1. A

Abaddon [Abaddon]. See Destroyer.

Abomination [abominatio]. The evils enumerated in the second table of the Decalogue are called abominations, shown n. 891.

Abyss [abyssus]. A description of the pit of the abyss, where they are who have confirmed in themselves faith alone separated from charity, n. 421, 442.

Accuse, to [accusare]. Accuser and to accuse, when spoken of the devil, signifies to bring forth various things out of man, and to condemn, n. 554.

Adore, to [adorare]. To adore signifies to acknowledge as holy or sacred, n. 579, 580, 588, 630. When spoken with respect to the Lord, it signifies to acknowledge him as the God of heaven and earth, and to adore him, n. 630.

Adultery [adulterium]. To commit adultery and whoredom signifies to adulterate and to falsify the goods and truths of the Word, illustrated and shown n. 134. The reason is, because in the Word and in every part thereof there is a marriage of the Lord and the church, also a marriage of good and truth, which constitutes the church; concerning which, n. 134, 359, 380, 812, 816, 881, 955. See Marriage and Bridegroom. That by the great harlot of Babylon is signified the adulteration and profanation of the Word, n. 719. See Papists.

Afar off [longinquum]. Afar off signifies remoteness of state, that is, removed from such things as constitute states of good and truth, and thence appertain to the church, illustrated and shown n. 769. The contrary is signified by near, n. 947. See At hand. To stand afar off, and to lament over damnation signifies to be in a state remote from damnation and in fear, n. 769,783, 787.

Affection [affectio]. See Love.

Affliction [afflictio]. Affliction signifies the state of the church infested by evils and falsities, shown n. 33. It also signifies temptations, n. 377. Affliction is predicated of falsities, n. 95,137.

After [post]. To walk after another signifies to obey, shown n. 578.

Air [aer]. What is signified by air, see n. 708.

Alas [vae]. See Woe.

Allelujah [alleluia]. It signifies praise ye God; it was an expression of thanksgiving, confession, and celebration of the Lord from joy of heart, shown n. 803, 807, 808. See To praise.

Altar [altare]. In the church amongst the children of Israel there were two altars, one for burnt offerings, the other for incense; and by the altar for burnt offerings is represented, and thence signified worship from celestial love, and by the altar for incense, worship from spiritual love illustrated and shown n. 392, 649. See Sacrifice and Incense. The altar for burnt offerings also signifies the celestial kingdom of the Lord, n. 649. Fire was continually burning upon the altar of burnt offering, and that hence fire was taken in the censer, and offered with incense, shown n. 395. That fire signifies the Divine celestial love, n. 395. See Fire.

Amen [amen]. Amen signifies confirmation from the truth, and since the Lord is truth itself, it signifies confirmation from the Lord, shown n. 23, 61, 199, 292, and it also signifies consent of all, n. 375.

Amphitheater [amphitheatrum]. Concerning the amphitheater where the dragons held their diversions, illustrated n. 655. Concerning their diversions there, see Faith.

Angel [angelus]. By angel, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord, in a respective sense, heaven, also a heavenly society, and likewise Divine truth, n. 647, 910. By angel, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord, illustrated and shown n. 5, 258, 344, 465, 647, 910, also by the seven angels, n. 657. By angel and angels are signified heaven because heaven is heaven from the Lord, n. 5, 342, 910. By Michael and Gabriel are not meant any archangel but societies of heaven and ministries therein, by Michael are meant societies of angels, whose special ministry is to teach, that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that God the Father and he are one; and by Gabriel are meant societies of angels, wherein is taught, that Jehovah came into the world, and that his human is the son of God, n. 77, 548, 564. Angel signifies Divine truth n. 900, 910. Concerning the angels of the third heaven, n. 120, and in the following. An angel does not speak with man out of heaven, but the Lord through heaven; but when an angel is to talk with man, he is sent out of heaven, and talks with man from the Lord, n. 816 See Heaven. The angels are not superior men, but their equals; the reason why they excel men in wisdom is because they are in spiritual light, but men in natural light 818. Angels and spirits know nothing of man, with whom they do not speak; the reason is because they are consociated by correspondences, n. 943. Angels are consociated with men, but the Lord only is conjoined with them n. 818, 946. Angels are not to be invoked, much less worshiped, but only the Lord, n. 818. He is an angel of heaven who receives the Lord in love and faith, n. 344.

Animals [animalia]. See Beasts. Concerning the four animals, see Cherubim.

Anointing, to Anoint [unctio, ungere]. See Oil.

Antipas [Antipas]. The martyr, that is, a confessor of the truth, n. 112.

Apes [simia]. Concerning apes mounted on horses, and seated thereon with their bodies reversed: who they were, and of what nature and quality, illustrated n. 839.

