1034. Verse 2. With whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom, signifies that they have falsified all the truths of the church. This is evident from the signification of "committing whoredom," as being to falsify (See n. 141, 161, 817, 881); also from the signification of "the kings of the earth," as being the truths of the church, "kings" being truths, and the "earth" the church. "Kings" are mentioned in many places in the Word, and it is supposed that kings or their kingdoms are thereby meant; but in the Word "kings" mean all who are in truths from good from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, in which is the spiritual sense, they mean truths from good. That this is the meaning of "kings" may be seen above (n. 29, 31, 553, 624, 625). This can be further seen from the following in Revelation:

Jesus Christ, the Prince of the kings of the earth, who hath made us kings and priests (Revelation 1:5-6).

Again:

The Lamb made us kings and priests, that we might reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:10; likewise Revelation 16:12, 14).

[2] Because "kings" signify truths from good, they also signify in the contrary sense falsities from evil. For most expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense. Such is the signification of "kings" in the following passages in this chapter:

The seven heads of the beast are seven kings; the five are fallen, and the one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he is come he must continue a little while (Revelation 17:10).

Also:

The ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings (Revelation 17:12).

Again:

The woman is the great city which hath kingship over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18).

So, too, in a subsequent passage, where it is said:

That the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, made war with Him that sat on the white horse (Revelation 19:19).

All this makes clear the signification of the words "the kings of the earth committed whoredom with the harlot that sitteth upon many waters," namely, that the truths of the church have been falsified by those who are of Babylon. So again in a subsequent passage, where it is said that:

The kings of the earth committed whoredom with that woman, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich from the abundance of her delicacies. The kings of the earth, who have committed whoredom and lived deliciously with her, shall weep and lament over her (Revelation 18:3, (Revelation 18:9)Revelation 18:11).

"Kings" have a like signification in Daniel:

As for the ten horns of the fourth beast, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise; and another shall arise after them, and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings (Daniel 7:24).

[3] "Kings" signify those who are in truths from good, and in an abstract sense truths from good, because the Lord is called "king" from Divine truth, and "priest" from Divine good; and therefore the heaven where Divine truth reigns is called "His throne." For the same reason angels in the heavens and men on earth who are in truths from good from the Lord are called "sons of the king," also "sons of the kingdom" and "heirs;" consequently such are meant by "kings" where the Lord is called "King of kings" (as in the fourteenth verse of this chapter, and in chapter 19 Revelation 17:17; and elsewhere (Revelation 19:16).

716. 'Sevens of each' means that they are holy. This is clear from what has been stated already in 84-87 about the seventh day or sabbath. That is to say, the Lord is the Seventh Day and from Him derives every celestial Church or man, and indeed, the celestial itself which, because it is the Lord's alone, is most holy. Consequently seven in the Word means holy; indeed in the internal sense, as here, absolutely nothing is obtained from the number itself. For people who possess the internal sense, as angels and angelic spirits do, have no concept at all of what a number is, and so do not know what seven is. Therefore the idea that they were to take seven pairs of all the clean beasts, or that the ratio of the good to the evil was to be seven to two, is not at all the meaning here. Rather it is this: Things of the will with which this member of the Church was supplied were the goods which are holy, through which, as stated already, he was capable of being regenerated.

[2] That 'seven' means that which is holy, or things that are holy, becomes clear from the rituals in the representative Church, where the number seven occurs time and again, for example, being sprinkled seven times with blood and oil, as in Leviticus,

Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything that was in it and made them holy. And he sprinkled some of it over the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels to make them holy. Leviticus 8:10-11.

Here 'seven times' would be utterly devoid of meaning if that which is holy was not being represented in this way. 'Oil' there means the holiness of love. And elsewhere in Leviticus, when Aaron entered the Holy Place,

He shall take some of the blood of the young bull, and shall sprinkle it with his finger over the face ¹ of the mercy-seat towards the east, and he shall sprinkle the face ¹ of the mercy-seat seven times with some of the blood with his finger.

