474. [verse 5] 'And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and the land lifted up his hand into heaven [verse 6] and swore by the One living for ages of ages' signifies the Lord's attestation and testification by His Very Self. By 'the angel standing upon the sea and land' is understood the Lord (n. 470); by 'to lift up the hand into heaven' is signified the attestation 'that time shall not be any more' (verse 6); by 'to swear' is signified the testification that 'in the days of the voice of the seventh angel the mystery of God shall be accomplished' (verse 7); by 'the One living for ages of ages' is understood the Lord Himself, as above (chaps. i 18; iv 9, 10; v 14) [and] Dan. iv 34. That the Lord testifies by His Very Self will be seen presently. In consequence of these things it is plain that by these words 'And the angel, whom I saw standing upon sea and land, lifted up his hand into heaven and swore by the One living for ages of ages' is signified the Lord's attestation and testification by His Very Self. [2] That Jehovah swears, that is, testifies by His Very Self is plain from these places:-
By Me have I sworn, there has gone forth out of My mouth the word that shall not be called back Isa. xlv 23.
By Me have I sworn that this house is going to become a desolation Jer. xxii 5.
Jehovah has sworn by His Soul Jer. li 14; Amos vi 8.
Jehovah has sworn by His Holiness Amos iv 2.
Jehovah has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength Isa. lxii 8.
Behold I have sworn by My great Name Jer. xliv 26.
That Jehovah, that is, the Lord, 'swears by His Very Self' signifies that Divine Truth testifies, for He is the Divine Truth Itself and this testifies from itself and by itself. Besides which, it may be seen that 'Jehovah has sworn' (Isa. xiv 24; liv 9; Psalms lxxxix 3, 35 [H.B. 4, 36]; xcv 11; cx 4; cxxxii 11). It is said that 'Jehovah has sworn' because the Church instituted with the sons of Israel was a representative Church, and consequently it represented the Lord's conjunction with the Church by a covenant such as is made between two who swear to their contract; and therefore because there was an oath of the covenant it is said that 'Jehovah has sworn'. By this, however, is not understood that He has sworn, but that Divine Truth testifies it. [3] That the oath was [part] of the covenant, is plain from these passages:-
I have sworn unto thee, and entered into a covenant so that thou couldst be Mine Ezek. xvi 8.
For the remembering of the covenant, the oath that He has sworn Luke i 72, 73.
[Also] Ps. cv 9; Jer. xi 5; xxxii 22; Deut. i 34, 35; x 11; xi 9, 21; xxvi 3, 15; xxxi 20; xxxiv 4. Because the covenant was a representative of the Lord's conjunction with the Church, and reciprocally of the Church with the Lord, and the oath was [part] of the covenant, and the oath was derived from a thing true in itself, thus also by that means, therefore the sons of Israel had permission to swear by Jehovah, and thus by the Divine Truth (Exod. xx 7; Lev. xix 12; Deut. vi 13; x 20; Isa. xlviii 1; lxv 16; Jer. iv 2; Zech. v 4); but after the representatives of the Church were done away with, oaths of a covenant were also done away with by the Lord (Matt. v 33-37; xxiii 16-22).
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