389. Verses 9-11. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony that they held. And they cried out with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And there were given to every one of them white robes; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow-servants, as well as their brethren, who were to be killed, as they also were, should be fulfilled.

9. "And when he had opened the fifth seal," signifies still further prediction (n. 390); "I saw under the altar," signifies those who were preserved under heaven n. 391; "the souls of those slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony that they held," signifies those who were rejected and concealed because of Divine truth and because of their confession of the Lord. n. 392).

10. "And they cried out with a great voice," signifies their grief of mind (n. 393); "saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" signifies sighings to the Lord, who is Righteousness, respecting the judgment and removal of those who persecute and infest those who acknowledge the Lord, and are in the life of charity n. 394.

11. "And there were given to every one of them white robes," signifies Divine truth from the Lord with them, and protection n. 395; "and it was said unto them they should rest yet a little time," signifies some further continuance in that state (n. 396); "until their fellow-servants, as well as their brethren, who were to be killed, as they also were, should be fulfilled," signifies until all things were consummated n. 397.

2897. The Word in the Ancient Church after the Flood however was derived from these people meant by 'Enoch'. The member of this Church, being spiritual and not celestial, knew but did not see with perception what was embodied in representatives and meaningful signs. And because these embodied Divine things they held out a use to members of that Church and were employed by them in their Divine worship, to the end that they might have a communication with heaven; for, as has been stated, all things in the world represent and mean such things as exist in heaven. Also the Word which they had was a written Word, consisting of Historical Sections and Prophetical Parts, like the Old Testament Word. But in course of time that Word came to be lost. The historical sections were called The Wars of Jehovah, and the prophetical parts The Utterances, as is clear in Moses, Numbers 21:14, 27, where they are quoted. The historical sections of their Word were written in the prophetical style and were for the most part made-up historical narratives, like those in Chapters 1-11 of Genesis, as is evident from the quotations of those historical narratives in Moses, where the following words occur,

Therefore it is said in The Book of The Wars of Jehovah, Waheb in Suphah, and the streams of Arnon, and the descent of the streams which runs down to the dwelling at Ar and leans to the border of Moab. Numbers 21:14-15.

The prophetical parts of their Word were written in a style similar to the prophetical parts of the Old Testament, as is also evident from the quotation of these in Moses, where the following words occur,

Therefore The Utterances (or The Utterers of Prophecies) say, Come to Heshbon the city of Sihon shall be built and established. For fire went out of Heshbon flame out of the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to you, O Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He gave his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon, king of the Amorites. But we shot at them; Heshbon has perished even to Dibon; and we have laid waste even to Nophah, which reaches even to Medebah. Numbers 21:27-30.

These prophetical utterances embody heavenly arcana in the same way as the prophetical parts of the Old Testament. This is quite evident not only from the fact that Moses copied them and applied them to the state of affairs prevailing in his own day, but also from the fact that almost the same words occur in Jeremiah. Included there among his prophetical sayings, they hold - as becomes clear from what has been stated about the internal sense of the Word - as many heavenly arcana within them as they consist of words. Those sayings as they occur in Jeremiah are as follows,

A fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from between Sihon, and has devoured the corner of Moab and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken away into captivity, and your daughters into captivity. Jeremiah 48:45-46.

From this also it is evident that that Word too possessed an internal sense. Regarding the Ancient Church after the Flood, see 640, 641, 765, 1238, 1327, 2385.