437. Et la voix de leurs ailes, comme une voix de chariots à plusieurs de chevaux courant en guerre, signifie leurs raisonnements comme provenant des vrais de la doctrine d'après la Parole, pleinement compris, pour lesquels il faut combattre avec ardeur. La voix des ailes signifie les raisonnements, parce que voler signifie percevoir et instruire, Nos. 245, 415 ; les chariots signifient les doctrinaux, comme on va le voir ; les chevaux signifient l'entendement de la Parole, No. 298, et beaucoup de chevaux l'entendement complet ; que courir en guerre signifie l'ardeur de combattre, cela est évident. Que le chariot signifie la doctrine, on le voit par ces passages :

— « Les chars de dieu sont par doubles myriades, milliers d'anges de paix, le Seigneur en eux. » — Psaumes 68:18.

— « Jéhovah qui fait des nuées ses chars, qui marche sur les ailes du vent. » — Psaumes 104:2-3.

— « Jéhovah! tu chevauches sur tes chevaux, tes chars (sont) le salut. » — Habacuc 3:8.

— « Voici, Jéhovah dans le feu viendra, et comme la tempête (seront) ses chars. » — Ésaïe 66:15.

— « Vous serez rassasiés, sur ma table, de cheval et de char ; ainsi je donnerai ma gloire parmi les nations. » — Ézéchiel 39:20.

— « Je retrancherai le char hors d'Éphraïm, et le cheval hors de Jérusalem. » — Zacharie 9:10.

— « Je renverserai le trône des Royaumes, je renverserai le char, et ceux qui le montent. » — Haggée 2:22.

— « Pose la sentinelle ; ce qu'elle verra, qu'elle l'annonce ; et elle vit char, paire de cavaliers, char à chameau, et char d'homme ; et elle dit : Elle est tombée, elle est tombée, Babel. » — Ésaïe 21:6-7, 9.

— Comme Élie et Elisée représentaient le Seigneur quant à la Parole, et par suite signifiaient la doctrine tirée de la Parole, de même que tous les Prophètes, No. 8, c'est pour cela qu'ils sont appelés chars d'Israël et ses cavaliers ; et c'est pour cela qu'Élie fut vu enlevé au Ciel dans un char de peu, et que des chars et des chevaux de feu furent vus autour d'Elisée par son serviteur, — 2 Rois 2:11-12 ; 6:17, 13:14 ; — outre plusieurs autres passages où il est parlé de Chars ; par exemple, — Ésaïe 31:1 ; 37:24 ; 66:20. Jérémie 17:25 ; 22:4 ; 46:2, 3, 8, 9 ; 50:37-38 ; 51:20-21 ; Ézéchiel 26:7-8, 10-11 ; Daniel 11:40 ; Nahum 3:1, 2, 3 ; Joël 2:3-5.

54. What is meant by Babylon and what it is like. Babylon means all who wish to have power over others by means of religious belief. This is gaining control over people's souls, and so over their spiritual life itself, using as means the Divine elements in their religion. All those who aim at power using religion as a means are called collectively Babylon. The reason why the name of Babylon is applied to them is that in ancient times such control began, but was destroyed as soon as it started. Its beginning is described by the city and tower which had its top in heaven; its destruction by the confusion of speech; hence its name was Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). The meaning of these details in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word may be seen explained in ARCANA COELESTIA 1283-1328.

[2] Another such attempt at control was begun and set up in Babel, as is clear from the passage of Daniel which tells of Nebuchadnezzar setting up an image which all were to worship (Daniel 3). It is also meant by Belshazzar drinking with his nobles from the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from the temple at Jerusalem; and at the same time worshipping gods of gold, silver, copper and iron. Therefore it was written on the wall, He has numbered, weighed and divided. And the king was killed that same night (Daniel 5). The vessels of gold and silver from the temple at Jerusalem mean the kinds of good and truth possessed by the church; drinking from them, and at the same time worshipping gods of gold, silver, copper and iron means profaning them. The writing on the wall and the king's death mean visitation and destruction with which those were threatened who used Divine forms of good and truth as means.

[3] There are numerous descriptions in the Prophets of what the people called Babylon are like, as in Isaiah:

You are to bring out this parable about the king of Babylon. Jehovah has broken the rod of the irreligious, the sceptre of the rulers. You, Lucifer, have fallen from heaven, you are cut down right to the ground. You said in your mind, I will climb the heavens, above the stars of God I shall set my throne on high, and I shall sit on the mountain of meeting, on the north side; I shall become like the Most High. Yet will you be brought down to hell, beside the pit. I will cut off the name of Babylon and what is left of her, and make her a possession inherited by the vulture. ¹ Isaiah 14:4-5, 12-15, 22-23.

Elsewhere in the same book:

The lion said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon and cast down are all the graven images of her gods. Isaiah 21:9.

See further in Isaiah chapter Isaiah 47, chapter Isaiah 48:14-20; and in Jeremiah chapter 50:1-3. This makes it plain what Babylon is.

[4] It needs to be known that a church becomes Babylon when charity and faith cease to exist and self-love begins to reign in their stead. This love rushes as fast as it is given its head, not only to exercise control over all on earth it can make its subjects, but even over heaven. Nor does it rest there; it climbs as far as the throne of God and takes His Divine power for itself. The passages quoted from the Word prove that this also happened before the Lord's coming. But that Babylon was destroyed by the Lord when He was in the world, both by their becoming utter idolaters and by the last judgment upon them at that time in the spiritual world. This is meant by the passages in the Prophets about Lucifer, who is there Babylon, being cast down to hell, and the fall of Babylon; and also by the writing on the wall and by the death of Belshazzar; and by the stone hewn from the rock which destroyed the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream [Daniel 2:33-34].

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