Revelation 4
1
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will shew thee the things which must take place after these things.
2
Immediately I became in [the] Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in the heaven, and upon the throne one sitting,
3
and he [that was] sitting like in appearance to a stone [of] jasper and a sardius, and a rainbow round the throne like in appearance to an emerald.
4
And round the throne twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones twenty-four elders sitting, clothed with white garments; and on their heads golden crowns.
5
And out of the throne go forth lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and seven lamps of fire, burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
6
and before the throne, as a glass sea, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, four living creatures, full of eyes, before and behind;
7
and the first living creature like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature having the face as of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.
8
And the four living creatures, each one of them having respectively six wings; round and within they are full of eyes; and they cease not day and night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.
9
And when the living creatures shall give glory and honour and thanksgiving to him that sits upon the throne, who lives to the ages of ages,
10
the twenty-four elders shall fall before him that sits upon the throne, and do homage to him that lives to the ages of ages; and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11
Thou art worthy, O our Lord and [our] God, to receive glory and honour and power; for *thou* hast created all things, and for thy will they were, and they have been created.
Arcana Coelestia # 1283
1283. THE INTERNAL SENSE
The subject now is the Ancient Church in general and the fact that its internal worship in process of time was falsified and adulterated; and so as a consequence was its external worship, for the character of external worship depends on that of internal. The falsification and adulteration of internal worship is meant here by Babel. The fact that the historical events mentioned up to now, apart from those concerning Eber, are not true but made-up may also be seen from the details given in this chapter concerning the tower of Babel - men set out to build a tower whose head was in heaven; their lips were confused so that no one could hear another; it was Jehovah who confused them in this way. This fact may also be seen from the assertion that this was the origin of Babel and yet verse 10 of the previous chapter says that Babel was built by Nimrod. From this it is also clear that Babel does not mean a city, but some real thing, and that here it means worship whose interior features are not holy though its external appear so.