Apocalypse [Apocalypsis]. The Apocalypse treats concerning the last state of the Christian church, afterwards concerning the last judgment, and lastly concerning the new church, which is the new Jerusalem, and not concerning the empires or kingdoms of the world, Preface, and n. 2, 227, 387, 483, 543. In series it treats of the falsities in the church, inasmuch as the truths of the new church cannot be received before those falsities are discovered and removed, n. 700. The Apocalypse was manifested to John by the Lord, and it is now opened by him, preface, and n. 953, 954, 957. Nothing shall be added or taken away from what is written in Revelation signifies that nothing shall be added or taken away from the truths of the new church which contain prophecies, and are now revealed, illustrated n. 957–959. The last words in Revelation are the words of betrothal between the Lord and the church to marriage, n. 960.

Apostles [apostoli]. By the disciples of the Lord are meant those who are taught and instructed in the goods and truths of the church, n. 79. By apostles are meant those who teach the goods and truths of the church, and the twelve apostles of the Lord consequently represent and thence in the Word signify the church as to all the goods and truths thereof, n. 5, 233, 790, 903, 915. What is signified by Peter, James, and John, n. 5. The same is signified by the apostles sitting on twelve thrones, and judging the twelve tribes of Israel, n. 233, 798. The apostles are called holy, because they represent holy things, n. 790.

Ark [arca]. See Decalogue.

Armageddon [Armageddon]. Armageddon signifies the love of honor, dominion, and preeminence, shown n. 707. To gather together to war, in Armageddon signifies a state of combat from falsities against truths, and a desire of destroying the new church, arising from a love of dominion or power and preeminence, n. 707, illustrated n. 839. Concerning the combat in Armageddon with respect to the understanding of the Lord’s prayer in its beginning, illustrated n. 839. See Prayer.

Arms [arma]. Arms signifies such things as belong to spiritual war, shown n. 436. See War. Breast plates signify argument, shown n. 436, 450.

Army or Host [exercitus]. An army signifies those who are in Divine goods and truths, and thence abstractly goods and truths, and in the opposite sense, those who are in evils and falsities, and thence abstractly evils and falsities, illustrated and shown n. 447, 833. Therefore the sun, moon, and the stars, are called hosts or armies, shown n. 447. By sun, moon, and stars, are signified the goods and truths of the church, also its evils and falsities, n. 413. See Sun, Moon, and Stars.

Artificer [artifex]. An artificer signifies a man who is intelligent, and who from understanding thinks truths, and, in the opposite sense, who from self-derived intelligence thinks falsities, illustrated and shown n. 793. Every kind of device in the world corresponds with such things as belong to angelic wisdom, illustrated n. 793.

Asher [Ascher]. Asher in the highest sense signifies eternity, in the spiritual sense, eternal happiness, in the natural sense, the affection of good and truth, also the love of being useful, which is called mutual love, shown n. 353.

Asia [Asia]. Asia signifies those who are in the light of truth from the Word, illustrated n. 11. Concerning Great Tartary in Asia, n. 11. See Tartary.

Assyria or Ashur [Assyria]. It signifies the rational faculty of the church, illustrated n. 444. See Euphrates.

At Hand, Near, Nearness [prope, propinquum]. At hand and near signifies nearness of state, also that it is absolutely necessary, illustrated n. 947. See also Afar Off, and Shortly.

Atmospheres [atmospherae]. In the spiritual world there are atmospheres like ether, air, and water, in which the angels of the three heavens dwell, and those atmospheres are spiritual, n. 238, 878.

Axe [securis]. An axe signifies the falsity from one’s own intelligence, illustrated and shown n. 847.

647. 14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. This symbolizes the heavens of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the Word's Divine truth in them.

In the highest sense an angel symbolizes the Lord, and also the angelic heaven, and likewise the Divine truth emanating from the Lord (see nos. 5, 65, 170, 258, 342-344, 415, 465 above). Here, however, the angel symbolizes the heavens of the spiritual kingdom, and consequently the Divine truths there, because we are told in the next verse that another angel came out from the altar, who symbolizes the heavens of the Lord's celestial kingdom, thus the Divine goodness there, as shown in the next number.

All the heavens are divided into two kingdoms - the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom. The spiritual kingdom is the kingdom of the Lord's wisdom, because the angels in it are in a state of wisdom gained from Divine truths received from the Lord; and the celestial kingdom is the kingdom of the Lord's love, because the angels there are prompted by love received from the Lord and so possess every kind of goodness.

That all the heavens are divided into two kingdoms may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758), nos. 20-28. Also in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom (Amsterdam, 1763), nos. 101, 381.

A temple symbolizes the whole of heaven, as in no. 644 above; but because it is called here the temple which is in heaven, and after that mention is made of the altar, the temple symbolizes the heaven of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as said just above. And the sharp sickle symbolizes Divine truth in the Word, as in nos. 643, 645 above.

