725. 17:4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet. This symbolizes the celestial Divine good and truth contained in the Word among Roman Catholics.

Purple symbolizes celestial Divine good, and scarlet symbolizes celestial Divine truth, as will be seen presently. To be arrayed in them means, symbolically, to have these about them, thus among them. They have these among them from the Word, because the scarlet beast on which the woman was sitting symbolizes the Word (no. 723).

People know that Roman Catholics have the Divine good and truth in the Word about them, thus among them, as a kind of garment, for they venerate the Word outwardly and not inwardly. They acknowledge it, because it tells about the Lord and about His authority over heaven and the church, which they have transferred to themselves. It also tells about the keys given to Peter, whose successors they say they are. So, because they found their majesty, grandeur and power on these two points, of necessity they acknowledge the holiness of the Word. But still the Word is for them only a kind of garment of purple and scarlet, and of gold, precious stones and pearls, upon a harlot holding a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and the filthiness of her licentiousness.

[2] Since the verse mentions purple and scarlet, and then gold, precious stones and pearls, and since purple and scarlet symbolize celestial Divine good and truth, while gold and precious stones symbolize spiritual Divine good and truth, both emanating from the Word, therefore we must say something about celestial Divinity and spiritual Divinity:

The Lord's whole heaven has been divided into two kingdoms - the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom consists of angels who are impelled by love from the Lord, and the spiritual kingdom of angels who are impelled by wisdom from the Lord. Each kingdom has in it goodness and truth. The goodness and truth among angels in the celestial kingdom are symbolized by purple and scarlet, while the goodness and truth among angels in the spiritual kingdom are symbolized by gold and precious stones. Angels have both the one and the other goodness and truth from the Lord by means of the Word. Consequently the Word has in it two interior levels of meaning, one celestial and the other spiritual.

This now is the reason that the woman sitting on the scarlet beast appeared arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls.

[3] Like the symbolism of the woman here is the symbolism of the "rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day," at whose gate Lazarus lay prostrate, "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table" (Luke 16:19-21). The rich man clothed in purple and fine linen refers to the Jews, who had the Word, and Lazarus refers to the gentiles who did not have it.

Similar symbolic meanings are found in the following places:

Those who ate delicacies are devastated in the streets; those who were brought up on scarlet embrace dunghills. (Lamentations 4:5)

When you are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold..., in vain you will make yourself fair. (Jeremiah 4:30)

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury, (and) who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. (2 Samuel 1:24)

Fine embroidered linen... was what you spread...; blue and purple... was your covering. (Ezekiel 27:7)

The last is said of Tyre, which symbolizes concepts of truth and goodness from the Word.

[4] Since purple and scarlet symbolize celestial goodness and truth, therefore Aaron's vestments and the veil and curtains of the Tabernacle were woven of blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen (Exodus 25:4; 26:31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15). Regarding the curtains (Exodus 26:1). The veil before the Ark (Exodus 26:31). The hem of the robe of the ephod (Exodus 28:33). The scarlet cloth over the showbread (Numbers 4:8).

It is apparent from this what is symbolized by the purple and scarlet with which the woman sitting on the scarlet beast appeared arrayed.

So likewise in the following passage, where we read:

Alas..., the great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet..., adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches were laid waste. (Revelation 18:16-17)

Moreover, purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones and pearls were among the merchandise of Babylon (Revelation 18:12).

692. 16:9 And people were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues. This symbolically means that owing to the delight of the love of self arising from their grievous lusts for evils, they did not acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord's humanity, even though from it flows every goodness of love and truth of faith.

Heat symbolizes the lusts for evils present in self-love and its accompanying delight (nos. 382, 691). Therefore to scorch with great heat means, symbolically, to be caught up in grievous lusts and so in the delight accompanying the love. To blaspheme the name of God means, symbolically, to deny or to refuse to acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord's humanity and the holiness of the Word (nos. 571, 582). To blaspheme is to deny or to refuse to acknowledge, and the name of God is the Lord's Divine humanity and at the same time the Word (no. 584). To have power over the plagues means symbolically that from the Lord flow every goodness of love and truth of faith by which evils and falsities are removed (nos. 673, 680, 690). And because the seven angels having the seven plagues came out of the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony (Revelation 15:5-6), and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony symbolizes the inmost of heaven where the Lord is present in His holiness in the Word and in the Law contained in the Ten Commandments (no. 669), and because the influx symbolized by pouring out the plagues came from there (no. 676), it follows that God's having power over the plagues means the Lord from whom springs all else.

[2] We will briefly describe the nature of self-love. Its accompanying delight surpasses every other delight in the world, for it consists of nothing but lusts for evils, and every one of the lusts produces its own delight. Every person is born into this delight, and because it impels the person's mind to focus its thought continually on itself, it draws the mind away from thinking about God and the neighbor except from the perspective of self and with a focus on self. As a consequence, if God does not favor the person's lusts, he becomes angry with God, as he becomes angry with the neighbor who does not favor them.

As this delight grows, it causes the person to be unable to elevate his thought above himself, but instead draws it down to a level beneath him, for it immerses the mind in the inherent nature of his body. As a result the person becomes gradually sensual, and a sensual person speaks in a lofty and elevated tone about worldly and civic matters, but he can speak about God and Divine matters only from memory. If he is a politician, he acknowledges nature as responsible for creation, his own prudence as his guide, and denies God's existence. If he is a priest, he speaks about God and Divine matters from memory, even in a lofty and elevated tone; but at heart he little believes them.