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.

359. And he went forth conquering and that He might conquer, signifies the removal of evils and of falsities thence to the end of life, and afterwards to eternity. This is evident from the signification of "to conquer" in the Word as being to conquer spiritually, which is to subjugate evils and falsities; but as these are not conquered otherwise than that they are taken away by the Lord, "to conquer" signifies the removal of evils and falsities. (That evils and falsities are removed, and not wiped out, or that man is withheld from them, and kept in good and truth by the Lord, see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 166; and Arcana Coelestia 865, 868, 887, 894, 929, 1581, 2116, 2406, 4564, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014, 9333-9338, 9446-9448, 9451, 10057, 10060.) It is said "he went forth conquering and that He might conquer," and "He went forth conquering" signifies the removal of evils and of falsities thence to the end of life; "and that He might conquer" signifies their removal afterwards to eternity; for he who fights against evils and falsities and conquers them, in the world even to the end of life, conquers them to eternity; for such as man is at the end of his life in consequence of his past life, such he remains to eternity. "To conquer" signifies to conquer spiritually, because the Word is in its bosom spiritual, that is, in its bosom it treats of spiritual things, and not of earthly things; the earthly things that are in the sense of its letter merely serve its spiritual sense as a basis, into which spiritual things close and in which they are. "To conquer [or to overcome]" has a like signification in the following passages.

[2] In Revelation:

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).

He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death (Revelation 2:11).

He that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, I will give him power over the nations (Revelation 2:26).

He that overcometh I will make him a pillar in the temple of God (Revelation 3:12).

He that overcometh I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne (Revelation 3:21).

They overcame the dragon through the blood of the Lamb, and through the word of the testimony (Revelation 12:11).

He that overcometh shall possess all things, and I will be to him God, and he shall be to Me a son (Revelation 21:7).

And in John:

Jesus [said] to the disciples, These things I have spoken unto you that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but confide, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

The Lord's "overcoming the world" means that He subjugated all the hells; for "the world" here signifies all evils and falsities, which are from hell (as also in John 8:23; 12:31; 14:17, 19, 30; 15:18, 19; 16:8, 11; 17:9, 14, 16).

[3] "To conquer" has a like signification when predicated of the Lord in Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah? I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people not a man was with Me; therefore have I trodden them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath; wherefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment. But I have made their victory to descend to the earth (Isaiah 63:1, 3, 6).

This treats of the Lord, and His combats against the hells and their subjugation. He Himself in respect to His Divine Human is here meant by Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah," "His garments" signifying the Word in the letter, for "garments" signify truths investing, and in reference to the Lord they signify Divine truths, consequently the Word, since in it are all Divine truths (See above, n. 195). The Word in the sense of the letter is also meant here by "garments," because it contains investing truths, for the sense of the letter serves as a garment to the spiritual sense. And as the Word, in respect to that sense, was torn asunder by the Jewish people, and Divine truth was thereby adulterated, it is said, "His garments sprinkled from Bozrah, their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment," "garments from Bozrah" signify the ultimate of the Word which is the sense of the letter, "their victory upon My garments" signifies the wrong interpretation and application of the truth by those who wrest the sense of the letter to favor their own loves, and the principles thence assumed, as was done by the Jews, and is done also at this day by many; this is meant by "their victory upon My garments."

That the Lord fought alone is signified by "I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people not a man was with Me," "wine-press" signifying combat from Divine truths against falsities, because in wine-presses the wine is pressed out from grapes, and "wine" signifies Divine truth; therefore "to tread it alone, and of the people not a man was with Me," signifies alone, with no aid from anyone. That the Lord subjugated the hells is signified by, "I have trodden them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath;" it is said, "I have trodden" and "I have trampled," because of the reference to the wine-press, and because destruction is signified; it is said, "anger" and "wrath" because the hells are destroyed; and in the sense of the letter this is attributed to the Lord, when nevertheless nothing of anger or wrath pertains to Him, but only to those who are against Him; it is according to appearance that it is so said here and in very many places elsewhere. That such were subjugated and condemned to hell is signified by, "I have made their victory to descend to the earth," "to the earth" meaning into damnation, thus into hell. (That "earth" also signifies damnation, see above, n. 304)