744. "And I heard a great voice saying in heaven".- That this signifies the joy of the angels of heaven because of the light and wisdom which they then possessed, is evident from the signification of a great voice saying, as denoting manifestation of joy from the heart (of which we shall speak presently); and from the signification of in heaven, as denoting with the angels of heaven. That the joy of the angels was from the light and wisdom which they then had follows as a consequence: for when the dragons - by whom are meant those who indeed have some knowledge (scientia) of the cognitions of truth and good from the Word, but who still are not in truths and goods, because not in the life of these - were cast out, and were therefore no longer in conjunction with heaven, then the angels came into the possession of light and wisdom, and from this was their joy. The angels then came into the possession of light and wisdom because there is a connection of all in the heavens, from the first of them to the last, that is, from the first, who are in the inmost or third heaven, to the last, who are in the ultimate or first heaven. For the Lord flows in through the third heaven into the ultimate, and conjoins the heavens by influx. In consequence of this the whole heaven, in the sight of the Lord, is as one Man. When, therefore, the ultimates of the heavens have connection with those who are conjoined to hell, thus with those who are signified by the dragon and his angels, then, in the same degree in which the ultimate heaven is conjoined with such, the light and intelligence of the angels of heaven are lessened.
[2] The case is the same as with the ultimates in man, which are the outermost skins that invest the body in general and in particular; also with the muscles within those skins, and the nerves in their ultimates, from which connecting parts and membranes are spread over the interiors. If those outermost parts are injured, or in any way infected, or if they become too tense, then in the same degree the life of acting and feeling in the interiors, which are invested and enclosed by those outermost parts, perishes. It is evident from this that the health of the body depends upon the state of the outermost parts, as a house upon its foundations. This comparison is particularly apt in the case of men worn down with age, in whom the outermost parts are the first to harden; they are thus deprived of the ability to act and feel, and by degrees this extends to the interiors, and then death follows.
[3] A similar reasoning applies to the heavens which are as one Man in the sight of the Lord - when the outermost parts (postrema) become hardened as it were, as is the case when those parts have conjunction with the hells. It was so with the heavens, so long as the dragons were seen there, for the dragons, as before observed, had conjunction with the ultimates of heaven, as to externals, but with the hells as to their internals. This is why it was said that the dragon was seen in heaven, and that there was a combat between him and Michael in heaven, and afterwards that he was cast out of heaven, which signifies that he was separated. This is the reason why a great voice heard in heaven signifies manifestation of joy from the heart with the angels of heaven. That they had this joy because of the light and wisdom which they then had, follows from what has been said, namely, that as a man is in his active and sensitive life from the interiors when the outermost parts are sound, so also the higher and lower heavens are in their intelligence and wisdom, and thus in the joy of their heart; therefore these same words mean that the angels had joy because of the light and wisdom which they then possessed.
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