7. To whatever he saw. This symbolizes their enlightenment in all matters contained in this revelation.

"Whatever he saw" means, in the spiritual sense, not what John saw - they were simply visions - but what those people meant by John see, people who possess goodness of life arising from charity and its accompanying faith, as we said above. These see in John's visions secrets concerning the state of the church, not so much when they read them themselves, but when they see them revealed.

"To see," moreover. This means, symbolically, to understand. Consequently we even say in common speech that one sees a matter, or that one sees it to be the truth. For a person has a sight belonging to his spirit as well as a sight belonging to his body. But with his spirit a person sees spiritual matters as they appear in the light of heaven, whereas with his body he sees natural objects as they appear in the light of the world. Spiritual matters are also realities, while natural objects are their forms. The sight of a person's spirit is what we call the intellect.

It is apparent from this what is meant in the spiritual sense by "whatever he saw," and likewise in places after this where it is said that he saw.