2446. That “brimstone” denotes the hell of the evils of the love of self, and “fire” the hell of the falsities thence derived, is evident from the signification in the Word of “brimstone” and the “fire” from it, as being the love of self with its cupidities and the derivative falsities, thus as being hell, for hell consists of such things. That “brimstone” and “fire” have this signification is evident in David:

Jehovah shall rain upon the wicked snares, fire, and brimstone (Psalms 11:6).

That fire and brimstone are not here meant, but something else that is signified by “fire and brimstone,” is evident also from its being said that Jehovah “rains snares.”

In Ezekiel:

I will contend against him with pestilence and with blood, and I will make it rain an overflowing rain, and hailstones, fire and brimstone, upon him, and upon his troops, and upon the many peoples that are with him (Ezekiel 38:22); where God is treated of, who lays waste the land of Israel, that is, the church. (The signification of “God” may be seen above, n. 1151.) “Fire” denotes falsities, “brimstone” the evils thence, and at the same time the hells of those who lay waste.

In John:

They who adored the beast were cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20);

meaning hell.

Again:

The devil was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10);

manifestly meaning hell.

Again:

The abominable, and murderers, and adulterers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8); where also “fire and brimstone” plainly denote hell.

[2] That they denote the evils of the love of self and the falsities thence derived, from which come the hells-in Isaiah:

The day of the vengeance of Jehovah, and the year of retribution in the controversy of Zion; and the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch (Isaiah 34:8-9); where “burning pitch,” here mentioned instead of “fire,” denotes dense and direful falsities and “brimstone” the evils from the love of self.

Again:

The pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of brimstone kindling in it (Isaiah 30:33);

speaking of Topheth; the “stream of kindling brimstone” denoting falsities from the evils of the love of self.

In Luke:

In the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all; even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed (Luke 17:29-30).

That it will not then rain fire and brimstone is obvious; but what is meant is that the falsities and cupidities of the love of self, which are signified by “fire and brimstone,” and which make the hells, will then predominate.

[3] That in the Word “fire” signifies cupidities, and at the same time the hells, and that in this case the “smoke” from the fire signifies the falsity thence derived, and which is in those hells, may be seen above (n. 1861); and in John:

I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat upon them, having breastplates of fire and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouth issued fire, smoke, and brimstone: by these three were the third part of men killed, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone (Revelation 9:17-18);

“fire, smoke, and brimstone” denote evils and falsities of every kind, of which as before said the hells consist.

1861. And behold a furnace of smoke and a torch of fire. That “a furnace of smoke” signifies the densest falsity, and “a torch of fire” the burning heat of cupidities, is evident from the signification of “a furnace of smoke” as being dense falsity, and from the signification of “a torch of fire” as being the burning heat of cupidities. It is said “a furnace of smoke,” because a man, especially a man of the church, who has a knowledge of the truth and still does not acknowledge, but in heart denies it, and indeed passes his life in things contrary to the truth, appears no otherwise than as a furnace of smoke-himself as the furnace, and the falsity from his hatreds as the smoke. The cupidities from which are the falsities appear as torches of fire from such a furnace, as is evident also from the representatives in the other life (described from experience, n. 814, 1528). It is cupidities of hatred, revenge, cruelties, adulteries-and still more when these are mingled with deceits-that appear and become such things.

[2] That by a “furnace,” “smoke,” and “fire” such things are signified in the Word may be seen from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Everyone is a hypocrite and a wicked one, and every mouth speaketh folly. For wickedness burneth as the fire, it devoureth the briars and thorns, and kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they mount up as the rising of smoke. In the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth is the land darkened, and the people is become like food for fire; a man shall not spare his brother (Isaiah 9:17-19).

Here “fire” denotes hatreds and “the rising of smoke” from it such falsities; hatred is described by “no man sparing his brother;” for when such men are looked upon by the angels they appear no otherwise than as here described.

[3] In Joel:

I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come (Joel 2:30-31).

Here “fire” denotes hatred; “pillars of smoke” falsities; “the sun” charity; and “the moon” faith.

[4] In Isaiah:

The land shall become burning pitch; it shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up to eternity (Isaiah 34:9-10).

“Burning pitch” denotes direful cupidities; and “smoke” falsities.

[5] In Malachi:

Behold the day cometh burning as a furnace, and all the proud and everyone that worketh wickedness shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall set them on fire, it shall leave them neither root nor branch (Malachi 4:1).

A “burning furnace” here denotes the same as before; the “root” denotes charity; the “branch” truth, which shall not be left.

[6] In Hosea:

Ephraim became guilty in Baal, he shall be as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney (Hos. 13:1, 3).

“Ephraim” denotes an intelligent man who becomes such.

[7] In Isaiah:

The strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them (Isaiah 1:31);

meaning those who are in the love of self, or what is the same, in hatred against the neighbor, in that they shall be thus kindled by their own cupidities.

