505. And they were cast upon the earth.- That this signifies progression towards the lower parts, where also the evil were, is evident from the signification of being cast upon the earth, said in reference to the hail and fire mingled with blood, for this took place when the first angel sounded, as denoting to proceed towards the lower parts, where the evil were gathered together, with whom also were some of the good. That progression towards the lower parts is signified, is because the changes and desolations, signified by the third part of the trees and all the green grass being burnt up, took place progressively towards the lower parts where the evil were, as stated above. The reason why these lower parts are here meant by the earth is, that those things were seen by John when he was in the spirit, that is, when he was in the spiritual world. For a man's spirit when its sight is opened to him, sees those things which are in the spiritual world, where there are mountains, hills, and valleys; there upon the mountains and hills are the angelic heavens, but those who have not yet been taken up into heaven are in the valleys below, where therefore the evil mingled with the good were at this time; therefore those valleys, which were below the mountains and hills, are here meant by the earth. Consequently by being cast upon the earth, signifies out of the heavens towards the lower parts. But when mountains, hills, and valleys, taken together, are called earths, then "earth" signifies the church there.

566. Hellfire and Gnashing of Teeth

Until now, hardly anyone has known the meaning of the eternal fire and gnashing of teeth ascribed to people in hell in the Word. This is because people think materialistically about statements in the Word, in ignorance of its spiritual meaning. So some of them understand the fire to be material fire, some think it is torment in general, some the pangs of conscience, some that it is just words meant to strike a terror of evil into us. Some understand the gnashing of teeth to be a kind of grinding, some only the kind of shudder we feel when we hear this kind of clash of teeth.

Anyone familiar with the spiritual meaning of the Word, though, can realize what eternal fire and gnashing of teeth are, since there is spiritual meaning in every expression and in the meaning of every expression in the Word. At heart, that is, the Word is spiritual, and spiritual meaning can be expressed to us only in natural terms because we are in a natural world and think on the basis of what we encounter in it.

In the following pages, then, I shall explain what the eternal fire and gnashing of teeth are that evil people find after death, or that their spirits experience once they are in the spiritual world.