Apocalypse Revealed # 717
717. REVELATION: CHAPTER 17
1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
2. with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her licentiousness."
3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her licentiousness.
5. And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whoredoms and Abominations of the Earth.
6. And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder.
7. But the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
8. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, those whose names have not been written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9. This is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must remain a short time.
11. And the beast that was, and is not, is itself the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to destruction.
12. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings that have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast.
13. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14. These will do battle with the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
15. Then he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and tongues.
16. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18. And the woman whom you saw is the great city which holds sway over the kings of the earth."
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Contents of the Whole Chapter
The subject is the Roman Catholic religion. Described is the way in which it falsified the Word and so perverted all the church's truths (verses 1-7). How it falsified these and perverted them among peoples subject to its dominion (verses 8-11), but less among peoples who had not so subjected themselves to its dominion (verses 12-15).
Regarding the Protestant Reformed, that they had withdrawn themselves from the yoke of its domination (verse 16, 17). Its continuing domination anyway (verse 18).
The Contents of the Individual Verses:
| Verse Contents | Spiritual Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, | Influx now and a revelation from the Lord from the inmost of heaven about the Roman Catholic religion, |
| saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, | a revelation about that religion as regards its profanations and adulterations of the Word's truths, |
| 2. with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom, | that it adulterated the church's goods and truths that it had from the Word. |
| and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her licentiousness." | Its insanity in spiritual matters owing to the adulteration of the Word among those immersed in that religion. |
| 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. | John's being carried away in a spiritual state to people in whom everything of the church had been destroyed. |
| And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, | That religion resting on the Word that they profaned. |
| having seven heads and ten horns. | Their intelligence gained from the Word, at first reverent, later abandoned, and at last irrational, and their continued great power drawn from the Word. |
| 4. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, | The celestial Divine good and truth contained in the Word among them. |
| and adorned with gold and precious stones | The spiritual Divine good and truth contained in the Word among them. |
| and pearls, | The concepts of goodness and truth contained in the Word among them. |
| having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her licentiousness. | That religion derived from the sacred contents of the Word profaned, and from its goods and truths defiled by dreadful falsities. |
| 5. And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whoredoms and Abominations of the Earth. | The Roman Catholic religion such as it is interiorly, which is concealed, that from its origin, springing from a love of exercising dominion from a love of self over the sanctities of the church and over heaven, thus over everything connected with the Lord and His Word, it defiled and profaned things having to do with the Word and so with the church. |
| 6. And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. | That religion irrational because of its adulterating and profaning the Divine truths and goods of the Lord, of the Word, and so of the church. |
| And when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder. | Astonishment that that religion is of such a character interiorly, when indeed it appears otherwise outwardly. |
| 7. But the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. | A disclosure of the symbolic meaning of the preceding events and scenes. |
| 8. The beast that you saw was, and is not, | The Word among them acknowledged as holy, and yet really not acknowledged. |
| and will ascend out of the abyss and go to destruction. | The laity's and common people's being given the Word and reading it deliberated several times in the papal Consistory, but rejected. |
| And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, those whose names have not been written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. | The astonishment of those who belong to that religion, of all those who from its commencement strove for dominion over heaven and earth, that even though the Word had been thus rejected, still it endures. |
| 9. This is the mind which has wisdom: | This is the interpretation in the natural sense, but intended for people who have the spiritual meaning from the Lord. |
| The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10. They are also seven kings. | The Divine goods and truths in the Word on which that religion was founded, in time destroyed and finally profaned. |
| Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must remain a short time. | The Word's Divine truths have all been destroyed but this one, that the Lord was given all authority in heaven and on earth, and a second one, which has not yet been called into question, and when it is, will not survive, namely, that the Lord's humanity is Divine. |
| 11. And the beast that was, and is not, is itself the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to destruction. | The Word, as mentioned previously, is Divine good itself and Divine truth, and it has been taken from the laity and common people to keep the Roman Catholic hierarchy's profanations and adulterations of it from appearing, and the people's turning away on that account. |
| 12. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings that have not yet received a kingdom, | The Word as to the power it has from Divine truths among Roman Catholics who live in France and are not so much under the yoke of papal dominion, who nevertheless have not yet formed among them therefore a church separate from the Roman Catholic religion. |
| but receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. | The Word has force with them, and through the Word they prevail, as though they possessed its Divine truths. |
| 13. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. | They unanimously acknowledge that the only means of government and dominion over the church is through the Word. |
| 14. These will do battle with the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; | The Lord's battle with them over an acknowledgment of His Divine humanity, because the Lord in that humanity is God of heaven and earth and also the Word. |
| and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." | People who turn to the Lord and worship Him alone are those who go to heaven, both those concerned with the external elements of the church and those concerned with its internal and inmost elements. |
| 15. Then he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and tongues. | Under papal dominion, but caught up in various ways in that religion's adulterated and profaned truths of the Word, are peoples of a varying doctrine and discipline, and of a varying religion and confession of it. |
| 16. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, | The Word as to the power it has from Divine truths among Protestants, who have thrown off entirely the yoke of papal dominion. |
| make her desolate and naked, | They will rid themselves of its falsities and evils. |
| eat her flesh and burn her with fire. | They will with hatred condemn and destroy in themselves the evils and falsities inherent in that religion, and will renounce the religion itself and expunge it in themselves. |
| 17. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast, | A judgment among them from the Lord that they should utterly repudiate and renounce the Roman Catholic religion and expunge and eradicate it in themselves, and a unanimous judgment that they should acknowledge the Word and found the church on it. |
| until the words of God are fulfilled. | Until all the things foretold about them have been fulfilled. |
| 18. And the woman whom you saw is the great city which holds sway over the kings of the earth." | The Roman Catholic religion will reign as to doctrine in the Christian world, and to some extent still also among the Protestant Reformed, even though the latter are not under papal dominion. |
THE EXPOSITION
The Protestant Reformed were the subject before this in chapters 7-16. The subject now in this chapter and the next is Roman Catholics, and those among them who claim for themselves the power of opening and closing heaven are meant by Babylon. We must first say here, therefore, what Babylon means specifically.
Babylon or Babel means a love of ruling over the sanctities of the church stemming from a love of self, and because this love increases to the degree it is given free rein, and the sanctities of the church are also the sanctities of heaven, therefore Babylon or Babel symbolizes dominion over heaven as well.
Moreover, because this love thus plays the part of the devil, who aspires to similar ends, it cannot help but profane sacred things by adulterating the Word's goods and truths. Consequently Babylon or Babel also symbolizes the profanation of what is sacred and the adulteration of the Word's goodness and truth.
These are the symbolic meanings of Babylon here in the book of Revelation, and of Babel in the following places in the prophetic and historical Word:
(Regarding) Babel... Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming, cruel...., ...the stars of heaven and their constellations do not give their light; the sun has been darkened in its rising, and the moon does not cause its light to shine....
"I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the violent...."
Babel, the glory of kingdoms..., will be as God's overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah... Ziyyim 1 will lie down there, their houses will be full of 'ochim, 2 and the offspring of owls will dwell there, and satyrs will caper there. 'Iyyim 3 will reply in her palaces, and dragons in her pleasant palaces. (Isaiah 13:1, 9-11, 19, 21-22)
[2] Not to mention many other declarations throughout that chapter.
...you will take up this parable regarding the king of Babel...:
"Your magnificence has been brought down into hell....
."..you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer... ...you have said in your heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol....
...I will rise up against them... and cut off from Babel the name and remnant...." (Isaiah 14:4, 11-15, 22)
[3] Not to mention many other declarations throughout that chapter.
...Jehovah spoke against Babel...: "Your mother was deeply ashamed; she who bore you was ashamed. Behold, the last of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land and a solitude....
"Put yourselves in array against Babel all around..., shoot at her, spare no arrows....
"How Babel has become a desolation among the nations!
."..she has behaved insolently against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel....
"A drought is against her waters, so that they are dried up. For it is the land of carved images, and glories in shocking things.
"Therefore ziyyim shall dwell there with 'iyyim, and the offspring of owls shall dwell in it..., as in God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah...." (Jeremiah 50:1, 12, 14, 23, 29, 31, 38-40)
[4] Not to mention may other declarations regarding Babel in that chapter.
"Babel was a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank of her wine; therefore (they) are demented....
"Forsake her..., for her judgment reaches to heaven and rises up to the clouds....
"Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, that destroys all the earth... I will... roll you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt mountain....
"I will visit judgment on Bel in Babel, I will take the chewed food out of his mouth, so that the nations do not stream to him anymore. The wall of Babel also shall fall....
."..behold, the days are coming when I will visit judgment on the carved images of Babel, so that her whole land is ashamed....
"If Babel were to mount up to heaven, and if she were to fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me would come destroyers....
"Indeed, I will make drunk her princes and wise men, her leaders and her prefects..., so that they sleep the sleep of an age and do not awake...." (Jeremiah 51:7, 9, 25, 44, 47, 53, 57)
[5] Not to mention many other declarations throughout that chapter regarding Babel.
"Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground, without a throne... Take a millstone and grind meal... Uncover the thigh, pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered..., your shame will be seen....
"You said, 'I shall be a lady forever,' ...you did not remember the end....
"You trusted in your wickedness; you said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, when you said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me'....
"Ruin shall come upon you suddenly, without your knowing.
"Persist... in your enchantments, in the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps they will possibly be of some use, perhaps you will become fearsome." (Isaiah 47:1-3, 7, 10-12)
Not to mentioned many other declarations regarding Babel in that chapter.
[6] Similar qualities are symbolically meant by the city in Genesis 11:1-9 and by the tower whose top was in heaven, which the people coming from the east into the valley of Shinar began to build, people whose languages Jehovah, descending from heaven, confused, because of which the place was named Babel (confusion).
[7] Similar qualities are symbolically meant by the following things in Daniel:
By the statue that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, saw, whose feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, which the stone cut without hands struck and broke in pieces, and all the pieces of the statue became like chaff on the threshing floors, and the stone became a great rock (Daniel 2:31-47).
By the great statue that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, made, and commanded that people fall down before it and worship it, and that whoever did not do so would be cast into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-7ff.).
By the tree growing until its height reached heaven and it was visible to the end of the earth, which a watcher and holy one, coming down from heaven, ordered to be chopped down, stripped, cut up, and scattered; and because it represented the king of Babel, it came to pass that he was driven from mankind, dwelled with beasts, and ate grass like an ox (Daniel 4).
By Belshazzar, king of Babel, in company with his lords, wives and concubines, and his drinking wine from the gold and silver vessels of the temple in Jerusalem and praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron and stone, on which account the writing appeared on the wall and on that very day the king himself was slain (Daniel 5).
By the edict of Darius the Mede, king of Babel, that for thirty days no one petition anything from God or man, but from the king alone, or else be cast into a den of lions (Daniel 6:7-28).
And by the four beasts that Daniel saw come up from the sea, the fourth of which was dreadful and strong, and having huge iron teeth, it devoured and broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and judgment was set then, and the books were opened, and the beast was slain and its body given to the burning flame; and then one like the Son of Man was seen, coming with the clouds of heaven, to whom was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all people, nations and tongues will worship Him, His dominion being an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:1-14).
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. A Hebrew word (צִיִּים), appearing six times in the Old Testament (Psalms 72:9; 74:14). It seems to refer to desert dwellers, and in contexts suggesting animals, to desert creatures, but the actual identity is unknown. It may not be a precise term.
2. Another Hebrew word (אֹחִים), appearing only once in the Old Testament. Isaiah 13:21 identifies them as birds of the night.
3. Another Hebrew word (אִיִּים), appearing only three times in the Old Testament (Isaiah 13:22; 34:14)
Arcana Coelestia # 3708
3708. 'And you will break forth towards the sea, and towards the east' means infinite extension of good, while 'towards the north, and towards the south' means infinite extension of truth - thus every state of good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'breaking forth' as extension, here infinite extension since it has reference to the Lord; from the meaning of 'the sea' or the west as good which is as yet obscure and so at only an initial stage; from the meaning of 'the east' as bright and so perfected good; from the meaning of 'the north' as truth which is still shrouded in obscurity; and from the meaning of 'the south' as truth bathed in light.
[2] Many references are made in the Word to the sea or west, the east, the north, and the south. But because nobody up to now has known that, as with every other single expression, these possessed an internal sense in which they did not mean things to do with the world, as they do in the sense of the letter, but spiritual and celestial things, and that in the highest sense those expressions meant Divine things belonging to the Lord Himself, what else could people have known therefore other than that west, east, north, and south are used in the Word simply to mean the four quarters? What else other than that 'breaking forth' towards those four quarters means a multiplying? But the fact that they do not mean the four quarters or the multiplying of any group of people, but states of good and truth, and the extension of these, may become clear from all the places in the Word, especially those in the Prophets, where reference is made to them. For what west, east, north, or south are is totally unknown in heaven. There the Sun, which is the Lord - unlike the sun of this world which rises and sets, reaching its highest point at midday and its lowest at night - is visible all the time, though how visible depends on the states of those receiving its light; for the light from it holds wisdom and intelligence within it, see 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3485, 3636, 3643. Consequently it is visible to each individual according to the wisdom and intelligence existing with him. Among those with whom good and truth are present - which are warmth and light, but of the celestial and spiritual kind - the sun is as it is when rising and at midday; but among those with whom good and truth are not present the sun is as it is when setting and at night. From this it is evident that in the internal sense of the Word 'east, south, west, and north' means states of good and truth.
[3] It should be recognized that the Word does not use only the four quarters, as indicated, to describe states of good and truth. It also uses both the annual seasons or states of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the daily times or states of morning, midday, evening, and night. These are used for a similar purpose; but when the subject is the extension of good and truth, the four quarters are employed to describe it. What each one means specifically however may be seen from the places where they are mentioned in the Word. 'East' means the Lord and also the good of love and charity, which comes from the Lord, as shown already in 101, 1250, 3249, and 'south' means the truth bathed in light, in 1458, 3195.
[4] But what 'west' and what 'north' mean in the genuine sense, and what they mean in the contrary sense, may be seen from the following places: In Isaiah,
Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:5-6
This refers to a new spiritual Church, meant here by Jacob and Israel. 'Bringing the seed from the east and gathering from the west' stands for people governed by good; 'saying to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold' stands for those governed by truth.
[5] In David,
The redeemed of Jehovah will speak, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered together out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea. They wandered in the wilderness, in a desolate way; they did not find an inhabited city. 1 Psalms 107:2-4.
This refers to people who are without knowledge of good and truth. 'From the east and from the west' stands for those without knowledge of good, 'from the north and from the sea' for those without knowledge of truth. Those without knowledge of good are referred to as 'wandering in the wilderness', and those without knowledge of truth as doing so 'in a desolate way'. And those without knowledge of both are referred to as their not finding an inhabited city - 'a city' meaning doctrinal teaching consisting of truth, see 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, and 'a habitation' being used in reference to good, 268, 2451, 2712.
[6] In Isaiah,
Behold, these will come from afar, and behold, those from the north and from the west, and those from the land of Sinim. Isaiah 49:12.
'The north' stands for people in obscurity as regards truth, 'the west' for those in obscurity as regards good. They are said 'to come from afar' because they are remote from the light which flows from the Lord.
[7] In Amos,
Behold, the days are going to come in which I will send a famine on the land. And they will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east they will run to and fro to seek the Word of Jehovah, and will not find it. Amos 8:11-12.
'A famine' stands for a lack and absence of cognitions, 1460, 3364. 'Wandering from sea to sea' stands for searching for the place where cognitions may be found - 'seas' meaning cognitions in general, 28, 2850. 'Running to and fro from the north even to the east' stands for going from those cognitions that are in obscurity to cognitions that are in the light. As regards cognitions being meant, this is evident because the words 'to seek the Word of God and will not find it' are used.
[8] In Jeremiah,
Proclaim these words towards the north, and say, Return, backsliding Israel; I will not cause My face to fall upon you, for I am merciful. In those days the house of Judah will go to the house of Israel, and together they will come out of the north land over the land I gave as a heritage to your fathers. Jeremiah 3:12, 18.
This refers to the restoration of the Church from among the gentiles. 'The north' stands for people without knowledge of truth but who lead a good life. It is evident that neither the north nor the north land is meant here for the reason that Israel did not exist any longer.
[9] In the same prophet,
The living Jehovah who caused the children of Israel to come up out of the north land. Jeremiah 16:15.
'North' in a similar way stands for being without knowledge of truth. In the same prophet,
Behold, I am bringing them from the north land, and I will gather them from the furthest parts of the earth, among them the blind one and the lame. Jeremiah 31:8.
The 'north land' stands for no knowledge of good because of no knowledge of truth. Now because the land of Canaan represented the Lord's kingdom - and therefore also represented good, see above in 3705 - and places within that land, such as Zion and Jerusalem, represented inmost good to which truth was joined, the places which lay away from that land consequently represented obscurity so far as good and truth were concerned. Everything that lies in obscurity is called 'the north land' and also 'the furthest parts of the earth'.
