677. And the rest became afraid.- This signifies the disturbance of mind and turning away of those who were in some degree spiritual as is clear from the signification of "the rest," as denoting those who were not merely external and natural, but also in some degree internal and spiritual, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of being afraid, as denoting to be disturbed in mind, and to turn away from those who were merely natural, and consequently in mere falsities and evils; that to be afraid signifies that disturbance and turning away will be seen below.
[2] First something shall be said concerning those who are meant by the rest that became afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven, as being not merely natural, but also in some degree spiritual. For those who are merely natural, are not disturbed by the influx of falsities and evils from hell when the truths of good which were with them in their externals are taken away, still less do they turn themselves away; for the thought and will proper to them, which have been interiorly concealed in them, consist merely of falsities and evils therefrom, and of evils and falsities therefrom, when, therefore, they are in these, then they become enraged against truths and goods, and thus eagerly desire to destroy them. This is the reason why the evil, when they are no longer in externals, are not afraid of evils and falsities, or even of hell; for these things belong to their love, and consequently they are the delights of their life. But not so with those who are spiritual; they are disturbed in mind and become afraid when infested by evils and falsities, which happens when they are among the evil; for they stand in fear of the loss of their spiritual life, on account of which they are disturbed in mind and alarmed, and pray to the Lord for aid, and turn themselves away from the evil.
[3] When societies, in the spiritual world, are purified, which takes place as often as the evil, especially hypocrites, have insinuated themselves into them, and mingled themselves with the good there - and the signs of their presence are darkening of the understanding, deprivation of the perception of good, a dulness of affection for truth, and similar things - then influx is let in from hell, at which the evil rejoice, but the good are disturbed in mind, and turn themselves away. Thus there is a separation, and those who have become afraid and who turn themselves away, are preserved, but the rest are cast out. From these things it is evident why it is said, that some become afraid, and why this signifies the disturbance of mind and the turning away of those who are in some degree spiritual.
[4] In the Word "they became afraid," "they were dismayed," and similar expressions, are often used both of the good and the evil; and fear and dismay signify a disturbed and changed state of mind resulting from an imminent or manifest danger to life; but this is one thing with the good and another with the evil. With the good it is a disturbance of mind, and change of state, resulting from an imminent and manifest danger to the soul, but with the evil it arises from an imminent and manifest danger to the bodily life. The reason of this is, that the good regard the life of the soul as the chief and final thing, and not that of the body, but the evil regard the life of the body as the chief and final thing, and not that of the soul. Indeed, they do not in their heart believe the latter, and those who do believe, still love only the things which belong to the body, such as appetites, and pleasures of various kinds; but with the good the contrary is the case.
[5] In order that it may be known, that to be afraid, to be dismayed, to dread, and similar expressions, signify to be disturbed in mind from a change of the state of the interiors, I will cite some passages from the Word by way of confirmation.
In David:
"My heart trembleth in the midst of me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me, fear and trembling came upon me, and horror hath covered me" (Psalm 55:4, 5).
This is said of temptations, in which evils and falsities burst in from hell, and inspire terror in regard to damnation for, as said above, the good become afraid and tremble on account of dangers which threaten the soul, thus on account of the bursting in of evils into the thoughts and intentions of the will. There are, therefore, various disturbances of the mind, which, in particular, are signified by trembling of the heart, terrors of death, fear, shaking, and horror, which are there mentioned according to the order in which they succeed.
[6] In Isaiah:
"The isles saw and shook (tremuerunt), the ends of the earth trembled, they drew near and came" (41:5).
This is said of the coming of the Lord; and by the isles and the ends of the earth are meant the nations which are remote from the truths of the church, and by their fear (timor) and trembling are signified disturbances of mind arising from the dread of perishing.
[7] In Ezekiel:
"All hands are relaxed, and all knees go into waters, whence they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, terror shall cover them, and shame shall be upon all faces, they shall cast their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be an abomination" (7:17-19).
Here also the coming of the Lord is treated of, and these things are said of it; various disturbances of the mind arising from grief on account of evils, and from joy on account of goods, are described by various effects of fear and grief, as by the hands being relaxed, the knees going into waters, terror covering them, and shame upon all faces, by which are signified, not only various disturbances of the mind, and changes of state of the life, but also the turning away from falsities and evils. For the falsities which they will reject are signified by the silver which they shall cast into the streets, and the evils by the gold which shall be an abomination; by all knees going into waters is signified grief on account of the loss of the good of love, and joy that it is now recovered, the knees signifying the love of good, and to go into the waters signifying to weep.
[8] That the holy tremor which seizes upon, agitates and convulses the interior parts of the head, when the Divine inflows and fills them, is also called fear, terror, and dread, is evident from the following passages.
In Luke:
When Zacharias saw the angel, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him, and the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zacharias" (1:12, 13);
similarly when the virgin Mary saw the angel (1:29, 30).
When the angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, "they were afraid with a great fear, but the angel said to them, Fear not, behold, I proclaim unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (2:9, 10).
When Jesus was transfigured and seen in glory, it is said that Peter, James, and John, became afraid when they entered into the cloud (9:34); and that when they heard the voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son," they fell upon their faces and feared exceedingly; "but Jesus drew near and touched them, saying, Arise, fear not" (Matthew 17:5-7; Mark. 9:6). When the Lord healed the palsied man, it is said, that fear came upon them all, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen wonderful things to-day" (Luke 5:26). And when the Lord raised to life the dead young man of Nain, it is said, that fear seized them all, and they praised God (Luke 7:16). Similarly here in the Apocalypse, it is said, "That they became afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven." Moreover, when the women entered into the tomb, they saw an angel sitting at the right side, clothed in a white robe; and they were terrified (Mark 16:5); and when the women departed from the tomb, they were seized with fear, trembling, and amazement, and at the same time with great joy, and they told no one, because they were afraid, therefore Jesus said to them, Fear not, tell the brethren (Matthew 28:8, 10; Mark 16:8). The two disciples going to Emmaus, said unto Jesus, "Certain women made us afraid" (Luke 24:22). From these passages it can be inferred that terror and dread, in the Word, mean various disturbances of mind arising from the influx of such things as cause amazement, connected also with joy.
[9] Again, terror, in the spiritual sense, signifies terror on account of evils and falsities, which are from hell, for these terrify the spiritual man, because they are opposed to goods and truths, which the spiritual man loves, and the loss of which he fears. In this sense terror is mentioned in many passages in the Word.
In Isaiah:
"About the time of evening behold terror; before the morning it is not" (17:14).
Evening signifies the last time of the church, when there are mere evils and falsities; these are called terror, because they are hell. But the morning signifies the first time of the church, when there are no evils and falsities, therefore it is said, before the morning the terror is not.
In Jeremiah:
"Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, and be not afraid, O Israel, for behold, I keep thee from afar; Jacob shall be tranquil, and at rest, none terrifying" (30:10).
And in Zephaniah:
"The remnant of Israel shall feed and be at rest, none making afraid" (3:13).
By Jacob and Israel are meant those who are in goods and truths within the church; and by none terrifying and making afraid is signified that nothing of evil and of falsity from hell shall infest them. In many other passages the meaning is similar. But what is signified in the spiritual sense by fearing God, will be shewn in the explanation of the eighteenth verse of this chapter.
