446. Who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind. This symbolizes their being in a perpetual effort to take away spiritual light and life from the people of the church.

To be prepared means, symbolically, to be in the effort to do something. For the hour, day, month and year means, symbolically, continually and perpetually, the same meaning as for all time. To kill means, symbolically, to take away spiritual light and life from people of the church (no. 325). And a third symbolically means all (no. 400).