925. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 15.

1. And I saw another sign in heaven great and wonderful, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them was consummated the anger of God.

2. And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire, and them that have victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name standing by the glassy sea, having the harps of God.

3. And they were singing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are Thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.

4. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: wherefore all the nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy judgments have been made manifest.

5. And after these things I saw, and behold the temple of the Tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

6. And there came out of the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed in linen clean and bright, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles.

7. And one of the four animals gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the anger of God, who liveth unto the ages of the ages.

8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be consummated.

EXPOSITION.

Verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven great and wonderful, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them was consummated the anger of God.

1. "And I saw another sign in heaven," signifies revelation by the Lord of the state of the church before the Last Judgment, n. 926; "great and wonderful," signifies from Divine omnipotence and providence (n. 927); "seven angels having the seven last plagues," signifies evils and falsities in the whole complex, that have wholly devastated the church as to all its goods and truths, made manifest by the Lord by means of Divine truth n. 928; "for in them was consummated the anger of God," signifies thus the end of the church (n. 929).

926. Verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, signifies revelation by the Lord of the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. This is evident from the signification of a "sign," as being revelation; also from the signification of "heaven," as being the Lord (of which presently). A "sign" signifies revelation because by a "sign" are meant those things that were seen by John, and that are described in what follows; and the things seen by him involve arcana respecting the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. For in general, whatever appears in heaven has precisely the same appearance as the things which exist in our material world in its three kingdoms; and such things appear before the eyes of the angels in just the same way as the things of the three kingdoms appear before the eyes of men in the world. There appear there gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, stones precious and not precious, soil, lands, mountains, hills, valleys, waters, fountains, and other things of the mineral kingdom. There appear paradises, gardens, forests, fruit trees of every kind, lawns, fields of grain, meadows filled with flowers, plants, and grasses of every kind; also things produced from these, as oils, wines, strong drinks, and other things of the vegetable kingdom. There appear animals of the earth, flying things of heaven, fishes of the sea, creeping things, and these of every kind, and so much like those on our earth that they cannot be distinguished. I have seen them, and could see no difference.

[2] Still there is this difference, that the things seen in heaven are from a spiritual origin, but those seen in our world are from a material origin; and things from a spiritual origin affect the senses of the angels because their senses are spiritual, as those from a material origin affect the senses of men because they are material. For spiritual things are homogeneous with spiritual beings, and material things are homogeneous with material beings. It is said that they are from a spiritual origin because they exist from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord as a sun; and the Divine proceeding from the Lord as a sun is spiritual. For the sun there is not fire, but is the Divine love, which appears before the eyes of angels as the sun of the world appears before the eyes of men; and whatever proceeds from the Divine love is Divine and is spiritual. That which proceeds appears in general as light, and is felt as heat; and yet that light as well as the heat is spiritual. For that light is the Divine wisdom, and is called the Divine truth, and that heat is the Divine love, and is called the Divine good, consequently that light inwardly enlightens the understanding of angels, and that heat inwardly fills the will of angels with the good of love. From that origin are all things that exist in the heavens; and they appear in forms like those in our world in its three kingdoms, as has been said above. Their appearing in such forms is according to the order of creation, which is that when the things pertaining to the wisdom of angels and to their love descend into the lower sphere in which angels are as to their bodies and their bodily sensations they are manifested in such forms and types. These are correspondences.

[3] This has been said to make known what is meant by the sign that John declares that he saw, also by the sign mentioned in the first and third verses of the twelfth chapter, namely, that it means revelation by such things as exist in heaven from a Divine spiritual origin, and thus contain in them Divine arcana; here arcana respecting the state of the church just before the Last Judgment. For seven angels were seen "with seven golden vials, clothed in linen clean and bright, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles;" there was also seen "a glassy sea mingled with fire;" also "those who had victory over the beast, having harps;" there was also seen "the temple of the Tabernacle of the testimony;" and the songs in which they glorified the Lord were heard; all these are called the "sign" that he saw, because they were significative. But the things signified by them can be seen only by correspondences; and because they contain Divine arcana, they cannot be seen unless the Lord reveals them.

[4] It is called a "sign from heaven," which means revelation by the Lord. It is said "by the Lord" because heaven is the Lord. Heaven indeed consists of angels; and yet the angels are not heaven, but the Lord is heaven, for heaven is the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, and this is called the Divine good and the Divine truth, and from it the angels have all their love and wisdom. Angels are angels from love and wisdom, and they have love and wisdom from the Lord; and because these are from the Lord they are the Lord's, and are thus the Lord with them, as can be seen from the Lord's words to His disciples:

That they are in the Lord and He in them (John 14:20);

And that He hath His abode in them in the Word from Him (John 14:22-24).

Since, then, heaven is from the angels, and angels are angels from the Lord, it follows that heaven is the Lord.