9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

2015. Kings shall go forth from thee. That this signifies that all truth is from Him, is evident from the signification of a “king,” in both the historical and the prophetic Word, as being truth (stated above, n. 1672, but not yet fully shown). From the signification of “nations” as being goods, and from the signification of “kings” as being truths, we can see the nature of the internal sense of the Word, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. He who reads the Word, especially the historical portion, has no other belief than that the nations there are nations, and kings, and thus that nations and kings are treated of in the very Word itself. But the idea of nations, as well as that of kings, altogether perishes when it is received by the angels, and in their place there succeed good and truth. This cannot but appear as strange and indeed as a paradox, but still it is really so, and the truth of it may appear to everyone from considering that if, in the Word, nations were signified by “nations,” and kings by “kings,” then the Word of the Lord would involve scarcely anything more than any other history, or any other writing, and thus would be a merely worldly affair, when yet there is nothing in the Word that is not Divine, and therefore celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take as a single instance what is said in this verse, that Abraham should be made fruitful and should be made nations, and that kings should go forth from him-what is this but a merely worldly matter, and in no respect heavenly? For in these things there is only the glory of the world, which is nothing at all in heaven; but if this is the Word of the Lord, there must be in it the glory of heaven, and none of the world’s glory. Therefore the sense of the letter is altogether obliterated and vanishes when it passes into heaven; and it is so purified that nothing that is worldly is intermingled. For by “Abraham” is not meant Abraham, but the Lord; by his being “made fruitful” is not meant that his posterity should increase exceedingly, but that the good of the Lord’s Human Essence should increase to infinitude; by the “nations” are not meant nations, but goods; and by the “kings,” not kings but truths. Still the history according to the sense of the letter remains true; for it is true that it was so said to Abraham; also that he was made fruitful, and that nations and kings came from him.

[3] That “kings” signify truths, may be seen from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and the breast of kings shalt thou suck (Isaiah 60:10, 16);

what it is to “suck the milk of nations” and “the breast of kings,” is by no means plain from the letter, but it is from the internal sense, in which it signifies to be gifted with goods, and instructed in truths.

In Jeremiah:

There shall enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses (Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4);

to “ride in chariots and on horses” is a prophetical saying which signifies an abundance of intellectual things, as may appear from very many passages in the Prophets; and thus by “kings entering in by the gates of the city” is signified in the internal sense that they should be imbued with truths of faith. This is the heavenly sense of the Word, into which the worldly literal sense passes.

[4] Again, in the same Prophet:

Jehovah hath despised in the indignation of His anger the king and the priest; the gates of Zion have sunk into the earth; He hath destroyed and broken her bars; her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is not (Lamentations 2:6, 9);

“the king” here denotes the truth of faith; “the priest” the good of charity; “Zion” the church which is being destroyed, and whose bars are being broken; hence “the king and the princes are among the nations,” that is, truth and the things which are of truth will be banished to such an extent that there will be no “law,” that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith.

In Isaiah:

Before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the ground shall be forsaken, which thou loathest in the presence of her two kings (Isaiah 7:16); where the Lord’s coming is treated of; the “ground which shall be forsaken” denotes faith, of which there would then be none, and the truths of which are the “kings that would be loathed.”

[5] In the same Prophet:

I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise up My ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder; and kings shall be thy nourishers, and their queens those that give thee suck (Isaiah 49:22-23);

“the nations” and “the daughters” denote goods; and “the peoples” and “the sons” truths (as shown in Part First, where it may be seen that “nations” denote goods, n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849; and that “daughters” have a similar signification, n. 489-491; also that “peoples” denote truths, n. 1259, 1260; and “sons” likewise, n. 489, 491, 533, 1147). “Kings” therefore denote truths in general, by which they will be nourished, and their “queens” the goods from which they will be “suckled.” Whether you say goods and truths, or those who are in goods and truths, it is the same.

[6] Again in the same Prophet:

He shall sprinkle many nations, upon him kings shall shut their mouth-for that which was [not] told them have they seen; and that which they did not hear have they understood (Isaiah 52:15),

where the Lord’s coming is spoken of; the “nations” denote those who are affected by goods, and “kings” those who are affected by truths.

In David:

Now, O ye kings, be intelligent; be instructed, ye judges of the earth; serve Jehovah with fear, and exult with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way (Psalms 2:10-12).

“Kings” denote those who are in truths; who also from their truths are often called “king’s sons;” “the Son” here denotes the Lord, who is here called “the Son” because He is the truth itself, and because all truth is from Him.

[7] In John:

They shall sing a new song, Worthy art Thou who takest the book, and openest the seals thereof; Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, that we may reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:9-10); where they who are in truths are called “kings.”

The Lord also calls such persons “the sons of the kingdom,” in Matthew:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:37-38).

In John:

The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the Kings that are from the sun rising might be prepared (Revelation 16:12).

That by the “Euphrates” is not meant the Euphrates, nor by “the kings from the sun-rising” any kings therefrom, is evident (what is meant by the “Euphrates” may be seen above, n. 120, 1585, 1866); so that “the way of the kings that are from the sun-rising” means the truths of faith that are from the goods of love.

[8] In the same:

The nations that are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it (Revelation 21:24); where “the nations” denote those who are in goods, and “the kings of the earth” those who are in truths, as may be inferred from the fact that these words are prophetic, and not historical.

In the same:

With the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom, and have been made drunken with the wine of her whoredom (Revelation 17:1-2).

And again:

Babylon hath made all the nations drink of the wine of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her (Revelation 18:3, 9); where in like manner it is evident that kings are not meant by “the kings of the earth;” for the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, is treated of, and this is the “whoredom;” “the kings of the earth” denote the truths that are falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same:

The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, that have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority [potestas] as kings with the beast for one hour. These shall have one mind, and shall give their power and authority to the beast (Revelation 17:12-13).

That these “kings” are not kings, is evident to everyone; for if so it would be wholly unintelligible that the ten kings should receive authority as kings one hour. So too in another passage:

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army (Revelation 19:19).

That “he that sat upon the horse” is “the Word of God,” is openly stated in verse 13; and it is against this that the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered together. “The beast” denotes the goods of love, profaned; and “the kings” denote the truths of faith, adulterated; these are called “the kings of the earth,” because they are within the church. (That “the earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 662, 1066, 1067, 1262.) The “white horse” denotes the understanding of truth; and “he that sat upon the horse,” the Word. This meaning is still more manifest in Daniel (chapter 11), where the war between “the king of the south” and “the king of the north” is treated of; by which terms are signified the truths and falsities that had fought, the combats being described here also in an historical manner by this “war.”

[10] As “a king” signifies truth, it may be seen what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called a King and also a Priest; and also what it was in the Lord that was represented by kings, and what by priests. Kings represented His Divine truth, and priests His Divine good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King, are truths; but all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest, and by which also He rules truths themselves, are goods; for government from truths alone would condemn everyone to hell; but government from goods lifts everyone out thence and uplifts him into heaven (see n. 1728). Because in the Lord’s case these two are conjoined, they were anciently represented by kingship conjoined with priesthood; as with Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and at the same time priest to God Most High (Genesis 14:18); and afterwards with the Jews, among whom the representative church was instituted in its own form, by judges and priests, and afterwards by kings.

[11] But as the kings represented truths, which ought not to have command, for the reason, as before said, that they condemn, therefore the desire to have kings was so displeasing as to call for rebuke, and the nature of truth as regarded in itself was described by the rights [jus] of the king (1 Samuel 8:11-18); and at an earlier day it was commanded by Moses (Deuteronomy 17:14-18) that they should choose genuine truth which is from good, and not spurious; and that they should not defile it by reasonings and memory-knowledges [scientifica]. This is what is involved in the directions concerning a king, given in Moses in the place just cited; which no one can possibly see from the sense of the letter, but yet is evident from the several points contained in the internal sense; so that “king” and “kingship” evidently represented and signified nothing else than truth.

502. And the first angel sounded.- This signifies influx out of heaven, and thence the first change, as is evident from the signification of sounding a trumpet, as denoting the influx of Divine Truth out of heaven; and because the first change resulting therefrom is now described, therefore this is also signified. To sound the trumpet signifies the influx of Divine Truth out of heaven, because when the Divine Truth flows down out of heaven, it is sometimes heard in the spiritual world as the sound of a horn [buccina], and as the clangour of a trumpet [tuba]; and by those who stand below there are also seen as it were angels having trumpets. But these things are representations and appearances, such as exist beneath the heavens, for it is the Divine Truth descending or flowing down out of heaven towards the lower parts, that is represented in this manner. This now is the reason that to sound a trumpet signifies the flowing down of the Divine Truth out of heaven.

