44. [verse 13] 'And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the SON OF MAN' signifies the Lord as to the Word, from Whom that Church [will be]. From the Word it is known that the Lord called Himself 'SON OF GOD' and also 'SON OF MAN'. That by 'Son of God' He meant Himself as to the Divine Human, and by 'Son of Man' Himself as to the Word, has been fully demonstrated in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE LORD (n. 19-28); and since it has there been fully confirmed out of the Word, it is unnecessary to confirm it further here. Now, since the Lord in the presence of John represented Himself as the Word, therefore, as seen by him, He is called the SON OF MAN. He represented Himself as the Word, because the New Church is treated of, which is a Church out of the Word and in accordance with the understanding of it. That the Church is out of the Word and that it is of such a quality as is its understanding of the Word, may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE (n. 76-79). Since the Church is a Church from the Lord by means of the Word, therefore the SON OF MAN was seen in the midst of the lampstands. 'In the midst' signifies in the inmost, out of which the things that are around, or are outside, draw their essence, here their light or intelligence. That the inmost is the all in the things that are around or outside has been shown many times in ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM; it is as a light and flame in the midst out of which all the surroundings shine and glow. [2] 'In the midst' has a similar significance in the following passages in the Word:-
Cry out and shout, O inhabitress of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee Isa. xii 6.
God is my King working salvation in the midst of the land Ps. lxxiv 12.
God working mercy in the midst of the temple Ps. xlviii 9.
God stands in the congregation of God, He will judge in the midst of the gods Ps. lxxxii 1.
They are called 'gods' who are in Divine truths from the Lord, and abstractly, the truths themselves.
Behold, I send an Angel before thee; beware of His faces, since My Name is in the midst of Him Exod. xxiii 20, 21.
The 'Name' of Jehovah is all the Divine, 'in the midst' is in the inmost, and thence in all of it. 'The midst' also signifies the inmost, and all thence, in many other passages in the Word, even where evils are treated of, as Isa. xxiv 13; Jer. xxiii 9; Ps. v 9 [H.B. 10]; Jer. ix 5, 6 [H.B. 4, 5]; Ps. xxxvi 1 [H.B. 2], lv 4 [H.B. 5], lxii 4 [H.B. 5]. These passages are adduced so that it may be known that 'in the midst of the lampstands' signifies in the inmost, from which the Church and everything of it [exists], for the Church and everything of it is from the Lord by means of the Word. That 'the lampstands' signify the New Church may be seen just above (n. 43).
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