Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 115caverns of rocks; in a word, into the hells (see what is shown inHeaven and Hell, n. 54, 400, 410, 510, 525, 527). This turningaway and removal from the Lord is what is called spiritual death;and with such the spiritual of heaven is dead.79. And he laid his right hand upon me signifies life from him.This is evident from the signification of “right hand,” as being, inreference to the Lord, life from him (see above, n. 72). It signifieslife from him, because it immediately follows the words, “I fell athis feet as dead”; and moreover, “to touch with the hand” signifiesto communicate and transfer to another what pertains to oneself,and also to receive from another. To communicate and transfer toanother what pertains to oneself, in reference to the Lord, as here,is to communicate and transfer life such as those have who are in astate of illumination and who see and hear such things as are inheaven. This also took place with John, for he was in suchillumination when he saw and heard the things that are describedin Revelation. “To touch with the hand” is to communicate andtransfer to another, because the whole power of man is transferredfrom the body into the hands; consequently what the mind willsthat the body should do, that the arms and hands do (from this it isthat by “arms” and “hands” in the Word is signified power, seeArcana Coelestia, n. 878, 3091, 4931–4937, 6947, 7673, 10019).But this power is natural power, and communication thereby isan exertion of the bodily forces; but spiritual power is to will thegood of another, and to will to convey to another as far as possiblewhat is with oneself. This power is what “hand” in the spiritualsense signifies, and its communication and transference aresignified by “touching with the hand.”From this it can be seen what is signified by this, that the Lord,who is here called the “Son of man,” laid his right hand upon John,when John lay as dead, namely, that he communicated andtransferred to him life from himself (see above). “To touch,” and“to touch with the hand,” has a similar signification in manypassages in the Word, as in the following. In Daniel: