Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 678

Previous Number Next Number Next Translation See Latin 

678. And gave glory to the God of heaven.- That this signifies that they acknowledged and worshipped the Lord, is evident from the signification of giving glory or of glorifying, as denoting to acknowledge and worship, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the God of heaven, as denoting the Lord. That the Lord is the God of heaven, He himself made clear while He was in the world, and when He departed out of the world. When He was in the world, He said,

"The Father hath given all things into the hand" of the Son (John iii. 35).

In the same:

The Father hath given to the Son "power over all flesh" (xvii. 2).

And in Matthew:

"All things have been delivered to me by the Father" (xi. 27).

And when He departed out of the world He said to His disciples,

"All power is given to me in heaven and on earth" (xxviii. 18).

[2] It is evident from these passages that the Lord is the God of heaven. To give glory denotes to acknowledge and worship Him; for to give glory signifies that glory belongs to Him alone, because He is the God of heaven and earth, and acknowledgment also that all things of the church are from Him, thus all salvation and eternal life. From these things it follows, that to give glory and to glorify, when spoken of God, mean to worship and adore Him. Glory, in the Word, when used in reference to the Lord, properly signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from Him, because this Divine Truth is the light of heaven, and from that light angels and men have not only all their intelligence and wisdom, but also all their happiness; and further all magnificence in the heavens, which is ineffable [is from the same source.] This, therefore, is what is properly signified by the glory of God. And because this is glory, it follows, that the glory of the Lord means to enlighten angels and men, to bestow intelligence and wisdom, to bless with happiness and delights, and also to make all things in the heavens magnificent; and it means that this glory is not from the love of glory, but from love towards the human race. The Lord therefore says in John:

"In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and may become my disciples" (xv. 8);

and again,

"The words which thou hast given me, I have given unto them, and I am glorified in them" (xvii. 8, 10).

[3] That this is the glory of the Lord, is evident from this fact, that the light of heaven, from which are all wisdom, beauty, and magnificence in the heavens, proceeds from the Lord, as the Sun and it is the Divine Love of the Lord that appears to the angels as a sun. It is therefore clear that the light of heaven, which in its essence is Divine Truth and Divine Wisdom, is the proceeding Divine Love; and love desires nothing else than to give that which is its own to another, thus to fill others with blessedness. What then will not the Divine Love do? But the Lord cannot give His glory to anyone, and fill him with wisdom and blessedness, unless He is acknowledged and worshipped, since by this means man conjoins himself to Him in love and faith. For acknowledgment and worship, in order to be acknowledgment and worship, must be from love and faith; and without conjunction by means of these, good cannot possibly flow in from the Lord, because it is not received. From these things it is now evident, that to give glory to the God of heaven, is to acknowledge and worship the Lord.

[4] That glory signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and that the glory of the Lord with man is the reception of Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 33, 345). That the glorification of the Lord is from the Lord Himself, and that with men and angels it is reception, and acknowledgment that all good and truth, and everything of salvation and life, are from the Lord, may also be seen above (n. 288).


This page is part of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church