therefore, it signifies that which is to endure in man's life, inscribed on it and implanted in it. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into a spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper and in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when anything is implanted in the faith and love, since love and faith make man's spiritual life. Because "to write" signifies to implant in the life, it is said of Jehovah or the Lord that "He writes," and that "He has written in a book," meaning that which is inscribed by the Lord on man's spirit, that is, on his heart and soul, or what is the same, on his love and faith. Thus, in David:
My bone was not hidden from Thee when I was made in secret; upon Thy book were written all the days when they were fashioned, and not one of them is wanting (Ps. 139:15-16). In the same :
Let them be blotted out of the book of lives, and not be written with the righteous (Ps. 69:28). In Daniel:
The people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book (Dan. 12:1). In Moses:
Blot me, I pray Thee, out of the book which Thou hast written. And Jehovah said, Whosoever hath sinned against Me will I blot out of My book (Exod. 32:32-33). In Revelation:
A book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals, which no one could open but the Lamb only (Rev. 5:1). Again:
All shall worship the beast whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Again:
I saw that the books were opened: and another book was opened which is that of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the book,* according to their works. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:12-13, 15). Again :
And there shall enter into the New Jerusalem only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 21:27). In these passages it is not meant that they are written in a book, but that all things of faith and love are inscribed on man's spirit (as may be seen from the things shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 461-469). [3] That "to write," in the Word, signifies to inscribe on and implant in the life, is clear from other passages where "writing" is mentioned. Thus in Jeremiah:
I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart (Jer. 31:33). "To give the law in the midst of them" means Divine truths in them; "in the midst" signifies inwardly with man (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1074, 2940, 2973); and "to write it on the heart" is to impress upon the love, for "heart" signifies love (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 7542, 9050, 10336). In Ezekiel:
The prophet saw a roll of a book written front and back, and there were written thereon plaints, moaning, and woe (Ezek. 2:9, 10; 3:1-3). "The roll of a book written front and back" signifies the state of the church at that time, thus what the life was of those of the church; therefore "the roll of the book" means the same as "the book of life" mentioned above; and as their life was destitute of the goods of love and the truths of faith, it is said that "there were written thereon plaints, moaning, and woe":
That the law was inscribed on tables of stone, and written with the finger of God (Exod. 31:18; Deut. 4:13; 9:10); signified that it must be impressed on the life (Arcana Coelestia, n. 9416); for "the law," in a strict sense, means the ten commandments of the Decalogue, but in a broad sense, the whole Word (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 6752, 7463); and "stone" signifies truth, here Divine truth (Arcana Coelestia, n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). The like is signified by :
Their writing the words of the law upon the twelve stones taken out of the Jordan (Deut. 27:2-4, 8; Josh. 4:3, seq.) [4] In Ezekiel:
Son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his fellows; and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel, his fellows; and then join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they both may be one in My** hand (Ezek. 37:16, 17). What these things signify no one can know unless he knows what was represented by "Judah," and what by "Joseph." "Judah" represented the Lord's celestial kingdom, and "Joseph" His spiritual kingdom; and "writing them upon two sticks" signifies each one's state of love and of life therefrom. Their conjunction into one heaven is signified by "joining them one to another into one stick, that they both may be one in My hand." The signification of these words is like that of the Lord's words:
Other sheep also I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16). The writing was to be upon a stick, because a "stick (wood)" signifies good, and it is good that conjoins. (But these things will be more evident from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the spiritual kingdom before the Lord's coming was not as it was after His coming, n. 6372, 8054; that it was the spiritual especially that were saved by the Lord's coming into the world, and that they were then conjoined with those who were of His celestial kingdom into one heaven, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834, 3969, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8159, 8321, 9684. That there are two kingdoms, the celestial and spiritual, and that there are three heavens, and that these are conjoined into one heaven, see the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 20-28, 29-40. That "Judah" in the representative sense signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, Arcana Coelestia, n. 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363; that " Joseph" signifies the Lord's spiritual kingdom, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417; that " Ephraim" signifies the intellectual of the spiritual church, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, 6296; that "wood" signifies the good of love, n. 643, 3720, 8354.) [5] In Isaiah:
This one shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel (Isa. 44:5). These things are said of the Lord and of His Divine Human. "Jacob" and "Israel," where the Lord is treated of, signifies His Human, and that the Human is Jehovah is meant by "This one shall say, I am Jehovah's," and "he shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah." (That "Israel" and "Jacob" are, in the highest sense, the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4286, 4570, 6424.) [6] In Jeremiah :
O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Me shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written on the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, that I may be healed (Jer. 17:13, 14). "To be written in the earth" is to be condemned on account of the state of life, since "earth" signifies what is condemned (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2327, 7418, 8306). [7] This makes clear what is signified by the Lord's writing with His finger in the earth in John:
The Scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus in the temple a woman taken in adultery; and they said, This woman was taken in the very act. They asked whether she should be stoned according to the law of Moses. Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote in the earth; and rising He said, He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her; and again stooping down, He wrote in the earth. And when they heard these things, they went out one after another; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman; and He said to her, Woman, where are thine accusers; hath no man condemned thee? And He said, Go and sin no more (John 8:2-11). The Lord's "writing in the earth" signifies the same as above in Jeremiah, "they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth," namely, that they also were condemned on account of adulteries; therefore He said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." The Lord's "writing twice in the earth" in the temple, signified their condemnation for adulteries in the spiritual sense; for the Scribes and Pharisees were those who adulterated the goods and falsified the truths of the Word, thus of the church; and "adulteries" in the spiritual sense are adulterations of good and falsifications of truth (see above, n. 141, 161); therefore that nation was also called by the Lord:
An adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38). * The Greek has "books," as found in Apocalypse Explained, n. 98, 250, 785. ** The Hebrew has "my."
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