How shall this be, seeing I know not a man; and the angel answered, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God," Luke i. 30, 35. "The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost; and Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son," Matt. i. 20, 25. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father," John i. 1, 2, 14. "The Jews sought to kill Jesus, because he said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God: then Jesus answered, What things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise; as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will: verily I say unto you, the hour is coming, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live," John v. 18-26. "As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself," John v. 26. "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us; Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest_thou then, Show us the Father? believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me," John xiv. 6—11. "I give unto my sheep eternal life; I and my Father are one. And the Jews took up stones again to stone him, because he made himself God; and he said, I do the works of my Father, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him,' John x. 28-38. "He who seeth me, seeth Him that

sent me," John xii. 45. "All things that_the_Father hath are mine," John xvi. 15. "That the Father hath given all things into his hands," John xiii. 3. "Father, thou hast given me power over all flesh; and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent: and all mine are thine, and thine are mine," John xvii. 2, 3, 10. "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth," Matt xxviii. 18. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, and I will do it," John xiv. 13, 14. "The Spirit of Truth shall not speak of himself, but he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you," John xvi. 13, 14. "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing, "John xv. 5: besides others. There are still more in the Old Testament, some of which shall be cited: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," Isaiah ix. 6. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel-God with us," Isaiah vii. 14. "Behold the days come, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness," Jerem. xxiii. 5, 6, xxxiii. 15, 16. "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us ; this is Jehovah, we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation," Isaiah xxv. 9. "Surely God is in thee, and there is none else, there is no other God; verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour," Isaiah xlv. 14, 15. "Am not

I Jehovah, and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none else beside me," Isaiah xlv. 21, 22. "I am Jehovah, and beside me there is no Saviour," Isaiah xliii. 11. "I Jehovah am thy God, and thou shalt know no god but me, for there is no Saviour beside me," Hosea xiii. 4. "Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, thy name is from ever

lasting," Isaiah lxiii. 16. "Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no god," Isaiah xliv. 6. "Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, and alone by myself," Isaiah xliv. 24. "Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy 'God," Isaiah xlviii. 17. "Jehovah my strength and my Redeemer," Psalm xix. 14. "Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of Hosts is his name," Jerem. 1. 34. "Jehovah of Hosts in his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called," Isaiah liv. 5. "And all flesh shall know, that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob," Isaiah xlix. 26, lx. 16. "As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is his name," Isaiah xlvii. 4. "Thus saith thy Redeemer, Jehovah," Isaiah xliii. 14, xlix. 7. And in other places, as Luke i. 68, Isaiah xlii. 11, 12, lxiii. 1, 4, 9, Jerem. xv. 20, 21, Hosea xiii. 4, 14, Psalm xxxi. 5, Psalm xliv. 26, Psalm xlix. 15, Psalm lv. 18, 19, Psalm lxix. 18, Psalm lxxi. 23, Psalm ciii. 4, Psalm cvii. 2, Psalm cxxx. 7, 8. And in Zechariah, "In that day Jehovah shall be King over all the earth, in that day shall there be one Jehovah and his name one," xiv. 9. But these are only a small number.

614. "And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters," signifies, the Lord speaking through the new heaven from divine truths. By a voice from heaven is signified a voice or speech from the Lord through heaven; for when a voice is heard from heaven, it is from the Lord; here, through the new heaven of Christians, which is understood by Mount Zion, upon which the Lamb was seen standing, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, n. 612, 613; by many waters are signified divine truths, n. 50. The same is said of the Lord speaking through heaven from divine truths, in the following passages: The voice of the Son of Man was heard as the voice of many waters," Apoc. i. 15. "And a voice from the throne, as the voice of many waters," Apoc. xix. 6. "And the voice of the God of

Israel was like the voice of many waters," Ezek. xliii. 2. "The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon many waters," Psalm xxix. 3. "The noise of the wings of the cherubin was like the noise of great waters," Ezek. i. 24 by the cherubim is signified the Word, n. 239, thus divine truth, from which the Lord speaks.

615. "And as the voice of great thunders," signifies, the Lord speaking through the new heaven from divine love. That lightnings, thunderings, and voices, signify illustration, perception, and instruction, may be seen above, n. 236, and that the seven thunders, which uttered their voices, signify the Lord speaking through the universal heaven, n. 472. The Lord, when he speaks through heaven, speaks from the third heaven through the second heaven, thus from divine love through divine wisdom, for the third heaven is in his divine love, and the second heaven in his divine wisdom; the Lord never speaks otherwise when he speaks from the superior heavens; and this is what is meant by a voice as of many waters, and by a voice of great thunder; many waters are the divine truths of divine wisdom, and great thunder is the divine good of divine love.

616. "And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps," signifies, confession of the Lord from joy of heart by the spiritual angels in the inferior heavens. To strike upon the harp, signifies to confess the Lord from spiritual truths, see above, n. 276; that this proceeds from joy of heart follows of course; hence by harpers, are signified spiritual angels. The reason why angels of the inferior heavens are here denoted, is, because the voice of the Lord through the superior heavens was heard as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder, n. 614, 615. There was heard a voice of harpers striking upon harps, because sound or speech descending from the inferior heavens is sometimes heard like the sound of harps; not that they are playing upon harps, but because the voice of confession of the Lord from joy of heart is so heard below.

617." And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts and the elders," signifies, the celebration and glorification of the Lord be

fore him and before the angels of the superior heavens. By singing a new song is signified acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord, as being the alone Judge, Redeemer, and Saviour, thus the God of heaven and earth, see above, n. 279. Before the throne means before the Lord, because he alone sits upon the throne; that before the four beasts and the elders, means before the angels of the superior heavens, see n. 369; by as it were a new song, is signified the celebration and glorification of the Lord in the new Christian heaven, in the present case in particular, that he is acknowledged to be the God of heaven and earth, in like manner as in the ancient heavens ; this is implied in the expression as it were, for as it were a new song, signifies, as though it were new, when nevertheless it is not new. That the new heaven mentioned in the Apocalypse, chap. xxi. 1, is a new heaven composed of Christians, and that the former heavens consist of the ancient and most ancient people, also that the Lord is acknowledged in these heavens to be the God of heaven and earth, has been shown before.

618. "And no one could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand," signifies, that no other Christians could understand, and thereby from love and faith acknowledge, that the Lord is the only God of heaven and earth, but those who are received by the Lord into this new heaven. By this song is signified acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord, as being the God of heaven and earth, n. 279, 617; by learning is signified to perceive in one's self that it is so, which is to understand, and so to receive and acknowledge; he who learns otherwise, learns and does not learn, because he does not retain; by the hundred forty and four thousand, are meant they who acknowledge the Lord alone to be the God of heaven and earth, n. 612. The reason why no other Christians could learn this song, that is, acknowledge that the Lord is the only God of heaven and earth, is, because they have imbibed the notion from infancy, that there are three persons in the godhead, distinct from each other, for it is said in the doctrine of the Trinity, "There is one person of the Father, another of the Son,