922. Verse 20. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil out of hell. This is evident from the signification of "treading the wine-press," as being to bring forth truth from good, and in the contrary sense to bring forth falsity from evil, since "grapes," from which wine is made in the wine-press, signify the good of charity, and in the contrary sense evil; and from good truth is brought forth, and from evil falsity. That this, as well as falsifications of the Word, are signified by "the great wine-press of the anger of God," can be seen from the preceding article n. 920. The above is evident also from the signification of "without the city," as being from hell, for "city" signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word (See above, n. 223), while "without the city" signifies the doctrine of falsity from the Word falsified; and as the falsification of the Word is from hell, "without the city" means out of hell. In the Word "city" signifies doctrine, and "the city of David," that is, Zion, and "the city of Jerusalem," signify the church as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word, therefore "without the city" signifies, not from the Word and doctrine from the Word; and what is not from the Word and from doctrine therefrom is from hell. "Without the city" has a like signification as "without the camp" of the sons of Israel in the desert, for their "camp" signified heaven and the church, and "without the camp," signified hell. For this reason the lepers and all that were unclean were sent out of the camp (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:1-6); and the excrements, by which things infernal were signified, were left without the camp (Deuteronomy 23:13, 14).

[2] That the "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of falsity from evil and the bringing forth of truth from good, can be seen from the Word where "wine-press" is mentioned. That it signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil can be seen from the following passages. In Lamentations:

The Lord hath prostrated all my strong ones in the midst of me, He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time for breaking my young men; the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah (Lamentations 1:15).

This treats of the end of the church with the Jewish nation; and "the strong ones whom the Lord hath prostrated in the midst thereof" signifies the destruction of the love of good; those who are in love of good are called in the Word "strong ones," because good from its love prevails over the hells, and is therefore "strong." "In the midst" signifies all and everywhere. "To break the young men" signifies the destruction of all the understanding of truth; "an appointed time" means when both the goods and the truths of the church were all devastated with that nation; this time was when the Lord came into the world, and is what is meant by "the fullness of times." So "the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah" signifies the perversion of the church and the adulteration of the Word that is brought forth from evils of life and falsities of doctrine, "the daughter of Judah" being the church from the doctrine of truth from the Word, and "wine-press" being the bringing forth of falsity from evil, and the consequent adulteration of the Word and overthrow of the church. In the sense of the letter this is attributed to the Lord; but this is reversed in the spiritual sense, in which it is meant that this was done by that nation itself.

[3] In Joel:

Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats have overflowed; for their wickedness is great (Joel 3:13.)

The devastation of the church as to good and as to truth is thus described; and "the wine-press is full and the vats have overflowed" signifies that there was nothing except falsities from evil. (The rest may be seen explained, n. 911.

In Hosea:

Be not glad, O Israel, over a likeness, like the nations: for thou hast committed whoredom under thy God; thou hast loved the reward of whoredom upon all corn-floors; the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall be false to her (Hosea 9:2).

This treats of the falsification of the Word; "the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them" signifies that they will not draw from the Word the goods and truths that nourish the soul. (But this passage also has been explained above, n. 695)

[4] In Jeremiah:

Upon thy vintage hath the spoiler fallen; therefore gladness and joy are gathered out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting (Jeremiah 48:32-34).

What is signified by "the vintage" upon which the spoiler hath fallen, and what by "the gladness and joy" that were gathered, may be seen above n. 919; that there is no longer any truth because there is no good is signified by "I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses;" and that there is no longer any joy from any spiritual love is signified by "none shall tread with shouting," "shouting" meaning the rejoicing of those that tread the wine press.

[5] In Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah, He that is honorable in His apparel, walking in the multitude of His strength? I that speak in justice, mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garment, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people not a man was with Me; therefore have I trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath; therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment (Isaiah 63:1-3).