[10] In addition to this, since all good that flows in with light from the Lord is confined within man's obscurity, the north is also called 'an assembly' as in Isaiah,
You said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the furthest parts of the north. Isaiah 14:13.
In the same prophet,
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you have melted away, O Philistia, all of you, for smoke comes from the north, and not a solitary person in the assemblies. Isaiah 14:31.
In David,
Great is Jehovah and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, the mountain of His holiness - the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, the furthest parts of the north, the city of the great King. Psalms 48:1-2.
And again in the same author,
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded; the north and the right hand 2 You have created. Psalms 89:11-12.
'The north' here stands for those who are more remote from the light of good and truth, 'the right hand' for those who are closer to them. For the latter are on the Lord's right hand, see 1274, 1276.
[11] In Zechariah,
He saw four chariots coming out between two mountains of bronze. The horses coupled to them were reddish, black, white, and mottled - strong ones. The angel said, These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of the whole earth, the black horses going into the north land; and the white have gone out after them, and the mottled have gone out into the south land. Those going towards the north land have caused My spirit to rest on the north land. Zechariah 6:1-8.
'Chariots coming out between two mountains of bronze' stands for matters of doctrine concerning good. For 'chariots' means matters of doctrine, as will be shown elsewhere, while 'a mountain' means love, see 795, 1430, 2722, and two mountains therefore two kinds of love - celestial love, which is love to the Lord, and spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbour. 'Bronze' is good originating in those loves as it exists within the natural, 425, 1551; 'horses' things of the understanding, and so an understanding of matters of doctrine concerning good, 2760-2762, 3217; 'the south land' stands for people who possess cognitions of good and truth, 1458, 3195, 'the north land' for those who are without knowledge of good and truth but who lead a good life, as upright gentiles do among whom, when a new Church is established, God's Spirit is said to rest.
[12] In Jeremiah,
Jehovah who brought up and led back the seed of the house of Israel out of the land towards the north and out of all the lands to where I have driven them, so that they might dwell on their own land. Jeremiah 23:8.
'Out of the land towards the north' stands for away from the obscurity that is due to a lack of knowledge about what is good and true. In the same prophet,
Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze? Jeremiah 15:12.
'Iron' stands for natural truth, 425, 426, 'bronze' for natural good, 425, 1551. These are said to come 'from the north' because they derive from the natural which, though lying in obscurity compared with other degrees, serves as the outer limit of these. It is evident without explanation that this prophetic utterance does not mean the use of iron and bronze from the north, for what would be Divine about that, indeed what connection would it have with what goes before and after if no more than iron and bronze from there were meant?
[13] In Matthew,
I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29.
'Many from the east and from the west' stands for those who possess cognitions and lead a good life, and also for those who are in obscurity and have no knowledge of such cognitions; and so it stands for people inside the Church and those outside it. It has been stated above that states of good are meant by the east and the west. 'Reclining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' means being with the Lord, see 3305 (end). And the Prophets in a similar way speak of people coming from east and west who are going to be with the Lord in His kingdom or Church, as in Isaiah,
From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. Isaiah 43:5.
Elsewhere in the same prophet,
They will fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and His glory from the east. Isaiah 59:19.
Elsewhere in the same,
From the rising of the sun and from its setting they will know that there is none besides Me; I am Jehovah and there is no one else. Isaiah 45:6.
Elsewhere in the same,
I will stir up one from the north, and he will come; from the rising of the sun he will call on My name. Isaiah 41:25.
[14] In addition one may see that east, west, south, and north have these meanings from the following: The Construction of the Tabernacle; The Children of Israel when they were encamped and when they journeyed; The Description of the Land of Canaan; also, The Description of the New Temple, New Jerusalem, and New Land:
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE
Everything in it was positioned according to the four quarters, see Exodus 38 - what went on the east and west sides, and what on the south and north, is stated in Exodus 26:18, 20, 22, 27; 27:9, 12, 13; and the requirement that the lampstand was to be placed towards the south across from the table, the table itself being on the north side, Exodus 26:35; 40:22.