In John:

Babylon is become a habitation of demons. They cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning. Her smoke goeth up for ever and ever (Revelation 18:2, 18; 19:3).

[8] In the same:

He opened the pit of the abyss, and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun was darkened, and the air, from the smoke of the pit (Revelation 9:2).

In the same:

Out of the mouths of the horses went forth fire and smoke and brimstone. By these was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, that went forth out of their mouth (Revelation 9:17-18).

In the same:

He that worshipeth the beast shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, poured out unmixed in the cup of His anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:9-10).

In the same:

The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire; and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God (Revelation 16:8-9).

In like manner it is said that

They were cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20; 20:14-15; 21:8).

[9] In these passages “fire” denotes the cupidities, and “smoke” the falsities that will reign in the last times. These things were seen by John when his interior sight was opened, just as they appear in the other life. Similar things are also seen by spirits, and by souls after death. Hence it may be seen what hell fire is, that it is nothing but hatred, revenge, and cruelty, or what is the same, the love of self; for such do these become. During his life in the body, any man of such a quality, however he might appear outwardly, if inspected closely by the angels would appear no otherwise in their eyes, that is, his hatreds would appear as torches of fire, and the falsities derived from them as furnaces of smoke.

[10] Concerning this fire the Lord thus speaks in Matthew:

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire (Matthew 3:10; Luke 3:9);

by “good fruit” is meant charity: he who deprives himself of this cuts himself down, and casts himself into such fire. Again:

The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire (Matthew 13:41-42, 50),

with a like meaning. And again:

The king saith unto those on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

[11] That they should be “sent into the eternal fire,” “the Gehenna of fire,” and that “their worm should not die, and their fire should not be quenched” (Matthew 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-49), have a like meaning.

In Luke:

Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:24),

with a like meaning.

[12] They who are not acquainted with the arcana of the Lord’s kingdom suppose that the Lord casts the wicked into hell, or into such fire, which, as before said, is that of hatreds; but the case is very different, for it is the man himself, or the diabolical spirit himself, who casts himself down. But because it so appears it has been expressed in the Word according to the appearance, and indeed according to the fallacies of the senses; and especially was this necessary in the case of the Jews, who were unwilling to accept anything at all unless it were in accordance with the senses, whatever might be the fallacies thus involved. On this account the sense of the letter, especially in the prophecies, is full of such things.

[13] As in Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah, Judge judgment in the morning, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the wickedness of their works (Jeremiah 21:12).

To “judge judgment” is to speak truth; to “deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor,” is to do the good of charity; “fire” denotes the infernal punishment of those who do not do these things, that is, who pass their lives in the falsity of hatred. In the sense of the letter such “fire” and “fury” are attributed to Jehovah, but in the internal sense it is quite the contrary.

[14] In like manner in Joel:

The day of Jehovah: a fire devoureth before Him, and behind Him a flame burneth (Joel 2:1, 3).

In David:

There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured, coals did burn from Him, and thick darkness was under His feet (Psalms 18:8-9).

In Moses:

A fire is kindled in Mine anger, and it shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall devour the earth and her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains (Deuteronomy 32:22),

where “fire” denotes the hatreds, and “smoke” the falsities which are in men, which are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord for the reasons that have been given. In the hells also the appearance is that Jehovah or the Lord does this, but it is quite the contrary; they do it to themselves, because they are in the fires of hatred. Hence it is manifest how easily a man may fall into phantasies if the internal sense of the Word is not known.

[15] It was similar with the “smoke” and “fire” that were seen by the people on Mount Sinai when the law was promulgated. For Jehovah, or the Lord, appears to everyone according to his quality-to celestial angels as a Sun, to spiritual angels as a Moon, to all the good as a Light of varied delight and pleasantness; but to the evil as a smoke and as a consuming fire. And as when the Law was promulgated, the Jews had nothing of charity, but the love of self and of the world prevailed in them, and thus nothing but evils and falsities, He therefore appeared to them as a smoke and fire, when at the same instant He appeared to the angels as the Sun and Light of heaven.

[16] That He so appeared to the Jews because they were of such a character, is evident in Moses:

The glory of Jehovah abode upon Mount Sinai, and the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the sons of Israel (Exodus 24:16-17).

Again:

And Mount Sinai was all of it smoking, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly (Exodus 19:18).

And elsewhere:

Ye came near and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire, even to the heart of heaven; darkness, cloud, and thick darkness; and Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22).

Also:

It came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain did burn with fire, that ye came near unto me, and ye said, Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more, then we shall die (Deuteronomy 5:23-25).

[17] Just so would it be with anyone else who should see the Lord, and who has passed his life in hatred and in the foul things of hatreds, for he could see Him no otherwise than from his hatred and its foulnesses, these being the recipients of the rays of good and truth from the Lord, and they would turn these rays into such fire, smoke, and thick darkness. From the same passages it is also plain what the “smoke of the furnace” is, and what the “torch of fire,” namely, the most dense falsity and most filthy evil, that would in the last times take possession of the church.