This is said of the Lord, and of His combats against all the hells; and as He fought against them from the Human, in which was the Divine Itself, it is said, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah?" which signifies fighting from the good of love and from truth, which are from the Divine; for Edom means red, and Bozrah gathering the vintage; and "red" is predicated of good, and "gathering the vintage" of truth; and because this is what Edom and Bozrah mean, the expressions "red" and "as one treading in the wine-press" are afterwards used. And as the Divine good and the Divine truth that are here meant are the Word in the letter, and this is what is signified by the Lord's "garments" it is said, "garments sprinkled," also "honorable in His apparel." And as all strength in the Word is in the letter it is said, "walking in the multitude of His strength." Judgment from His Divine upon the good and upon the evil and consequent salvation, is meant by "I that speak in justice, mighty to save." The violence offered to the Word by the Jewish nation is signified by "Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garments, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press?" "Red in garment" is predicated of the violence offered to the Divine good of the Word, which is meant above by "Edom," and "garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press" is predicated of the violence offered to Divine truth in the Word, which is meant above by "Bozrah." "The Lord's garments" signify the Word in the letter, to which violence was offered through adulterations and falsifications of it. The casting down of the hells and of their falsities by His own power is signified by "I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people not a man was with Me." The casting down into the hells of those who were in direful evils and in falsities therefrom is signified by "I have trodden them in Mine anger and trampled them in My wrath;" "anger" is predicated of evils, and "wrath" of falsities; and these are attributed to the Lord; although it is those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom that are angry and wrathful against the Lord. And as the judgment by which the hells were subjugated was accomplished by the Lord by means of temptations admitted into His Human, even to the last, which was the passion of the cross, it is said, "therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment." For by all things of His passion and by the last temptation on the cross the Lord represented the violence offered by the Jewish nation to the Word, that is, to Divine truth (See above, n. 183, 195, 627, 655, 805).

[6] That "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of truth from good, because "the grape" signifies spiritual good, and "wine from the grape" truth from that good, can be seen from the following passages.

In Joel:

Rejoice, ye sons of Zion, the floors are full of corn, and the winepresses overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:23, 24).

"Sons of Zion" signify those who are in wisdom from the Divine truth; "the floors are full of corn" signifies that they have celestial good in abundance; "the wine-presses overflow with new wine and oil" signifies that from the good of charity they have truth and its delight.

[7] In Matthew:

A man, a householder, planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a wine-press in it, and built a tower; and let it out to husbandmen, who slew the servants sent to them, and finally the son (Matthew 21:33).

The "vineyard" which the householder planted signifies the church that was instituted with the sons of Jacob; the "hedge" which he set about it signifies protection from the falsities of evil, which are from hell; "and digged a wine-press in it" signifies that it had spiritual good; "and built a tower" signifies interior truths from that good which looked to heaven; "and let it out to husbandmen" signifies to that people; "they slew the servants that were sent to them" signifies that they slew the prophets; "and finally the son" signifies the Lord.

[8] In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil, which he fenced and gathered out the stones, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a wine-press in it; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1, 2).

"Vineyard," "tower," and "wine-press," have a like signification here as just above in Matthew. (The rest may be seen explained n. 918. In most passages, where "vintage" and "wine press" are mentioned, the "harvest" and "corn floor" are also mentioned (as in Hosea 9:1, 2; Joel 2:23, 24; 3:13; Numbers 18:26-30; Deuteronomy 15:14; 16:13; 2 Kings 6:27); and for the reason that "harvest" and "corn-floor," from "corn" and "bread" signify the good of celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and "vintage" and "wine-press," from the "grape" and the "wine," signify the good of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor; for these two loves make one, like an efficient cause and its effect. This has been said because here in Revelation the "harvest" is mentioned, and afterwards the "vintage" in the same way. (For the "harvest" see verses 14, 15; and the "vintage," verse 19.)

962. The second account:

Since the Lord has granted me to see marvels that exist in the heavens and beneath the heavens, I am obliged by command to relate something I saw:

I saw a magnificent palace and at its center a large chapel. In the middle of the chapel there was a table of gold on which lay the Word, with two angels standing beside it.

Placed around the table were three rows of chairs. The chairs in the first row were covered with a purple-colored silk cloth, the chairs in the second row with a blue-colored silk cloth, and the chairs in the third row with a white cloth.

Hanging high up over the table from the ceiling I saw a canopy glistening with precious stones, whose radiance shone like that of a rainbow when the sky grows calm after a rain.

Suddenly then I saw, sitting on the chairs, as many of the clergy as there were seats, all attired in the vestments of their priestly office.

On one side there was a vestry where an angel custodian stood, and in it lay a beautiful array of shining vestments.

[2] It was a council convened by the Lord, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Deliberate!"

However, they said, "About what?"

They were told, "About the Lord and the Holy Spirit."

But when they began to consider these, they found themselves without enlightenment and therefore prayed for it. And light then shone down from heaven, which illumined first the backs of their heads, next their temples, and finally their faces. With that they began, and as they were commanded, they considered first the Lord.

The first question proposed and discussed was who assumed the humanity in the virgin Mary.