[15] THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHEN THEY WERE ENCAMPED AND WHEN THEY JOURNEYED
Here also positions were determined according to the four quarters. That is to say, they encamped around the Tent of Meeting, with the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun towards the east; the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad towards the south; the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin towards the west; and the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali towards the north, Numbers 2:1- end. In addition to this, the Levites encamped with the Gershonites towards the west, the Kohathites towards the south, the Merarites towards the north; and Moses, Aaron and his sons in front of the Tabernacle towards the east, Numbers 3:23-38. In this way the heavenly order which in the Lord's kingdom exists in accordance with states of good and truth was represented. Towards the south side also they were to sound the call for them to begin their journeys, Numbers 10:6. And even as they took up specific positions when they encamped, so they did when they journeyed, Numbers 2:34.
[16] THE DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND OF CANAAN
First Moses described its border lands - those indeed in the south, those in the west, those in the north, and those in the east, Numbers 34:2-12, as they were again described when the land had been apportioned to the tribes by lot, in Joshua 15 Chapters-19 of Joshua. From these circumstances, and also from the most ancient people who dwelt in the land of Canaan, all places in that land became representatives and meaningful signs determined by their position, distance, and boundaries in relation to the four quarters, 1607, 1866.
[17] THE DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW TEMPLE, NEW JERUSALEM, AND NEW LAND
These also are described in Ezekiel in relation to the four quarters. The structure of the city, for example, started from the south. When dealing with the gateway to the building he says that its sides faced towards the east, towards the north, and towards the south, Ezekiel 40:2, 6, 19, 20-46. When dealing with the measurement of the Temple, he says that its doors looked towards the north and the south, Ezekiel 41:11, while the outer court looked towards the north, the east, the south, and the west, Ezekiel 42:1, 4, 11, 16-19. He also says that the glory of Jehovah the God of Israel came in from the way of the east, Ezekiel 43:1-2, 4. The gates to the outer court are dealt with in Ezekiel 44:1-2, 4; 46:1, 9, 10, 19, 20; and the boundaries of the Holy Land in Chapter 47 - towards the north in verses 15-17, towards the east in verse 18, towards the south in verse 19, towards the west in verse 20; while Chapter 48 specifies in relation to the four quarters the territories allotted to each tribe. And in the description of the Holy Jerusalem it is said that the gates were on the east, north, south, and west, Revelation 21:13. From these references it is quite evident that the four quarters of the world in relation to which those holy things, or representatives of what is holy, were arrayed do not mean in the internal sense the four quarters but states of good and truth within the Lord's kingdom.
[18] In the contrary sense 'the north' and 'the west' mean falsity and evil, as may be seen from the following places: In Jeremiah,
The word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? I said, I am seeing an open pot with it's face towards the north. And Jehovah said, From the north evil will be opened over all the inhabitants of the land. Lo, I am calling all the families of the north to come. Jeremiah 1:13-15.
In the same prophet,
Set up a standard towards Zion; assemble, stay not, for I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction. Jeremiah 4:6.
In the same prophet,
The sound of crashing; behold, it is coming, and a great commotion out of the land of the north to reduce the cities of Judah into a waste. Jeremiah 10:22.
In the same prophet,
In Tekoa sound the trumpet, for evil stares from the north, and great destruction. Behold, a people coming from the land of the north, a mighty nation will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. Jeremiah 6:1, 22.
In the same prophet,
I took the cup from Jehovah's hand and made all the nations drink it - Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings, Pharaoh king of Egypt, and the whole western crowd; all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the west, dwelling in the wilderness, and all the kings of the north, far and near. Jeremiah 25:17-26.
[19] In the same prophet,
The swift will not flee away, nor the strong man escape. Northwards on the bank of the River Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. Who is this coming up like a river? Egypt comes up like the river, for he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. But that day is to the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth a day of vengeance - for the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth holds a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates. A very beautiful heifer is Egypt, but destruction from the north has come. The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame; she has been delivered into the hand of a people from the north. Jeremiah 46:6-10, 20, 24.
In the same prophet,
Thus said Jehovah, Behold, waters rising out of the north which are like a deluging stream, and they will deluge the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. Jeremiah 47:2.
[20] In the same prophet,
[The word which] Jehovah spoke against Babel: There will come up against her a nation from the north, which will make her land a desolation so that none may dwell in it. Jeremiah 50:1, 3.
In the same prophet,
Behold, I am stirring up and bringing up against Babel an assembly of great nations out of the north land, and they will array themselves against her; from there she will be taken. Behold, a people coming out of the north, a mighty nation, and many kings will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. Jeremiah 50:9, 41.
