Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8137

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8137. 'And I will be glorified' means that they were about to see a Divine feat, accomplished by the Lord's Divine Human, in the dispersion of falsity. This is clear from the meaning of 'being glorified', when it refers to Jehovah or the Lord, as a Divine feat, here a Divine feat accomplished by His Divine Human. For through His coming into the world, assuming the Human, and making it Divine the Lord cast into the hells all evils and falsities, restored the heavens to order, and also delivered from damnation those belonging to the spiritual Church, see 6854, 6914, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018. These things are meant generally by 'being glorified'; but at this point the meaning is that those who molested the upright were to be cast into hell, where they would be engulfed by falsities as if by the waters of the sea. And this would take place as a Divine feat, accomplished simply by the Lord's presence.

[2] So that the nature of all this may become known, the matter will be explained further. The number of the hells is as great as that of the genera and species of evils. Every hell is separated from the next as if by mists, clouds, or waters. In the next life evils and falsities appear before the eyes of spirits as mists and clouds, and also as waters. The falsities arising from evils of those who belonged to the spiritual Church and led an evil life appear as waters, while the falsities arising from evils of those who belonged to the celestial Church appear as mists. The inhabitants of the hells appear engulfed by such waters or mists, though everywhere the amount and nature of them, the thickness and thinness, the murkiness and dimness varies as determined by each genus and species of falsity arising from evil. The hell inhabited by those who were governed by faith separated from charity and led a life of evil is engulfed as if by waters of the sea. The falsities arising from evil, it is true, do not appear as waters to its inhabitants, only to those looking on from outside. Above that sea they are engulfed in are the adulterers' hells. The reason why they are above it is that in the internal sense adulteries are adulterations of good and consequent perversions of truth, thus evils from which stem falsities opposed to the truths and forms of the good of faith, 2466, 2729, 3399 This kind of falsities exists with those in the hell below, who led a life contrary to the Church's truth and considered its good to be of no importance whatever. And because they considered it to be of no importance they also adulterated and perverted everything the Word states about good, that is, about charity towards the neighbour and love to God.

[3] As regards 'being glorified in Pharaoh and in his army', this implies here their submersion into that hell and their engulfment by waters like those of the sea, simply at the presence of the Lord, as has been stated above The evil flee from the Lord's presence, that is, from the presence of the goodness and truth that spring from Him; for at their mere approach the evil feel terrified and tormented, and also as a result of the presence of that goodness and truth they are engulfed by their own evils and falsities, because these now burst out from them. They envelop the evil and are interposed to prevent the Divine from flowing into them, as a consequence of which they would suffer torment. This Divine feat is the meaning here of 'being glorified in Pharaoh and in his army'. The reason why the feat is accomplished by the Lord's Divine Human is, as stated above, that through His Coming into the world, assuming the Human and making it Divine the Lord cast all falsities and evils into hell, restored to order truths and forms of good in the heavens, and delivered from damnation those belonging to the spiritual Church.


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