One of the angels standing beside the table on which lay the Word read to them the following verses in Luke:

(The angel said to Mary,) "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest?." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said..., "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore... that Holy One who is to be born (from you) will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:31-32, 34-35)

The angel also read the verses found in Matthew 1:20-25, and with emphasis what is said there in verse 25. ¹

He read in addition more verses from the Gospels, where in respect to His humanity the Lord is called the Son of God, and where from the perspective of His humanity He calls Jehovah His Father. And from the Prophets as well, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world, including among others the following two passages in Isaiah:

It will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God... This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; we will exult and rejoice in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:9)

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of Jehovah; make straight in the desert a highway for our God... (For) the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together... Behold, the Lord Jehovih shall come with might... He will feed His flock like a shepherd. (Isaiah 40:3, 5, 10-11)

[3] The angel said moreover, "Since Jehovah Himself came into the world and assumed human form and by it saved and redeemed men, therefore in the Prophets He is called a Savior and Redeemer." And He read to them then the following passages:

Surely God is in you, and there is no other (God).... Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! (Isaiah 45:14-15)

Am I not Jehovah? And there is no other God besides Me. There is no just God and Savior besides Me. (Isaiah 45:21-22)

...I am Jehovah, and besides Me there is no savior. (Isaiah 43:11)

I am Jehovah your God..., and you shall acknowledge no God but Me; there is also no Savior besides Me. (Hosea 13:4)

...that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer... (Isaiah 49:26, cf. 60:16)

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is His name... (Isaiah 47:4)

Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah Zebaoth is His name. (Jeremiah 50:34)

...O Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)

Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am Jehovah your God...." (Isaiah 48:17, cf. 43:14; 49:7; 54:8)

You, Jehovah, are our Father; our Redeemer from Eternity is Your name. (Isaiah 63:16)

Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer...: "I am Jehovah, who makes all things, ...all alone, ...by Myself." (Isaiah 44:24)

Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth: "I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6)

Jehovah Zebaoth is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He shall be called God of the whole earth. (Isaiah 54:5)

Behold, the days are coming... when I will raise to David a righteous Branch, who shall reign a King... And this is His name...: JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:5-6, cf. 33:15-16)

In that day... Jehovah shall become King over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Jehovah and His name one. (Zechariah 14:8-9)

[4] Having been convinced by all these passages, the clergymen sitting on the chairs unanimously said that Jehovah Himself assumed human form in order to save and redeem men.

But at that a voice was heard from a group of Roman Catholics who had hidden themselves in a corner of the chapel, saying, "How can Jehovah, the Father, become a man? Is He not the Creator of the universe?"

Then one of the clergymen sitting on the chairs in the second row turned and said, "Who assumed human form then?"

And from the corner the Roman Catholic responded, "The Son from eternity."

But he received the reply, "Is not the Son from eternity, according to your belief, also the Creator of the universe? And what is a Son or God born from eternity? How can the Divine essence, which is a single entity and indivisible, be divided, and one part of it descend and take on human form, and not at the same time the whole of it?"

[5] A second discussion regarding the Lord considered whether God the Father and the Lord were not thus one, as soul and body are one. The clergymen said that it followed as a consequence, because the father is the origin of the soul. And then one of those who were sitting on the chairs in the third row recited the following from the statement of faith called the Athanasian Creed:

But although (our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God) is God and man, nevertheless there are not two Christs but one...; indeed, being completely one... by the unity of His person. For as the soul and the body are one person, so God and man are one Christ.

The clergyman reciting this said that this is the accepted faith throughout the Christian world, accepted also by Roman Catholics. And they all said then, "What need is there of more? God the Father and the Lord are one, as soul and body are one."

Then they said, "This being the case, we see that the Lord's humanity is Divine, because it is Jehovah's humanity. And we see that one must turn to the Lord in His Divine humanity, this being the only way that one can approach the Divine called the Father."

[6] The angel confirmed this conclusion of theirs with still more passages from the Word, which included the following in Isaiah:

...unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given... whose name (is) Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Also in Isaiah:

...You are our Father; ...Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Jehovah, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. (Isaiah 63:16)

And in John:

Jesus... said, "He who believes in Me, believes... in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me." (John 12:44-45)

Philip said to (Jesus), ."..show us the Father...." Jesus says to him, ."..He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how then can you say, 'Show us the Father'... Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? ...Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me...." (John 14:8-11)

And finally the following:

Jesus said..., "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

When they heard these passages, the clergymen all said with one heart and mouth that the Lord's humanity is Divine, and that one must turn to Him in order to go to the Father, since Jehovah God, who is the Lord from eternity, by means of that humanity introduced Himself into the world and made Himself visible to the eyes of men and accessible. In like manner He made Himself visible and so accessible in human form to people in ancient times, but did so then by means of an angel.

