Apocalypse Explained # 522
522. Because they were made bitter, signifies because the truths of the Word were falsified. This is evident from the signification of "the waters in the rivers and in the fountains," as being the truths of the understanding and the truths of doctrine (of which above, n. 518; also from the signification of "bitter" and "bitterness," as being what is falsified by the mingling of truth with the falsities of evil; for "bitter" here means the bitter of wormwood, and "wormwood" by reason of its bitterness signifies truth mixed with the falsity of evil, thus truth falsified (of which above, n. 519. "Bitter" signifies in the Word what is undelightful, but one kind of undelightfulness is signified by the bitter from wormwood, another by the bitter from gall, another by the bitter of hemlock, another by the bitter from unripe fruit, another by the bitter that is neither from herbs nor fruit; this bitter signifies grief of mind and anxiety from various causes.
[2] This makes evident the signification of "bitterness" in the following passages. In Isaiah:
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Woe unto the mighty in drinking wine, and unto men of strength in mingling strong drink (Isaiah 5:20, 22).
In the same:
The new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish, all the glad of heart shall sigh. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it (Isaiah 24:7, 9).
In Moses:
That the waters in Marah, which they were not able to drink because of their bitterness, were healed by the wood that was cast into them (Exodus 15:23-25);
That at the time of the Passover they ate unleavened bread with bitter herbs (Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11).
In the same:
That the waters of the curse should be given to a wife accused by her husband of adultery, and if she was guilty these waters would become bitternesses in her, and her belly would swell and her thigh would fall in (Numbers 5:12-29).
In Revelation:
The little book that the prophet ate by command was in his mouth sweet like honey, but the belly was made bitter by it (Revelation 10:9, 10).
So in other passages. But here, where it is said that "many men died of the waters because they were made bitter," the bitter of wormwood is meant, and the signification of this bitterness has been explained just before.
Numbers 5:12-29
12
"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: 'If any man's wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him,
13
and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and is kept close, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, and she isn't taken in the act;
14
and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she isn't defiled:
15
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
16
The priest shall bring her near, and set her before Yahweh;
17
and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water.
18
The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
19
The priest shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, "If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.
20
But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband:"
21
then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, "Yahweh make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Yahweh allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell;
22
and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away." The woman shall say, "Amen, Amen."
23
"'The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness.
24
He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
25
The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar.
26
The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27
When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled, and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away: and the woman will be a curse among her people.
28
If the woman isn't defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29
"'This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled;