In the same prophet,
Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, will sing over Babel, because those who lay waste will come out of the north. Jeremiah 51:48.
In Ezekiel,
Say to Gog, You will come out of your place from the furthest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you. You will come up against My people Israel, like a cloud to cover the land. Ezekiel 38:14-16.
In the same prophet,
Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince. I will make you turn back and will split you into six, and make you come up from the furthest parts of the north and bring you onto the mountains of Israel. On the mountains of Israel you will fall. On the surface of the field you will fall. Ezekiel 39:1-2, 4-5.
In Zechariah,
Ho! Flee from the land of the north, says Jehovah, for like the four winds of the heavens I will spread you abroad. Ho, Zion! escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babel. Zechariah 2:6-7.
[21] These quotations show what 'the north' means in the contrary sense, namely falsity which is the source of evil, or falsity which is the result of evil. Because falsity which is the source of evil originates in reasoning about Divine things and against Divine things, which reasoning is based on factual knowledge belonging to the natural man, it is called 'a people from the north out of Egypt' - 'Egypt' meaning such factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 2588 (end). And because falsity which is the result of evil originates in worship which to outward appearance is holy but interiorly is unholy, it is called 'a nation from the north out of Babel' - 'Babel' meaning such, see 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, as well as that which lays waste, 1327. Both types of falsity - that which is the source of evil, and that which is the result of evil - are said to come out of Gog, for 'Gog' is worship consisting in external observances devoid of anything internal, which is idolatrous worship, as at all times was that of the Jews. That 'Gog' means such worship, see 1151.
[22] Out of the obscurity in which the natural man dwells either truth can arise or falsity can do so. When anyone allows himself to be enlightened by means of the Word from the Lord his obscurity is turned into brightness, for the internal path is opened and so influx and communication from the Lord by way of heaven takes place. But when he does not allow himself to be enlightened by means of the Word from the Lord, but by his own intelligence, his obscurity is turned into darkness and so into falsity, for the internal path is closed and no influx and communication from the Lord by way of heaven takes place, apart from such as enables him to be seen outwardly to be human, when he thinks and so speaks from evil and falsity. This is why 'the north' means truth with those who allow themselves to be enlightened, falsity with those who do not. For the former come up from obscurity, that is, they are raised up to light, but the latter go down from obscurity, that is, remove themselves from light. The former are accordingly brought into [the light of] the south, the latter into [the gloom of] Tartarus.
[23] The fact that 'the north' means the thick darkness of falsity and 'the south' the light of truth is quite evident in Daniel where the ram and the he-goat are the subject, and also where the king of the south and the king of the north are. Referring to the ram and the he-goat it is said that the ram butted with his horns towards the west and towards the north and towards the south, so that none of the beasts could stand before him, and that a he-goat came from the west across the surface of the whole earth, and out of one of his horns there came forth a [little] horn which grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land], Daniel 8:4-5, 9. And referring to the king of the south and the king of the north in the place where 'the king of the south' means those possessing cognitions of truth, and 'the king of the north' those who are governed by falsity, it is said that
After some years they will make an alliance, as a result of which the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to negotiate equitable terms but her arm will not gain strength. One will rise from that stem who will enter into the fortress of the king of the north and will prevail and will carry [the gods] they have captured into Egypt. The king of the south will come into the kingdom and fight with the king of the north, and the king of the north will return and raise a multitude greater than the former. Many will stand up against the king of the south. The king of the north will come and take the fortified city and destroy much. The king of the south will be stirred up to battle with a great army, but he will not stand, for they will devise plots against him. After that he will return, but it will not be as previously. The people consisting of those who know their God will stand firm. At length, at the time of the end, the king of the south will clash with him; therefore the king of the north will rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen. In the glorious land many will fall. But rumours will terrify him from the east and from the north, so that he goes forth with great fury. He will come to his end, with none to help him. Daniel 11:1-end.
The fact that 'the king of the south' means those who dwell in the light of truth, 'the king of the north' those who first dwell in shade and then in the thick darkness of falsity, may become clear from the details in that chapter. So it is a description of how the state of the Church is in course of time perverted. They are called kings of the south and of the north because 'kings' in the internal sense of the Word means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, 1672, 2015, 2069, while 'kingdoms' means things that belong to truth, and in the contrary sense those that belong to falsity, 1672, 2547.
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