[2] This flowing down, when powerful, produces one effect with the good and another with the evil. With the good, it enlightens the understanding, conjoins them more closely with heaven, and consequently gladdens and vivifies their minds; but with the evil it causes a disturbance of the understanding, separates them from heaven, conjoins them more closely with hell, carries terror to their minds, and at length induces spiritual death. It is therefore evident, that to sound a trumpet, signifies in regard to the effect, revelation and manifestation of Divine Truth, as may be seen above (n. 55, 262), and in the opposite sense, the deprivation of truth, and desolation. Since it is now said that the angels sounded seven times, it is necessary to show from the Word the signification of sounding, and thence why it is said that the angels sounded.

[3] That to sound with trumpets (tuba) and horns (buccina) signifies the revelation of Divine Truth, and its manifestation, is evident from the sound of a trumpet being heard when Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai and promulgated the law; concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were voices and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon Mount Sinai, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled when Jehovah descended upon them in fire; and the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah, to gaze, and many of them perish" (Exodus 19:16-21).

The law which was promulgated at that time, signifies the Divine Truth; the voice of the trumpet represented the descent of that truth out of heaven, and its manifestation. The voice of the trumpet sounding long, and waxing louder, represented [Divine Truth] increasing toward the lower parts, for it is said that the people stood on the lower parts of the mount. The people trembling, and charged not to approach nearer to the mount lest they should perish, signified the effect of the flowing down of Divine Truth with people of such a nature and quality as the sons of Jacob were. It is evident that they were altogether evil interiorly, for they worshipped the golden calf after a month of days, and they would have perished if they had not stood afar off; hence their terror of death.

[4] That to sound with horns and trumpets represented and thence signified the Divine Truth descending and flowing in out of heaven, is plain from the institution and use of trumpets among the sons of Israel. It was commanded that trumpets should be made of silver, and that the sons of Aaron should sound them for the assemblies, for their journeyings, on days of gladness, at the feast, at the beginnings of months, over the sacrifices, for a memorial and for war (Num. 10:1-10). They were made of silver, because silver signifies truth from good, consequently the Divine Truth (see Arcana Coelestia 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658). The reason why the sons of Aaron sounded with them, was, that Aaron himself, as the chief priest, represented the Lord as the Divine Good, and his sons, the Lord as to the Divine Truth (see the Arcana Coelestia 9806, 9807, 9966, 10017). They were sounded for the assemblies and journeyings, because it is the Divine Truth which calls together, gathers together, teaches the way, and leads. They were sounded on the day of gladness, at the feasts, in the beginning of months, and over the sacrifices, because the Divine Truth, descending out of heaven, forms and fills with gladness what is holy in worship. They were sounded also for war and for battle, to signify that the Divine Truth flowing down out of heaven strikes with the terror of death, puts to flight, and scatters the evil who are called in the Word enemies. In this sense, and on account of this effect, it is here said, that the seven angels sounded in their order.

[5] Since it was commanded that they should sound with trumpets for their assemblies, therefore it is said by the Lord, in Matthew,

"He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (24:31).

By the angels with a great sound of a trumpet is here signified the Divine Truth to be revealed at the consummation of the age, that is, when the end of the church should come.

[6] And in Isaiah:

"In that day, the great trumpet shall be blown, and those perishing in the land of Assyria shall come, and the outcasts from the land of Egypt, and shall worship Jehovah in the mountain of holiness at Jerusalem" (27:13).

These things were said concerning the coming of the Lord. A calling together to the church, and salvation by the Lord, are signified by the great trumpet being sounded in that day, and by the coming of those that were perishing in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts from the land of Egypt. To sound the trumpet signifies the Divine Truth calling together and saving; those who were perishing in the land of Assyria, are those who are deceived by false reasonings, and the outcasts from the land of Egypt, are those who are deceived by scientifics, thus the Gentiles who were in falsities from ignorance of the truth. That they will adore the Lord from love, and in truth, is signified by the words "and shall worship Jehovah in the mountain of holiness at Jerusalem." The mountain of holiness signifies the church as to the good of love, consequently also the good of love of the church; and Jerusalem signifies the church as to the truth of doctrine, consequently the truth of the doctrine of the church. It is therefore evident, that to sound with the trumpet signifies the Divine Truth descending out of heaven.

[7] Since the Divine Truth descending from the Lord through the heavens gladdens the heart, and infills worship with what is holy, and therefore the trumpets were sounded on the days of gladness, and in the feasts, it is therefore said in David:

"Sing unto Jehovah with the harp; with the harp and the voice of melody. With trumpets and sound of the horn make a joyful noise before Jehovah, the King" (Psalm 98:5, 6).

