and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matt. 24:29).

And elsewhere. In these passages the "sun" signifies love, and the
"moon" faith, and the "stars" knowledges of good and truth.{1} These
are said to be darkened, to lose their light, and to fall from
heaven, when they are no more. That the Lord is seen as a sun in
heaven is evident also from His appearance when transfigured before
Peter, James, and John,

That His face did shine as the sun (Matt. 17:2).

These disciples thus saw the Lord when they were withdrawn from the
body, and were in the light of heaven. It was because of this
correspondence that the ancient people, with whom was a
representative church, turned the face to the sun in the east when
they were in Divine worship; and for the same reason they gave to
their temples an eastern aspect.

{Footnote 1} "Stars" and "constellations" in the Word signify
knowledges of good and truth (n. 2495, 2849, 4697).


120. How great the Divine love is and what it is can be seen by
comparison with the sun of the world, that it is most ardent, if you
will believe it, much more ardent than that sun. For this reason the
Lord as a sun does not flow without mediums into the heavens, but the
ardor of His love is gradually tempered on the way. These temperings
appear as radiant belts about the sun; furthermore, the angels are
veiled with a thin adapting cloud to prevent their being harmed by
the influx.{1} For this reason the heavens are more or less near in