390. (Verse 9) And when he had opened the fifth seal. That this signifies prediction still further, is plain from the signification of opening a seal of a book, as denoting to reveal things hidden, and to predict future things (concerning which see above, n. 352, 361, 369, 378).

2163. 'Recline under the tree' means towards the perception of the state through which He was passing. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tree' as perception, dealt with in 103. The whole train of thought shows that this is the real meaning here. 'Trees' means perceptions, and the reason for this was that the celestial man was compared and likened to the paradise or garden in Eden, and therefore the perceptions of celestial things with that man to the trees that were there.