[7] Following this they next took up a deliberation regarding the Holy Spirit. And they began by determining the idea many of them had of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, namely of God the Father sitting on high, so to speak, having the Son at His right hand, and the two sending out the Holy Spirit to enlighten and instruct mankind.

But then a voice was heard from heaven, saying, "We cannot abide that mental image! Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? Anyone who knows and acknowledges this must also acknowledge that it is He who enlightens and instructs, and that there is no intermediate God, distinct from Him, and still less distinct from two others, as one person is from another. Rid yourselves, therefore, of your earlier idea, which is an idle one, and accept this one, which is the right one, and you will see the matter clearly."

[8] However, a voice was again heard then from the group of Roman Catholics who had hidden themselves in a corner of the chapel, saying, "What then is the Holy Spirit, which is mentioned in the Word by the Gospels and Paul, by which so many of the learned in the clergy say they are led, especially in our clergy? Who today in the Christian world denies the reality of the Holy Spirit and its operation?"

At that one of the clergymen sitting on the chairs in the second row turned and said, "The Holy Spirit is the Divinity emanating from the Lord Jehovah. You say that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person and a distinct God, yet what is a person that originates and emanates from a person but an operation that originates and emanates? One person cannot originate or emanate from another one by means of another, but an operation can. Or what is a God that originates and emanates from God but a Divinity that originates and emanates? One God cannot originate and emanate from another one by means of another, but a Divinity can. Is not the Divine essence one and indivisible? And because the Divine essence or Divine being is God, is not God one and indivisible?"

[9] Hearing this, the clergymen sitting on the chairs unanimously concluded that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person or a distinct God, but that it is the holy Divinity originating and emanating from the one and only omnipresent God, who is the Lord.

At that the angels standing beside the golden table on which lay the Word said, "Good! You do not read anywhere in the Old Testament that the prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word, but that they were inspired by the Lord Jehovah. And where the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the New Testament, it means the emanating Divinity, which is the Divinity that enlightens, instructs, vivifies, reforms and regenerates."

[10] After this the clergymen took up a second discussion of the Holy Spirit, asking from whom the Divinity called the Holy Spirit emanated, whether it did so from the Divine called the Father, or from the Divine human called the Son. And as they were discussing this, a light shone from heaven which enabled them to see that the holy Divinity meant by the Holy Spirit emanates from the Divinity in the Lord by means of His glorified humanity, which is His Divine humanity, comparatively as every activity in the case of a person emanates from the soul by means of the body.

This conclusion one of the angels standing beside the table confirmed from the Word by the following verses:

...He whom (the Father) has sent speaks the words of God, ...God does not give (Him) the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. (John 3:34-35)

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse... The Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might... (Isaiah 11:1-2)

Also verses saying that Jehovah put His spirit upon Him, and that the spirit of Jehovah was in Him (Isaiah 42:1; 59:19-20; 61:1, Luke 4:18).

When the (Holy Spirit) comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father... (John 15:26)

He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:14-15)

...if I depart, I will send (the Counselor) to you. (John 16:7)

The Counselor is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

...the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:39)

After His glorification Jesus breathed on His disciples and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).

[11] Since the Lord's Divine operation and His Divine omnipresence are meant by the Holy Spirit, therefore when He spoke to His disciples about the Holy Spirit whom God the Father would send, He also said:

I will not leave you orphans... I am going away and coming back to you. (John 14:18, 28)

And:

At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

And just before He departed from the world He said:

Lo, I am with you always, even to the culmination of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

After he read these verses to them, the angel said, "From these and many other passages in the Word, it is apparent that the Divinity called the Holy Spirit emanates from the Divinity in the Lord by means of His Divine humanity."

At that the clergymen sitting on the chairs said, "It is the Divine truth."

[12] Lastly the clergymen formed this declaration, that "from the

deliberations in this council we have clearly seen and so acknowledge as a sacred truth that there is a trinity in our Lord Jesus Christ, namely, an originating Divine called the Father, a Divine humanity that is the Son, and an emanating Divinity that is the Holy Spirit. Thus there is in the church but one God."

[13] After these proceedings in that grand council were concluded, the clergymen stood up, and the angel custodian came from the vestry, bringing for each of those sitting on the chairs shining vestments, which were interwoven here and there with gold threads. And the angel said, "Take these wedding garments."

Then the clergymen were conveyed gloriously into the New Christian Heaven, the heaven with which the Lord's church on earth, the New Jerusalem, will be conjoined.

Revelation 22:21

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen.

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