1045. Having in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations and the uncleanness of whoredoms, signifies having doctrine from profaned goods and truths. This is evident from the signification of a "cup," as being falsity from hell, for a "cup" has a similar signification as "wine," and "wine" signifies truth from heaven, and in the contrary sense falsity from hell (See n. 887, 960, 1022). And as a "cup" signifies truth or falsity, and the doctrine of every church is either of truth or of falsity, for all truth or falsity of the church is contained in doctrine, so a "cup" also signifies doctrine, and "a golden cup" the doctrine of falsity from evil.

[2] As in Jeremiah:

Babylon is a golden cup in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken (Jeremiah 51:7).

It is called "a golden cup" for the same reason that the woman is said to be "arrayed in purple and scarlet, and inwrought with gold, precious stones and pearls," that is, from the appearance in externals; and yet in internals it is like a cup "full of abominations and uncleanness." For it is like what the Lord says of the externals and internals with the Scribes and Pharisees:

Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, who cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. And ye make yourselves like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of bones of the dead and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:25-27).

The above is evident also from the signification of "abominations," as being the profanations of good (of which presently); also from the signification of "the uncleanness of whoredom," as being the profanation of truth. For "whoredom" signifies falsification of truth (See above), therefore its "uncleanness" signifies profanation.

[3] In regard to the profanations that are signified by "abominations," they are perversions of the holy things of the church, thus conversions of its goods into evils, and of its truths into falsities. They are called "abominations" because the angels abominate them; for so far as they have been holy things of the church, derived from goods and truths from the Word, they ascend into heaven; but so far as they have been applied to evils, and thus profaned, they carry with them what is infernal, which lies hidden within; and consequently they are perceived as things dead, in which there was once a living soul; and this is why heaven abominates and detests them.

[4] That this is the meaning of "abominations" in the Word is evident from the account of the abominations of Jerusalem in Ezekiel:

As that she took of the garments of her adorning which were given to her, and made for herself high places of various colors, and committed whoredom upon them;

That of the gold and silver given to her, she made herself images of a male, and committed whoredom with them;

That the oil, incense, bread, fine flour, and honey, that were given to her, she gave for an odor of rest;

That they sacrificed their sons and daughters;

That she committed whoredom first in Egypt, and afterwards with the sons of Assyria, and finally with the Chaldeans; besides other things that are there called abominations. (Ezekiel 16:2-63).

All these things signify profanations of the Word, of the church, and of worship. So in other passages where abominations are either recounted or mentioned (as Jeremiah 7:9, 10; 16:18; 32:35; Ezekiel 5:11; 7:19, 20; 8:6-18; 11:21; 14:6; 20:7, 8; Deuteronomy 7:25, 26; 12:31; 18:9, 10; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Daniel 9:27; 11:31).

949. Verse 6. And there came out of the temple seven angels that had the seven plagues, signifies consequent manifestations of all the evils and falsities therefrom, and of all the falsities and evils therefrom that have devastated the church. This is evident from the signification of "angels," as being manifestations (See above, n. 869, 878, 883); also from the signification of "seven," as being all and wholly (See n. 257, 300); also from the signification of "plagues," as being such things as destroy spiritual life, and thus the church, and these are lusts from an evil love and from falsities (See above, n. 584), consequently as being evils and the falsities therefrom, and falsities and the evils therefrom; also from the signification of "the temple," as being the interior Word revealed (See the preceding article). All this makes clear that the words "there came out of the temple seven angels that had the seven plagues" signify that from the Word and from its spiritual sense are made manifest all the evils and falsities therefrom, and all the falsities and evils therefrom that have devastated the church.

[2] The expression "evils and the falsities therefrom and falsities and the evils therefrom" is used, because both the church with the Papists and the church with the Reformed are meant. With the Papists evils and the falsities therefrom have devastated the church; but with the Reformed, falsities and the evils therefrom. The evils with the Papists are evils from the love of ruling by means of the holy things of the church over all things of heaven and over all things of earth. That love is the fountain of all evils; and from those evils come falsities of every kind. But with the Reformed there are falsities and the evils therefrom; and these falsities spring from the principle of the justification and salvation of man by faith alone, or by faith without good works; and when good works are separated from faith, evil works take their place; consequently falsities and evils therefrom have devastated the church with the Reformed, as evils and falsities therefrom have with the Papists.

(Continuation)

[3] So far as evils are removed as sins, so far goods flow in, and so far does man afterwards do goods, not from self, but from the Lord. As, first, so far as one does not worship other gods, and thus does not love self and the world above all things, so far the acknowledgement of God flows in from the Lord, and then he worships God, not from self but from the Lord. Second, so far as one does not profane the name of God, that is, so far as he shuns the lusts arising from the loves of self and of the world, so far he loves the holy things of the Word and of the church; for these are the name of God, and are profaned by the lusts arising from the loves of self and of the world. Third, so far as one shuns thefts, and thus shuns frauds and unlawful gains, so far sincerity and justice enter, and he loves what is sincere and just from sincerity and justice, and thus does what is sincere and just not from self but from the Lord. Fourth, so far as one shuns adulteries, and thus shuns unchaste and filthy thoughts, so far conjugial love enters, which is the inmost love of heaven, and in which chastity itself resides. Fifth, so far as one shuns murders, and thus shuns deadly hatreds and revenges that breathe slaughter, so far the Lord enters with mercy and love. Sixth, so far as one shuns false testimonies, and thus shuns lies and blasphemies, so far truth from the Lord enters. Seventh, so far as one shuns the covetousness for the houses of others, and thus shuns the love and consequent lusts for possessing the goods of others, so far charity towards the neighbor enters from the Lord. Eighth, so far as one shuns the covetousness for the wives of others, their servants, etc., and thus shuns the love and consequent lusts of ruling over others (for the things enumerated in this commandment are what belong to man), so far love to the Lord enters. These eight commandments include the evils that must be shunned, but the two others, namely, the third and fourth, include certain things that must be done, namely, that the sabbath must be kept holy, and that parents must be honored. But how these two commandments should be understood, not by the men of the Jewish Church but by the men of the Christian Church, will be told elsewhere.