Apocalypse Revealed (Whitehead) n. 882

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882. Verse 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men signifies the Lord from love speaking and declaring the glad tidings, that he himself will now be present with men in His Divine Human. This is the celestial sense of these words. The celestial angels, who are the angels of the third heaven, understand them no otherwise, for by "hearing a great voice from heaven saying" they understand the Lord from love speaking and declaring glad tidings, because no one else speaks from heaven but the Lord; for heaven is not heaven from anything proper to the angels, but from the Divine of the Lord, of which they are recipients; by "a great voice" is meant speech from love, for "great" is predicated of love (n. 656, 663). "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men" means that now the Lord is present in His Divine Human. By "the tabernacle of God" is meant the celestial church, and, in the universal sense, the Lord's celestial kingdom, and, in the highest sense, His Divine Human, see above (n. 585). The reason why the tabernacle, in the highest sense, means the Lord's Divine Human is because this is signified by "the temple," as may appear from John 2:19, 21; Mal. 3:1; Rev. 21:22; and elsewhere; the same is meant by "the tabernacle" with this difference, that by "the temple" is meant the Lord's Divine Human as to the Divine truth or the Divine wisdom, and by "the tabernacle" is meant the Lord's Divine Human as to the Divine good or the Divine love. Hence it follows, that by "behold the tabernacle of God is with men" is meant that the Lord will now be present with men in His Divine Human.


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