922. (Verse 20) And the wine-press was trodden without the city. That this signifies the production of falsity from evil from hell, is evident from the signification of treading the wine-press, as denoting to produce truth from good; and, in the opposite sense, to produce falsity from evil. For grapes, of which wine is made in the wine-press, signify the good of charity; and, in the opposite sense, evil. And from good is produced truth, and from evil falsity. That these things, as well as the falsifications of the Word, are signified by the wine-press of the wrath of God, may be seen from the article just preceding (n. 920); and from the signification of without the city, as denoting from hell. For by a city is signified the doctrine of truth from the Word; as may be seen above (n. 223); but without the city, the doctrine of falsity, from the Word falsified. And because the falsification of the Word is from hell, therefore by without the city denotes from hell. By city, in the Word, is signified doctrine; but by the city of David or Zion, and by the city of Jerusalem, are signified the church as to the Word, and as to doctrine from the Word. Hence by without the city is signified, not from the Word and doctrine therefrom; and the things which are not from the Word and doctrine therefrom are from hell. Without the city signifies the same as, without the camp, of the sons in the wilderness. For by their camp was signified heaven and the church; and by without the camp, was 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 also the excrements, by which infernal things were signified, were carried outside the camp (Deuteronomy 23:13, 14).

[2] That the wine-press and treading it, signify the production of falsity from evil, and the production of truth from good, is evident from the Word, where wine-press is mentioned. That it signifies the production of falsity from evil, is seen from the following passages. As in Lamentations:

"The Lord hath prostrated all my mighty ones in the midst of me; he hath proclaimed against me, the time appointed to break the young men: the Lord hath trodden the wine-press of the daughter of Judah" (1:15).

The subject there treated of is the end of the church with the Jewish nation. And by the mighty ones whom the Lord has prostrated in the midst thereof, is signified the destruction of the love of good - those who are in the love of good being in the Word called mighty; because good from the love of it prevails against the hells, and thence is mighty. In the midst, signifies all, and everywhere. By breaking the young men, is signified the destruction of all understanding of truth. The time appointed denotes, when both the goods and truths of the church were devastated with that nation. This time was when the Lord came into the world, and is meant by the fulness of times. Hence by the Lord hath trodden the wine-press of the daughter of Judah, is signified the perversion of the church, and the adulteration of the Word, produced from evils of life and falsities of doctrine, the daughter of Judah denoting the church from the doctrine of truth from the Word, and the wine-press denoting the production of falsity from evil, and the consequent adulteration of the Word and the overturning of the church. This is attributed to the Lord in the sense of the letter; but it is inverted in the spiritual sense, in which it is meant that it would be done by that nation itself.

[3] In Joel:

"Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats overflowed; for their wickedness is great" (3:13).

The devastation of the church as to good and truth is thus described. And by the wine-press being full and the vats overflowing, is signified that there was nothing but falsities from evil. The rest may be seen explained (n. 911).

In Hosea:

"Rejoice not, O Israel, over a likeness, as the nations, because thou hast committed whoredom under thy God, thou hast loved the reward of whoredom upon all corn-floors; the threshing floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the must shall fail in her" (9:1, 2).

This treats of the falsification of the Word. The threshing and the wine-press shall not feed them, signifies that they will not imbibe from the Word the goods and truths which nourish the soul; but this passage also has been explained before (n. 695).

[4] In Jeremiah

"The spoiler hath fallen upon thy vintage, whence gladness is gathered and joy out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab: and I have made the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; shouting shall be no shouting" (48:33, 34).

What is signified by the vintage, upon which the spoiler hath fallen, and what by gladness and joy which are gathered, may be seen above (n. 919). That there is no longer any truth because there is no good, is signified by making the wine to cease from the wine-presses. And that there is no longer joy from any spiritual love, is signified by none shall tread with shouting; the triumph of those who tread the wine-press being meant by shouting.

[5] In Isaiah:

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, sprinkled as to his garments from Bozrah, this that is honourable in his apparel, walking in the multitude of his strength? I who speak in justice, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red as to thy garment, and thy garments as of him that treadeth in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people not a man with me: wherefore I have trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; therefore their victory is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have polluted all my raiment" (63:1-3).

These things are said of the Lord, and His combats against all the hells. And because He fought against them from the Human in which was the Divine itself, it is said, who is this that cometh from Edom, sprinkled as to his garments from Bozrah; by which is signified combating from the good of love and from truth, which are from the Divine. For Edom signifies what is red, and Bozrah the vintaging; and red is said of good, and vintaging of truth. And because those things are signified by Edom and by Bozrah, therefore in what follows, it is said, "red, and as one treading in the wine-press." And since the Divine Good and Divine truth, which are here meant, is the Word in the letter, and this is signified by the garments of the Lord, therefore it is said, "sprinkled as to his garments;" also who is honourable in his apparel. And because all strength is contained in the Word in the letter, therefore it is said, "walking in the multitude of his strength." Judgment from His Divine upon the good and upon the evil, and salvation in consequence, is meant by, "I who speak in justice, mighty to save." The violence offered to the Word by the Jewish nation, is signified by, wherefore art thou red as to thy garment, and thy garments as of him that treadeth in the wine-press; red as to the garment, being said of the violence offered to the Divine Good of the Word, which was meant above by Edom; and the garments as of him that treadeth in the wine-press, being said of the violence offered to Divine truth therein, meant above by Bozrah. The garments of the Lord signify the Word in the letter, to which violence was offered by the adulterations and falsifications thereof. The prostration of the hells and of the falsities therefrom, from his own proper power, is signified by, I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people not a man with me. The casting down into the hells of those who were in direful evils and the falsities therefrom, is signified by, I have trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath - anger being said of evils and wrath of falsities. And these are ascribed to the Lord, although it is those who are in evils and the falsities therefrom, that are angry and wrathful with the Lord. And because 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; consequently it is said, therefore their victory is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have polluted all my raiment. For the Lord, by all things of His passion, and by the last upon the cross, represented the violence offered by the Jewish nation to the Word, or to the Divine truth (concerning which see above, n. 183, 195 at the end, 627 at the end, 655, 805).

[6] That by the wine-press and the treading thereof, is signified the production of truth from good, because the grape signifies spiritual good, and the wine (vinum) from the grape the truth from that good, is clear from the following passages.

In Joel:

"Sons of Zion, rejoice. The floors are full of corn, and the wine-presses overflow with must (mustum) and oil" (2:23, 24).

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

[7] In Matthew:

"A man, the father of a family, 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 lastly his son (21:33).

By the vineyard which the father of the family planted, is signified the church instituted with the sons of Jacob. By the hedge which he set about it, is signified a guard 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. Who slew the servants that were sent to them, signifies the prophets. And lastly his son, signifies the Lord.

In Isaiah:

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

By the vineyard, tower, and wine-press are here signified things similar to those explained 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 at the same time;

As in Hosea 9:1, 2; Joel 3:13; Numbers 18:26-30; Deuteronomy 15:14; 16:13; 2 Kings 6:27.

The reason of this is, that the harvest and corn-floor signify, from the corn and bread, the good of celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and the vintage and wine-press signify, from the grape and the wine, the good of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbour. For those two loves make one as the efficient cause and the effect. These things are mentioned, because in this part of the Apocalypse the harvest, and afterwards the vintage, are similarly referred to - of the harvest (vers. 14, 15), and of the vintage (ver. 19).