Similarly with the altar,

He shall sprinkle over it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and shall cleanse it, and make it holy. Leviticus 16:14, 19.

Here every single detail means the Lord Himself, and therefore the holiness of love - that is to say, 'the blood' and also 'the mercy-seat', 'the altar' too, 'the east in which direction the blood was to be sprinkled', and so 'seven' as well, all mean the Lord.

[3] In sacrifices it is similar, about which the following is said in Leviticus,

If a soul has sinned inadvertently, and if the anointed priest has sinned, thus making the people guilty, he shall slaughter the young bull in Jehovah's presence. And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in Jehovah's presence towards the veil of the Holy Place. Leviticus 4:2-4, 6.

Here similarly 'seven' means that which is holy, for the subject is atonement, and therefore the Lord, since atonement is the Lord's alone. Similar instructions were also given concerning the cleansing of leprosy, about which the following is said in Leviticus,

[Taking some] of the bird's blood, the cedar-wood, the double-dyed scarlet, and the hyssop, the priest shall sprinkle over the one who is to be cleansed from leprosy seven times, and shall cleanse him. In a similar way some of the oil which is in his left palm, seven times in Jehovah's presence. In a similar way in a house where there is leprosy, [he shall take some] of the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, and the double-dyed scarlet, and shall sprinkle some of the bird's blood seven times. Leviticus 14:6-7, 27, 51.

Anyone may see that here cedar-wood, double-dyed scarlet, hyssop, oil, and blood of a bird, and so the number seven, would be utterly meaningless if things that are holy were not being represented by them. If you take away from them holy things, what is left is something dead, or something unholy and idolatrous. When however they do mean holy things the worship they contain in that case is a Divine worship which is internal and simply represented by things that are external. The Jews however were incapable of knowing what these meant; and neither does anyone today know what cedar-wood, hyssop, double-dyed scarlet, and the bird all mean. Yet if only they had been willing to think that these did embody holy things which they did not actually know, and so had worshipped the Lord - who was the Messiah to come who would heal them from their leprosy, that is, from profaning what is holy - they could have been saved. For people who do think and believe in this manner straightaway receive instruction in the next life, if they desire it, as to what every single detail represented.

[4] Similarly where 'the red heifer' is the subject it is said that the priest was to take some of its blood on his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood towards the face ¹ of the tent of meeting seven times, Numbers 19:4. Because 'the seventh day' or sabbath meant the Lord, and from Him meant the celestial man and the celestial itself, the seventh day in the Jewish Church was the holiest of all its religious observances. For this reason there was a sabbath year ² every seventh year, Leviticus 25:4. Also a jubilee was to be proclaimed after seven sabbaths of years, that is, after seven times seven years, Leviticus 25:8-9. In the highest sense the number seven means the Lord, and from this the holiness of love. This becomes clear also from the golden lampstand with its seven lamps, mentioned in Exodus 25:31-33, 37; 37:17-19, 23; Numbers 8:2-3; Zechariah 4:2. And in John it is spoken of as follows,

Seven golden lampstands; in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. Revelation 1:12-13.

Here it is absolutely clear that 'a lampstand with seven lamps' means the Lord, and that 'the lamps' are the holy things of love, which comprise celestial things, which also is why there were seven of them.

[5] In the same author,

From the throne there were coming forth seven fiery torches burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5.

Here 'the seven torches which came forth from the Lord's throne' are seven lamps. The same applies to the number seven when it occurs in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt of His people. Isaiah 30:26.

Here 'sevenfold light as the light of seven days' does not at all mean sevenfold but the holiness of love meant by the sun. See also what has been stated and shown already at Genesis 4:15 concerning the number seven. From these quotations it is also quite clear that all numbers used in the Word never have a numerical value [in the internal sense], as has also been shown already at Genesis 6:3.

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