8876. 'Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons' means the consequent propagation of falsity from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers' as the propagation of evils, the reason why 'visiting' means propagating being that the subject is the state of those who completely reject the Divine, therefore who are receptive no longer of good but of evil, and constantly so since evil is constantly increasing with such people, which is the propagation of it (for the meaning of 'father' as good and in the contrary sense as evil, see 3703, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834); and from the meaning of 'the sons' as truths, dealt with in 1147, 2623, 3373, and therefore in the contrary sense as falsities In the proximate sense 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons' does not mean that sons pay the penalty for the iniquity of their fathers, for that is contrary to the Divine, Deuteronomy 24:16. Rather the meaning in that sense is that evil increases with the fathers and so is passed on by heredity to their children, and that consequently the evil mounts up over successive generations, 2910, 3701, 4317, 8550, 8551. In the spiritual sense however 'the fathers' does not mean fathers but evils, and 'the sons' does not mean sons but falsities; therefore those words mean the constant propagation of falsity from evil.

8284. 'You send out Your wrath' means the furious desires of the evil and their attempt to do violence. This is clear from the meaning of 'wrath', when attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, as the suppression and punishment of the attempts of those who, being opposed to the Divine, wish to do violence to those whom the Divine protects. This is seemingly anger and wrath on the side of the Divine, but in reality the anger and wrath reside with those opposed to Him, see 5798, 6071, 6997. Not only the anger and wrath but also every bad thing that happens is attributed to the Divine, when in reality those people themselves are responsible for it, 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8223, 8227, 8228. A sphere of endeavours to do what is bad issues constantly from hell, but a sphere of endeavours to do what is good emanates constantly from heaven, 8209.