'Works,' as in Revelation 16:11, signify falsities of faith, and the resulting evils of life.

In Revelation, 'I know thy works,' is said frequently. This makes it clear that 'works' signify, generally, every aspect of the church.

'Works,' as in Genesis 46:33, denote goods, because they are from the will, and anything from the will is either good or evil, but anything from the understanding, like spoken words, are either truths or falsities.

In Genesis 2:2, the work signifies the celestial man, the highest use of God; or the accomplishment when the spiritual man becomes celestial. (Arcana Coelestia 84, 88)

In Exodus 5:9, work signifies assault for the purpose of subjugation. (Arcana Coelestia 7120)

In Genesis 39:11, it signifies the process when the Lord was conjoining Himself with spiritual good in the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 5004)

In Genesis 47:3; Psalms 8:3; 44:1; 63:12, works concern offices and uses which are done for the neighbor, the country, the church, and the Lord's kingdom.

In Exodus 5:4, work signifies that the people were not to be exempted from things that were hard to bear. (Arcana Coelestia 6073, Arcana Coelestia 7104)

In Revelation 2:2, works signify that the Lord sees man's exterior as well as his interior things. (Apocalypse Revealed 76)

In Revelation 2:6, it signifies that people do not want to claim personal merit. (Apocalypse Revealed 86)

In Revelation 2:19, 23, 26, it signifies all things of charity and faith. (Apocalypse Revealed 138, 141)

In Revelation 9:20, it signifies that they did not shun as sins their own things, which are evils of every kind. (Apocalypse Revealed 457)

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 6048)

139. "'I will kill her sons with death.'" (2:23) This symbolically means that truths from the Word with them will all be turned into falsities.

Sons in the Word symbolize truths, and in an opposite sense falsities. To kill sons, therefore, symbolically means to turn truths into falsities, for thus the truths perish. Nothing else is meant by "the slain of Jehovah." ¹

To kill her sons with death also means, symbolically, to condemn those people's falsities.

Sons symbolize truths, and in an opposite sense falsities, because in the spiritual sense of the Word generations mean spiritual generations. The case is the same with blood relations and relations by marriage, and so with terms referring to these, such as father, mother, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and the rest. No other sons or daughters are born of a spiritual generation than truths and goods (see nos. 542 and 543 below).

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