1070. And have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings one hour with the beast, signifies with those who have not thus acknowledged that the Lord's authority over heaven and earth has been transferred to man, but have ascribed Divine holiness to the Word and not to the decrees of the Pope. This is evident from the signification of "kings," as being the truths of the Word, here those two primary truths that have been treated of in the verses just preceding; also from the signification of "kingdom," as being the church, here the church called Babylon, where these two truths have been profaned; and yet those truths have not been profaned by such as are meant by "the kings that have not yet received a kingdom," but have been accepted by them. Also from the signification of "one hour," as being some part, for "hour," like times in general and in particular, signifies in the Word the thing as to the quality of its state; so here "one hour" signifies some part, and thus that these in some degree reigned with the woman the harlot. Therefore from all this there comes this meaning, that these two primary truths of the church (namely, that the Lord's authority over heaven and the church, and thus over the souls of men to save them, has been transferred to a certain man, and that the voice of the mouth of the Pope has equal power and holiness with the Word), have not been acknowledged and thus have not been profaned. That this sense is contained in these words can be seen especially from what follows, namely, that "they shall give over their authority to the beast," which signifies that Divine holiness must be attributed to the Word; also that "the Lamb shall fight with them," and "the Lamb shall overcome them," which signifies that they will acknowledge that the Lord has power to save, thus that He, and not the Pope, has dominion over heaven, the church, and the souls of men.
[2] It has been said above that there are two things that constitute the church, namely, the acknowledgment and belief that the Lord has the power to save, and that the Word is Divine; and that where these two are not acknowledged and believed there is no church; and for the reason that the Lord reforms man and gives him faith and love, and the Word teaches the way in which man must go to the Lord that he may receive faith and love from Him. Unless these two truths are recognized in a church it is not a church. But that the church in the European world might not wholly perish, it has been provided by the Lord that not only within the kingdom of Babylon, but also outside of it, there should be societies that should not make one with the Babylonians in these two primary truths, which are the pillars and the foundations of the church itself. Within Babylon there are those in the kingdom of France, and many in Holland, England, Scotland, and Ireland, who have not taken away from the Lord the power to save men, nor from the Word Divine holiness, and ascribed these to some vicar; as may appear from the contest between the Gallican Church and the Roman, which has so long continued and still continues. These are the things especially treated of in verses 12-14 of this chapter. Since outside of the kingdoms of Babylon there are churches that ascribe all power to save to the Lord, and none to the Pope, and acknowledge the Word alone to be Divine, and have wholly withdrawn from the papal dominion, and are consequently called Protestants and Reformed, so these also are treated of in this chapter. For it is of these that it is said, that "they shall hate the harlot and shall make her desolate and naked, and also shall eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire," and "shall give the kingdom to the beast" (verses 16, 17). (But of this presently.)
(Continuation respecting the Word)
[3] But as the world does not know how the words in John (John 1:1, 2, 14) that the Lord is the Word, are to be understood, this shall be further explained. It is known in the church that God is good itself and truth itself, and thus that all the good that an angel has and that a man has is from God, and likewise all truth. Now since the Lord is God, He is also the Divine good and the Divine truth; and this is what is meant by "the Word, that was with God, and was God," and also was "the light that enlighteneth every man," and that also "became flesh," that is, Man in the world. That when the Lord was in the world He was the Divine truth, which is the Word, He Himself teaches in many passages where He calls Himself "the Light," also where He calls Himself "the Way, the Truth, and the Life;" and where He says that "the Spirit of truth" proceeds from Him. "The Spirit of truth" is the Divine truth. When the Lord was transfigured He represented the Word, "His face that shone as the sun" represented its Divine good; and "His garments, which were bright as the light" and "white as snow," represented its Divine truth. "Moses and Elijah," who then talked with the Lord, also signified the Word, "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetic Word. Moreover, all things of the Lord's passion represented the kind of violence that the Jewish nation offered to the Word. Again, the Lord from Divine truth, which He is, is called "God," "King," and "Angel," and is meant by "the rock in Horeb," and "the rock" where Peter is spoken of. All this makes clear that the Lord is the Word, because He is the Divine truth. The Word in the letter, which is with us, is the Divine truth in ultimates.
