643. And if anyone will hurt them, thus must he be killed, signifies that according to their endeavor to inflict evil they perish. This is evident from the signification of "will hurt," as being the endeavor to inflict evil, for to will is to endeavor; also from the signification of "to be killed," as being to perish, here in respect to spiritual life, which is destroyed solely by the evils and the falsities of evil, for such are the cause of spiritual death (See above, n. 315, 589). It is here again said "If any will hurt them," because it is meant that everyone perishes according to his wish or endeavor to inflict evil, for it is the will that makes the life of everyone. Everyone perishes according to his wish to hurt "the two witnesses," who are the "two olive trees and the two lampstands," that is, the good of love and charity, and the truth of doctrine and faith, because he is in the opposite will, and the will that is opposite to the good of love and the truth of doctrine is hell in the measure of such opposition; consequently "thus must he be killed," that is, perish, so far as he desires to hurt them. Moreover, every man and spirit is under the Lord's protection, the evil as well as the good; and to him who is under the Lord's protection no evil can happen: for it is the Lord's will that no one should perish or be punished. But so far as anyone is under the Lord's protection he abstains from doing evil, but so far as he does not abstain he removes himself from the Lord's protection, and so far as he so removes himself he is hurt by the evil spirits who are from hell; for infernal spirits have an unceasing desire to do evil to others; and so far as any are outside of the Lord's Divine protection, that is, so far as they do evil, they come into the power of those who do evil to them by inflicting punishment and depriving them of such things as belong to spiritual life. In a word, so far as anyone desires to hurt the goods of love and the truths of doctrine he is "devoured by fire and is killed," that is, he is possessed by evils and the falsities of evil, and so far he spiritually dies, and this comes to pass not from the Divine but from the evil itself that he does.

589. Verse 21. And repented not of their murders, signifies who have not actually turned themselves away from extinguishing the things that pertain to the understanding of truth, the will of good, and spiritual life therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "repenting," as being actually turning oneself away (as above, n. 585; and from the signification of "murders," as being the extinction of the understanding of truth, of the will of good, and of spiritual life therefrom; for "man" signifies the understanding of truth, and wisdom (See above, n. 280, 546, 547); and "to kill" signifies to extinguish spiritual life by the falsities of evil (See above, n. 315, 547, 572). That "murder or manslaughter" signifies the extinction of spiritual life can be seen without proof passages from the Word, from this, that the particulars here must be understood spiritually, and "to kill" spiritually is to extinguish spiritual life, which is done by the falsities of evil.

[2] This is why the devil is called "a murderer from the beginning" by the Lord, in John:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh from his own, for he is a liar and the father thereof (John 8:44).

This means the Jewish nation itself, which through its idolatries and traditions extinguished spiritual life by the falsities of evil; "the father thereof" means their fathers; because they extinguished spiritual life by the falsities of evils it is said, "there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh from his own, for he is a liar, and "the father thereof," a "lie" signifying in the Word the falsity of evil.

[3] "Murders" and a "lie" have a similar signification in the following words in Revelation:

Without shall stand the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the whoremongers, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone that loveth and maketh a lie (Revelation 22:15).

Because those who are meant by "Babylon" extinguish all Divine truths by the falsities of evil, Babylon is called:

An abominable shoot, a garment of those that are slain, of those thrust through with the sword; for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people (Isaiah 14:19, 20).

This is said of Babylon. Those are said to be "thrust through with the sword" who have been destroyed by the falsities of evil; "to destroy the land" signifies to destroy the church; and "to slay the people" signifies to extinguish the truths of the church.