350. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 6.

1. And I saw when the Lamb had opened the first of the seals, and I heard one of the four animals saying as with the voice of thunder, Come and see.

2. And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him had a bow; and there was given to him a crown; and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer.

3. And when he had opened the second seal I heard the second animal saying, Come and see.

4. And there went forth another horse that was red; and to him that sat upon him, to him it was given to take peace from the earth, that they should slay one another; and there was given unto him a great sword.

5. And when he had opened the third seal I heard the third animal saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a black horse; and he that sat upon him had a balance in his hand.

6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four animals saying, A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.

7. And when he had opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth animal saying, Come and see.

8. And I saw, and behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him his name was Death, and Hell followed with him. And there was given unto them the authority to kill over the fourth part of the earth, with sword and with famine and with death and by the beasts of the earth.

9. And when he had opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony that they held.

10. And they cried out with a great voice saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?

11. And there was given to each one of them white robes; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little time until their fellow-servants, and their brethren, who were to be killed as they also were, should be fulfilled.

12. And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.

13. And the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

14. And the heaven withdrew as a book rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15. And the kings of the earth, and the great ones and the rich, and the commanders of thousands, and the mighty, and every servant, and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves, and in the rocks of the mountains.

16. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb.

17. For the great day of His anger is come; and who is able to stand?

EXPOSITION.

Verses 1, 2. And I saw when the Lamb had opened the first of the seals, and I heard one of the four animals saying as with the voice of thunder, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him had a bow; and there was given to him a crown; and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer.

1. "And I saw," signifies manifestation of the states of those who are of the church where the Word is n. 351; "when the Lamb had opened the first of the seals," signifies the first manifestation of the Lord. n. 352); "and I heard one of the four animals saying as with a voice of thunder," signifies out of the inmost heaven from the Lord. n. 353); "Come and see," signifies attention and perception (n. 354).

2. "And I saw and behold a white horse," signifies the understanding of truth from the Word n. 355; "and he that sat upon him had a bow," signifies the doctrine of charity and faith, by which there is combat against evils and falsities, and by which they are dispersed (n. 356, 357); "and there was given to him a crown," signifies eternal life, which is the reward of victory n. 358; "and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer," signifies the removal of evils and of falsities thence at the end of life, and afterwards to eternity n. 359.

248. The Jewish church and Jews. ¹ The statutes, judgments, and laws that were commanded in the Jewish church were somewhat like those of the ancient church: 4449, 4834. How the symbolic rites of the Jewish church differed from the symbolic rites of the ancient church: 4288, 10149. A symbolic church was established for the people of that nation, but there was no real church among them: 4899, 4912, 6304. So they had something that symbolized a church but not an actual church: 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 6304, 7048, 9320, 10396, 10526, 10531, 10698. Because of the stubborn insistence of their ancestors and Moses, the Israelite and Jewish people were accepted as a church, not because they actually were a chosen people but rather so that they would symbolize a church: 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439, 10430, 10535, 10632. Their worship was solely external, without any inner worship: 1200, 3147, 3479, 8871. They knew absolutely nothing about inner worship and did not want to know: 301, 302, 303, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10694, 10701, 10707. What they thought of the inner aspects of worship, the church, and the Word: 4865. Their inner natures were foul, full of their love for themselves and the world and of avarice: 3480, 9962, 10454-10457, 10462-10466, 10575. Therefore the inner teachings of the church were not disclosed to them, because otherwise they would have defiled them: 2520, 3398, 3480, 4289. The Word was completely closed to them: 3769. They saw the Word from the outside and not from the inside (10549, 10550, 10551), so their inner self was closed when they were engaged in worship (8788, 8806, 9320, 9377, 9380, 9962, 10396, 10401, 10407, 10492, 10498, 10500, 10575, 10629, 10692). All the same, this people was more capable than any other of being outwardly holy despite the fact that their inner self was closed: 4293, 4311, 4903, 9373, 9377, 9380. Their state at such times: 4311. That is also why they have been preserved to this day: 3479. Their holy outward behavior was miraculously raised up and exhibited to heaven by the Lord, and as a result deeper levels of worship, the church, and the Word were perceived there: 3480, 4307, 4311, 6304, 8588, 10499, 10500, 10602. So that this could happen, they were driven by external pressures to a strict observance of their rituals in outward form: 3147, 4281, 8006. Because they could be outwardly holy without inner holiness, they were able to represent what is truly holy in the church and heaven: 3479, 3881, 4208, 6304, 8588, 9377, 10430, 10500, 10570. Nevertheless, they were not interested in what is truly holy: 3479. It does not matter what a person who symbolizes something is like, because symbolism focuses on the issue and not on the person: 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.

[2] Those people were worse than other peoples; a description of what they were like, including material from the Word of both Testaments: 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 5998, 7248, 8819, 9320, 10454-10457, 10462-10466. The tribe of Judah strayed more than the other tribes: 4815. How they took pleasure in cruelly treating other peoples: 5057, 7248, 9320. That people was idolatrous at heart and worshiped other gods more than other peoples did: 3732, 4208, 4281, 4825, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882. Even their worship, seen in the context of that people, was idolatrous, since it was superficial, with no inner substance: 4281, 4825, 8871, 8882. They worshiped Jehovah in name only (6877, 10559, 10560, 10561, 10566), and only because of the miracles he did (4299). It is incorrect to think that the Jews are going to be converted at the end of the church ² and brought back into the land of Canaan: 4847, 7051, 8301. A copious selection of passages from the Word on this subject-passages that are, however, to be understood in their inner meaning and therefore not taken literally: 7051. The Word was changed in its outer meaning because of that people, but not in its inner meaning: 10453, 10461, 10603, 10604. The way Jehovah appeared to them on Mount Sinai was shaped by their own nature, so he appeared in devouring fire, thick cloud, and smoke like that of a furnace: 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434. The way the Lord appears to each of us depends on what we ourselves are really like-as a life-giving and creative fire if we are devoted to doing good, but as a devouring fire if we are bent on doing evil: 934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551. One lineage of that people was of Canaanite ancestry and two others were the result of fornication with a daughter-in-law: 1167, 4818, 4820, 4874, 4899, 4913. Those stories represent the nature of their relationship with the inner truth of the church, namely, that it was like that of union with a Canaanite or fornication with a daughter-in-law: 4868, 4874, 4899, 4913. Their state in the other life: 939, 940, 5057.

[3] Because despite all this that people symbolized the church, and because the Word was composed among and about them, their names-for example, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Ephraim, Joseph, and the rest-have divine and heavenly meanings. In its inner meaning, "Judah" means the Lord in respect to his heavenly love and his heavenly kingdom: 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 6363. An explanation of Israel's prophecy concerning Judah in Genesis 49:8-12, which is about the Lord: 6362-6381. Both the tribe of Judah and Judea mean the heavenly church: 3654, 6364. The twelve tribes represented and meant all the aspects of love and faith taken together (3858, 3926, 4060, 6335), and therefore heaven and the church as well (6337, 6637, 7836, 7891). Their meanings depend on the order in which they are named: 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603 and following, 6337, 6640. The twelve tribes were divided into two kingdoms so that the Judeans could represent the heavenly kingdom and the Israelites could represent the spiritual kingdom: 3654, 8770. The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob means the goodness and truth that belong to the church: 3373, 10445.

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