Sword
A 'sword,' as in Ezekiel 21:9-15, signifies a person so desolated that he can see nothing good and true, but only falsities and contradictions. A 'sword,' in the Word, signifies the truth of faith combating and the vastation of truth. In an opposite sense, it signifies falsity combating and the punishment of falsity.
The 'sword,' in Revelation 1:16, represents a dispersion of falsities by the Lord because the sword came out from His mouth, which means it comes from the Word. Because the Word is understood by doctrine taken from it, this is also symbolically meant. It is called a sharp two-edged sword because it pierces the heart and soul.
A 'flaming sword which turned every way,' as in Genesis 3:24, signifies divine truth in extremes, which, like the Word in its literal sense, can be turned.
(Reference: Arcana Coelestia 2799)
Isaiah 34:8-10
8
For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9
Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
10
It won't be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
