1079. Verse 16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, signifies the truths of the church from the Word with the Reformed, especially respecting the Lord's Divine authority and the Divine holiness of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "the ten horns upon the beast," as being the truths of the church from the Word (See above, n. 1069; that "horns" mean truths as to power, see n. 316, 567, 776, 1041; and that the "beast" means the Word, n. 1038). That "the ten horns of the beast" signify here the truths of the Word as to power with the Reformed, is evident from what is said in these two verses, namely, that "they shall hate the harlot, shall make her desolate and naked, shall eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire," which signifies they have altogether rejected all the statutes and decrees of the Pope, thus his falsifications and profanations, especially the two treated of above, namely, respecting his authority over the holy things of the church and over the souls of men to save them, which is called the authority to open and shut heaven, also respecting the authority to interpret the Word, and to change things in it to favor his own dominion; these being the two heads of their religion which the Reformed have wholly rejected and burned with fire. That this recession is described in this and the following verse can be seen from the series of things in the internal sense; for verses 12-14 treat of those within Babylon who have rejected those two profane dogmas, while these two verses treat of those outside of Babylon who have rejected them, and the rest of their profanations are treated of in verse 15. That this is so is clearly evident when the Word is meant by "beast," its truths by "the horns of the beast," and the Babylonish profanations by the "harlot."

(Continuation respecting the Word)

[2] The Word in the sense of the letter appears very simple, and yet there is stored up in it the wisdom of the three heavens, for each least particular of it contains interior and more interior senses; an interior sense such as exists in the first heaven, a still more interior sense such as exists in the second heaven, and an inmost sense such as exists in the third heaven. These senses are in the sense of the letter, one within the other, and are evolved therefrom one after the other, each from its own heaven, when a man who is led by the Lord reads the Word. These interior senses differ in the degree of light and wisdom according to the heavens, and yet they make one by influx, and thus by correspondences. How they thus make one shall be told in what follows. All this makes clear how the Word was inspired by the Divine, and that it was written from such an inspiration to which nothing else in the world can in anywise be compared. The arcana of wisdom of the three heavens contained in it are the mystical things of which many have spoken.