533. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 9.

1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth; and there was given unto him the key of the pit of the abyss.

2. And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke ¹ of a great furnace; and the sun was darkened, and the air, by the smoke of the pit.

3. And out of the smoke there went forth locusts on the earth; and there was given unto them power as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4. And it was said to them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but the men only that have not the seal of God on their foreheads.

5. And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should torment them five months; and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when it striketh a man.

6. And in those days shall men seek death and shall not find it; and they shall long to die and death shall flee from them.

7. And the likenesses of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle; and upon their heads as it were crowns like gold, and their faces as men's faces.

8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as those of lions.

9. And they had breastplates as iron breastplates; and the voice of their wings was as the voice of chariots of many horses running into battle.

10. And they had tails like scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months.

11. And they had over them a king, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew Abaddon, and in Greek he hath the name Apollyon.

12. One woe is past; behold there come yet two woes after this.

13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.

14. Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates.

15. And the four angels were loosed that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men.

16. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two myriads of myriads; and I heard the number of them.

17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those that sat on them, having breastplates fiery and hyacinthine and brimstone-like; and the heads of the horses as the beads of lions; and out of their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and brimstone.

18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone that proceeded out of their mouths.

19. For their power was in their mouth, for their tails were like serpents and had heads, and with them do they hurt.

20. And the rest of men who were not killed in these plagues, and repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not adore demons and idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

21. And repented not of their murders nor of their enchantments nor of their whoredoms nor of their thefts.

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536. And there was given unto him the key of the pit of the abyss, signifies communication and conjunction with the hells. This is evident from the signification of "key," which is opening (of which presently); and from the signification of "the pit of the abyss," as meaning the hells where and from which are the falsities of evil (of which in the following articles). It is said that the key of the pit of the abyss was given to "the star from heaven fallen unto the earth," because the "star" signifies the knowledges of truth from the Word falsified by application to evils and falsities therefrom; and the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil that are with man open the hells where there are like evils and falsities. But what is meant by opening the hells will also be explained in the following article, for immediately it is said, "and he opened the pit of the abyss."

[2] It is from the appearance in the spiritual world that a "key" signifies opening; in that world there are houses and chambers, there are doors through which there is entrance, and locks and keys by which they are opened, and every one of these things signifies such things as are with man. The house itself corresponds to the interiors of his disposition and mind; likewise the chambers; and the doors correspond to the communication between the interior things of the mind and disposition; and a "key" corresponds to the admission and opening from one part into another; in a word, each particular thing in a house in which angels and spirits dwell corresponds to the particular things within them. Few of the spirits know this, because few know anything about correspondences, for being in them they do not reflect upon them. It is the same as it is with men in the world; few of whom know what their affections and thoughts are, because being in them they thence do not reflect upon them, and yet they are innumerable, as can be seen from the results of mental analysis set forth by many of the learned, all which are operations of the mind. This makes clear why a "key" is mentioned, and that it signifies admission and opening.

[3] So elsewhere in the Word, as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Peter, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 16:19).

(This may be seen explained above, n. 206.) Also in Isaiah (Isaiah 22:20, 22), where the like is said of Eliakim (this, too, is explained above, n. 206.

Also in Revelation:

I have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). (Respecting this see above, n. 86.)

Again:

These things saith the Holy, the True, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no one shutteth, and shutteth and no one openeth (Revelation 3:7). (See above, n. 205, 206.)

And again:

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, and bound him a thousand years (Revelation 20:1, 2). (This will be explained hereafter.)

And in Luke:

Woe unto you lawyers! For ¹ ye take away the keys of heaven; ² ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder (Luke 11:52).

Those were called "lawyers" who searched the Scriptures and taught how their contents must be understood; and as it is by means of the Sacred Scripture or the Word that there is communication and consequent conjunction with heaven, as was said in the article just above, and as truths are what open the communication, and the goods of truth are what constitute conjunction, while truths falsified, which in themselves are the falsities of evil, are what cause disjunction, so they are said "to take away the keys of heaven," that is, that they are able by means of truths to open communication with heaven to those whom they teach; but because they perverted the Word by applications to their loves and to false principles therefrom, therefore it is said, "Ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder." From this it can be seen that "the key that opened the pit" signifies communication and conjunction with the hells by means of the falsities into which the truths of the Word are turned by those who falsify them by applying them to the evils of life and to the false principles derived therefrom.

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