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).

928. 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. This is evident from the signification of "angels," as being Divine truths from the Lord (See above, n. 130, 302); also from the signification of "seven," as being all things and wholly (See n. 20, 24, 257, 300); also from the signification of "plagues," as being the evils and falsities that have devastated the church (See above, n. 584). And as "seven" means all things and wholly, so "the seven plagues" signify evils and falsities in the whole complex, which wholly devastate the church. (All evils in the complex of those who devastate are signified by the number "one thousand six hundred," chapter Revelation 14:20, see n. 924; and all falsities in the complex of those who devastate are signified by the number "six hundred sixty-six," chapter Revelation 13:18, see n. 847.) The above is evident also from the signification of "last," as being as to all goods and truths; for then comes what is last and finished. From all this it is clear that "seven angels having the seven last plagues" signify 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. How the evils and falsities that have wholly devastated the church were made manifest by the Lord is described in what follows in this chapter from the fifth to the eighth verse.

[2] That the church has been devastated as to all goods and truths can be seen from this, that the Christian Church has been divided from its beginning into two churches, one of which is depicted in Revelation by the dragon and the two beasts; and the other by the harlot sitting on the scarlet beast, and by Babylon. That which is depicted by the dragon and its two beasts is the church with the Reformed; and that which is depicted by the harlot and by Babylon is the church with the papists. The church with the Reformed has been devastated by faith alone; and the church with the papists by dominion over the souls of men, and over heaven. The devastation of this church as to all goods and truths therefrom is treated of in the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters; and the devastation of the church with the Reformed is described in the twelfth and thirteenth chapters, and further in the sixteenth chapter by "the seven angels having vials full of the anger of God."

[3] That both churches have been devastated in respect to all goods and truths by evils and falsities can be clearly seen from the fact that scarcely anyone at this day knows that God is one and that He is the Lord, or knows what love to the Lord is, or what charity towards the neighbor is, and therefore what good works are, or even what faith is in its essence, and that what is called faith is not faith; also what conscience is, what free will is, what regeneration is, what spiritual temptation is, what baptism is, what the Holy Supper is, what heaven and hell are, what the Word is, and many other things. And as all this is not known, goods and truths are concealed; and so far as worldly and bodily things are loved all these things are lightly esteemed and are even cast aside; and then evils enter in the place of goods, and falsities enter in the place of truths, and thus the church is devastated.