1. The Sacred Scripture, or Word, Is Divine Truth Itself

Everyone says that the Word comes from God, is Divinely inspired, and so is holy. But even so, no one has known before this wherein the Divinity in it lies. For in its letter the Word appears as though written in the ordinary way, in a foreign style, neither as sublime or nor as lucid as writings of the present age seem to be.

As a result, a person who worships nature as God, or in preference to God, and so thinks prompted by self and his own self-interest, and not prompted by heaven in response to the Lord, may easily fall into error regarding the Word, and into scorning it, and when reading it, saying to himself, “What is this? What is that? Is this Divine? Can God, whose wisdom is infinite, speak so? Where is the holiness in it, and what makes it holy, other than some teaching of religion and so conviction?”

48. When the Lord was transfigured, He represented the Word in its glory. When the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James and John, we read that “His face shone like the sun, ” that “His garments became as white as the light, ” and that “Moses and Elijah appeared..., talking with Him.” Moreover, that “a bright cloud overshadowed” the disciples, and that they heard “a voice...out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son.... Hear Him!’ ” (Matthew 17:1-5).

I have been informed that the Lord then represented the Word. His face, which shone like the sun, represented His Divine goodness. His garments, which became as white as the light, represented His Divine truth. Moses and Elijah represented the narrative and prophetic portions of the Word — Moses the Word written by him, and in general the narrative portion of the Word, and Elijah the prophetic portion of the Word. The bright cloud that overshadowed the disciples represented the Word in its literal sense. That is why they heard a voice from it that said, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” For all utterances and answers from heaven are always made by means of outmost expressions such as are found in the Word’s literal sense, being made in fullness from the Lord.

42. Since our Word in its inmost embrace is, owing to its celestial sense, like a flame that kindles, and since in its intermediate embrace it is, owing to its spiritual sense, like a light that enlightens, therefore the Word in its outmost embrace is, owing to its natural sense and the two inner senses it contains, like a ruby and a diamond — like a ruby because of the celestial flame, and like a diamond because of the spiritual light.

Because that is the nature of the Word in its literal sense as regards its transparence, therefore the Word in that sense is meant by the foundations of the wall of Jerusalem, by the Urim and Thummim in the ephod of Aaron, by the Garden of Eden in which the King of Tyre had been; and also by the curtains and veils of the Tabernacle, and by the outer arrangements of the Temple in Jerusalem. However, it is meant in its real glory by the Lord when He was transfigured.