And in Zephaniah:

"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem" (3:14).

This is spoken of the establishment of the church by the Lord. The trumpets, the sound of the horn, and the making of a joyful noise, signify joy on account of the Divine Truth descending out of heaven.

So in Job:

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (38:7).

This is said concerning the state of the church in its beginning, and by stars are signified the knowledges of truth and good, and by the sons of God, Divine truths; their joy, that is, the joy of men under their influence, is signified by their singing and shouting.

[8] Again, in David:

"Praise" God "with the sound of the trumpet" (Psalm 150:3).

And again:

"Blessed are the people that know the sound of the trumpet; they shall walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy faces" (Psalm 89:15).

The trumpet sound signifies Divine Truth gladdening the heart, it is therefore said, "light of thy faces," which signifies Divine Truth. That the sound of the horn and of the trumpet signifies Divine truths descending out of heaven, terrifying the evil and scattering them, as here in the Apocalypse by the trumpets with which the seven angels sounded, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah it is said,

"Jehovah shall go forth as a lion, ¹ he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail over his enemies" (42:13).

Enemies are the evil.

So in Joel:

"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of gloominess" (2:1, 2).

The day of Jehovah is the coming of the Lord, when a last judgment upon the evil also takes place.

[9] And in Zechariah:

"And Jehovah shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south" (9:14).

Here also the coming of the Lord is treated of, when the evil shall perish. By blowing the trumpet and sounding an alarm, is signified to disperse by means of Divine Truth; the dart also which shall go forth as lightning, signifies truth dispersing and destroying. The same is signified by blowing the trumpet in Jeremiah (51:27), and in Hosea (5:8, 9).

[10] Since the evil, when they are gathered together in the spiritual world, are deprived of the truths and goods of which they made a pretence in externals by the influx of Divine Good and Divine Truth, and are let into their own evils and falsities which they inwardly cherished, and are thus separated from the good and cast down into the hells, and since there is heard from a distance, when this takes place, as it were trumpets and horns sounding as stated above several times, therefore it was a statute with the children of Israel, that they should sound with the trumpets for battle; as is also related concerning Phinehas, and concerning Gideon, when they fought against the Midianites, and also when Jericho was taken. Thus, in Moses, it is said of Phinehas, that Moses sent twelve thousand men armed, a thousand from each tribe, with the vessels of holiness and the trumpets in the hand of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, against Midian, and they slew every male, and their kings (Num. 31:1-8).

[11] Concerning Gideon it is said in the book of Judges, that he divided three hundred men into three companies, and placed a trumpet in the hand of each man, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers; and he said,

"When I blow with the trumpet, I and all who are with me, blow ye also with the trumpets on every side around all the camp;" and when they sounded with the trumpets, Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, and against the whole camp, and the Midianites fled (7:16-22).

And in Joshua, concerning the taking of Jericho it was commanded that seven priests should carry seven trumpets sounding them before the ark, and should go round the city six days, once on each day, and that on the seventh day they should go round the city seven times, and blow with the trumpets; and "when the people in Jericho heard the voice of the trumpet, and the shoutings of the people, the wall of the city fell down flat, and the people went up into the city, and took it" (6:1-20). These things represented the routing of the evil in the spiritual world, which is effected by means of the Divine Truth out of heaven, which, when it flows down, is heard there as a trumpet sounding, as said above. All the miracles related in the Word were representative and thence significative of things Divine in the heavens. Hence the effect of the sound of the trumpets upon enemies on earth was similar to the effect upon the evil in the spiritual world. For enemies, in the Word, represented and thence signify the evil; the Midianites, those who are in the falsities of evil; and the city of Jericho, in this passage, signifies the falsification of the knowledges of truth.

[12] From these considerations the signification of these words in Jeremiah is clear:

"Shout against" Babel "round about; she hath given her hand; her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down" (50:15).

And in Zephaniah:

"A day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and thick cloudiness, a day of the trumpet and alarm upon the fenced cities, and upon the high towers" (1:15, 16).

From what has been stated the signification of the seven angels sounding the trumpets is now evident, and that such effects followed as are here described. Thus, to sound with trumpets, signifies the influx of the Divine Truth out of heaven, and the changes which follow. For the subjects treated of in this chapter and in the following chapters of the Apocalypse are the state of the church in the spiritual world before the judgment, the scattering of the evil, and the casting of them down into hell.

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