18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
-Exodus 20:18-21 Bible, King James Version (KJV)19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com
8917. And when the people saw, they quaked... This signifies the tremor which there is when Divine truths are received...
8918. And they stood afar off... This signifies remoteness from internal things... Heaven is nearer to the Divine than the world, because in heaven the Divine of the Lord reigns, and is the all in all. As further regards the signification of "afar off," be it known that in the spiritual sense "afar off" has no reference to space, but to the Divine, thus to good and truth. Distance from the very good itself which proceeds from the Divine, causes the appearance of distance in heaven. The angelic societies there appear distinct and even remote from one another; but as already said this idea of space comes from distance from the good and truth which are from the Divine of the Lord. This must needs appear a paradox, nay, absurd, to many in the world... Nevertheless the angels in heaven think absolutely without any idea of time and space, and with such fullness that in intelligence and wisdom their thoughts surpass the thoughts of man thousands, nay, myriads of times; and, wonderful to say, if there occurs to them an idea derived from time and space, shade and thick darkness at once come to their minds, because they then fall from the light of heaven into the light of nature, which to them is thick darkness. [2] (That there are no spaces and times in the other life, but states; or that the appearances of spaces and times arise from the variations of state in respect to good and truth, see n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381.) From this then it is evident what "standing afar off" signifies in the spiritual sense, namely, remoteness from heaven where the Divine is; here, remoteness from internal things, because... it was in external things only, and it made everything of Divine worship to consist in these... [3] "Afar off" signifies remoteness from good and truth, which are from the Divine, thus remoteness from internal things, also in the following passages. In Luke: In hell the rich man lifting up his eyes saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Abraham said to him, Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; that those who would pass over from hence to you cannot; neither can those who are there pass over to us (Luke 16:23, 26). By "Abraham" is not meant Abraham... but in the supreme sense the Lord, and in the relative sense those in heaven who are in the good of love and faith in the Lord (n. 1834, 1876, 1965, 1989, 2011, 3245, 3305, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6894). They who are in hell are said to "see those who are in heaven afar off," because they are in a state most remote from good and truth. The "great gulf" between them denotes the remoteness itself from good, which also gives the appearance of an intervening gulf. [4] They who think from an idea of space, as do all men in the world, perceive no otherwise than that hell is far distant from man, and that heaven is so too. But the case is otherwise. Hell and heaven are near to man, yea, in man; hell in an evil man, and heaven in a good man. Moreover everyone comes after death into that hell or into that heaven in which he has been while in the world. But the state is then changed; the hell which was not perceived in the world becomes perceptible, and the heaven which was not perceived in the world becomes perceptible; the heaven full of all happiness, and the hell of all unhappiness. That heaven is within us, the Lord teaches in Luke: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21)...
8920. Speak thou with us, and we will hear... This signifies the reception of truth in an accommodated form which so they would obey... [2] As regards truth in an accommodated form, be it known that when truth Divine descends through the heavens to men, as the Word has descended, it is on the way accommodated to all, both to those who are in the heavens, and to those who are on the earth. But truth Divine is in quite a different form in the heavens from what it is in the world. In the heavens it is such as is the internal sense of the Word; in the world it is such as is its sense in the letter. Nay, in the heavens themselves it is in diverse forms, in one form in the inmost or third heaven, in another form in the middle or second heaven, and in still another in the first or [outermost] heaven. The form of truth Divine, that is, the perception, thought, and utterance of it, in the inmost or third heaven, so transcends that in the middle or second heaven, that in this heaven it cannot be apprehended, it is so Divine and exalted; for it contains innumerable things that cannot be uttered in the second heaven; it consists of mere changes of state in respect to the affections of love. But the form of truth Divine in the middle or second heaven transcends in like manner that in the first or [outermost] heaven, and still more the form of truth Divine in the world. Hence it is that the things which are uttered in those heavens are such as no human mind has ever perceived, nor any ear heard, as those know from experience who have been raised into heaven. [3] They who do not know this believe that in the heavens they think no otherwise and speak no otherwise than on the earth; but this they believe because they do not know that the interiors of man are in a more exalted state than his exteriors, and that the thought and speech of those who are in the heavens is celestial and spiritual, but of those who are on the earth it is natural, the difference between which is so great that it cannot be described in words (but concerning these kinds of speech, see n. 1634-1650, 1757-1759, 1876, 2157, 2472, 2476, 3342-3345, 4104, 4609, 5225, 5287, 6040, 6982, 7002, 7089, 7131, 7191, 7381, 8343, 8733, 8734). [4] From all this it is also evident that unless truth Divine or the Word were presented in an accommodated form, it could not be apprehended; for if it were in a more exalted form than the state of perception, it would not fall into the understanding, thus not into the faith. Hence it is that truth Divine was given to man such as is the Word in the letter...
8927. And the people stood afar off...This signifies remoteness from internal truths...
8928. And Moses came near unto the thick darkness where God was... This signifies the conjunction still of the truth of spiritual good with truth Divine... the signification of "thick darkness," as being truth Divine relatively to those who are of the spiritual church, also relatively to that people which Moses was in charge of as their leader. That truth Divine is thick darkness to that church and that people, is because they are not in any light in respect to truths Divine. [2] In the first place, those who are of the spiritual church believe that they are in light; but that they are in obscurity, nay, in thick darkness, in respect to truth Divine, is evident from the fact that they do not know from any internal perception that what the church says is true, but merely from the fact that the church says so...; and he who is not in any internal perception concerning truth Divine is in thick darkness, or what is the same thing, to him Divine truth is thick darkness... [3] To take another example: they who are of the spiritual church say that faith is the only means of salvation, even without charity and its goods. This they believe because the church says so... From this also it is plain in what obscurity, or in what thick darkness, the spiritual church is. And because they are in this thick darkness they divide the church into as many churches as there are diverse doctrines concerning the truths of faith; which they would not do if they were in light... [4] Another reason why Moses is said to have entered into thick darkness when he came near unto God, is that Moses as a leader represented the Israelitish and Jewish people, which was in such thick darkness concerning internal truths as to be wholly ignorant of them, for they made everything of worship and everything Divine to consist in external things. This is the reason why to them the Divine was thick darkness; for it is known to everyone that the Divine is never in darkness, but in light, for the Divine is light itself; and therefore when it is called "thick darkness" it is relatively to those who are in no light, for unto such the Divine truths make the light of heaven appear no otherwise; because they are not believed, and are even denied. And the Divine appears unto everyone according to the quality of his life and faith, consequently as light to those who are in light, and as thick darkness to those who are in thick darkness. (That the Israelitish and Jewish people was of such a quality, see n. 3479, 3769, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4433, 4680, 4825, 4832, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4903, 6304; also that the Lord appeared unto them upon Mount Sinai in smoke, in a cloud, and in thick darkness, in accordance with their quality, n. 1891, 6832, 8814, 8819.)
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