1037. Verse 3. And he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, signifies into a place appearing in vision that corresponded to the state of that religious persuasion. This is evident from the signification of "wilderness," as being a state of the church in which there is no longer any good or truth (See n. 730). But as a church in which there is no longer any good or truth is not a church, it is called a religious persuasion. Also from the signification of "in the spirit," as being in vision, for what John saw in the spirit he saw in vision. To see in vision is to see such things as exist with angels in heaven, which are representative and thus significative of things spiritual. When these appear to man they do not appear before the sight of his body, but before the sight of his spirit. For the spirit of man has eyes as well as his body; but the eyes of his spirit see the things that are in the spiritual world, because all things that appear there are from a spiritual origin, and the spiritual man sees spiritual things with the understanding, and with the eyes he sees the same in a form like the natural. But the eyes of the body see the things that are in the material world, because all things that appear there are from a natural origin; and with his understanding the material man sees natural things, while with his eyes he sees the same in a material form. So when the eyes of the spirit were opened with the prophets they saw such things as represented and thus signified the celestial Divine and spiritual Divine things of the church, and sometimes such things as represented and thus signified things that were to come to pass in the churches in the future; and such were the things that John saw. He now saw a wilderness, because a "wilderness" signifies a state of the church devastated of all good and truth; and this state corresponds to the church that had become Babylon. This is why Babylon is described in many passages of the Word as a wilderness, as in the following:

Art thou he that hath made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof? (Isaiah 14:17).

Babylon shall be as God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah; it shall not be inhabited forever; it shall not be dwelt in even from generation to generation; that the Arabian may not abide there. The daughters of the owl shall dwell there, and the satyrs shall dance there (Isaiah 13:19-22; also Jeremiah 50:37-40; 51:2, 25-26, 37, 41-43).

93. I have sometimes conversed in the spiritual world with those who justify men by faith alone, and I have said that their doctrine is erroneous, and also incongruous; that it leads to unconcern, blindness, sleep, and night in spiritual things, and thereby to the death of the soul; and I have exhorted them to abandon that doctrine. But the answer I received was: Why should we abandon it? Does not the superiority of the learning of the clergy in the sight of the laity depend upon this doctrine? But I replied that in that case they do not regard the salvation of souls, but their own eminence; and that, as they have applied the truths of the Word to their own false principles, and so have adulterated them, they are angels of the abyss, called Abaddons and Apollyons, Revelation 9:11; by whom are signified those who destroy the Church by a total falsification of the Word; see the explanation inTHE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 440, and the memorable experience, THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 566. But they answered: What of that? Are we not oracles on account of our knowledge of the mysteries of that doctrine? And from that doctrine do we not give answers as from a shrine? Wherefore, we are not Apollyons, but Apollos. I was indignant at these words and said If you are Apollos, you are also Leviathans. The chief among you are crooked Leviathans, the lesser are piercing Leviathans, whom God will visit with His hard and great sword; Isaiah 27:1. But they laughed at this. What is signified by being visited, and by perishing by the sword, may be seen in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 52.