[2] Previously the text said that He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle and the earth was reaped, and now that an angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle, and he thrust it into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth; and the reason is that the earth which was reaped by Him who sat on the cloud, or the Lord, symbolizes the church throughout the world, while the vine of the earth symbolizes the church in the Christian world.

This description includes elements similar to those in what the Lord foretold in the parable of the sower and his gathering in of the harvest in Matthew 13, which we quoted above at the end of no. 645. There we said that the harvest is the culmination of the age, that is, the end of the church, and that the reapers are angels who symbolize Divine truths. For angels are not sent to reap, that is, to perform the actions symbolized, but the Lord accomplishes the actions through the Divine truths in His Word. As the Lord says, "the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). See nos. 233, 273 above.

676. REVELATION: CHAPTER 16

1. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God onto the earth."

2. So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and an evil and noxious sore formed in people who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image.

3. Then the second angel poured out his bowl onto the sea, and it became blood as though of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea died.

4. Then the third angel poured out his bowl onto the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

5. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was, and holy, Because You have judged these things.

6. For they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For they are deserving."

7. And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments."

8. Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl onto the sun, and it was given to him to scorch people with fire.

9. And people were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

10. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of their suffering.

11. And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, and did not repent of their works.

12. Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be made ready.

13. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.

14. For they are spirits of demons that perform signs to go away to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15. "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and preserves his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

16. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

17. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, "It is done!"

18. And there were voices and lightnings and thunderings; and there was a great earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were on the earth, so great was the earthquake.

19. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

20. Then every island fled away, and mountains were not found.

21. And great hail from heaven about the weight of a talent fell upon people. And people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, as the plague was exceedingly great.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

In this chapter the evils and falsities in the church of the Protestant Reformed are exposed by influx from heaven (verse 1) - by influx into the clergy (verse 2), into the laity (verse 3), into the understanding of the Word in them (verses 4-7), into the love in them (verses 8, 9), into the faith in them (verses 10, 11), into the interior reasonings in them (verses 12-15), and into all of these at the same time (verses 17-21).

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

THE EXPOSITION

16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God onto the earth." This symbolizes an influx from the Lord from the inmost of heaven into the church of the Protestant Reformed, where those people are found who are caught up in a faith divorced from charity, as to faith and as to life, to take truths and goods from them and reveal the falsities and evils in which they are caught up, and in this way to separate them from people who believe in the Lord and who possess charity from Him and its accompanying faith.

This in brief is what is contained in this chapter. The temple means the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony previously spoken of in chapter 15:5, and it symbolizes the inmost of heaven where the Lord is present in His holiness in the Word and in the Law contained in the Ten Commandments (no. 669). The loud voice from it symbolizes a Divine command for the seven angels to go and pour out the bowls. The seven angels mean the Lord, as in no. 657 above. Pouring out the bowls containing plagues onto the earth symbolizes an influx into the church of the Protestant Reformed. Pouring out the bowls symbolizes influx, and the earth symbolizes the church (no. 285).

[2] The subject continues to be the church among the Protestant Reformed. In the following chapter it will be the church among Roman Catholics; after that it will be the Last Judgment; and finally the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, as may be seen in the Preface and in no. 2.

Chapters 8, 9 above described seven angels who had seven trumpets, which they sounded, and because many similar things occur there, we will say here what those seven angels symbolized and what these do here. The seven trumpets which the seven angels sounded symbolize an examination and exposure of the falsities and evils possessed by people who are caught up in a faith divorced from charity. But the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues symbolize the purging and ultimate end of these people, since the Last Judgment cannot be executed upon them until they have been purged.

[3] The purging and ultimate end of them is brought about in the spiritual world in the following way: People caught up in falsities as to doctrine and so in evils as to life have taken from them all the goods and truths that they possessed merely in their natural self, by which they put on the appearance of being Christian people. When these goods and truths have been taken away, the people are separated from heaven and joined to hell. And then in the world of spirits they are arranged in accordance with the varieties of their lusts into societies, which later sink down.

[4] They have goods and truths taken from them by influx from heaven. The influx originates from genuine truths and goods by which they are tormented and tortured, much like a snake placed near a fire or cast upon an anthill. Therefore they reject the goods and truths of heaven, which are also the goods and truths of the church, and finally condemn them, because these cause them what feels like the torment of hell. When this happens they retreat into their evils and falsities and are separated from people who are good.

These are the things described in this chapter and symbolized by the emptying out of the bowls containing the seven last plagues.

The bowls did not contain these evils and falsities symbolized by the plagues, but had in them genuine truths and goods, whose effect was as described. For the angels came from the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, which means the inmost of heaven, where nothing but truths and goods in a Divine and holy state are found (Revelation 15:6).

[5] This is the purging and ultimate end spoken of by the Lord when He said:

...whoever has, to him more will be given, that he may have greater abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (Matthew 13:12, Mark 4:25)

...take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, that he may have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (Matthew 25:28-29, cf. Luke 19:24-26)