1022. To give unto her the cup of the wrath of his anger. That this signifies its devastation by the dire falsities of evil, is evident from the signification of a cup, as denoting falsity from hell, which is the falsity of evil (concerning which see n. 960); and as it appears as if God were angry and wrathful on account thereof, it is called the cup of the wrath of the anger of God, wrath on account of falsity, and anger on account of evil. Therefore by giving her that cup is signified to devastate; for the falsity of evil from hell devastates all the good and truth of the church. That the church meant by Babylon is thus devastated will be seen in the two following chapters.

Concerning the Tenth Precept, "Thou shalt not covet (or desire) thy neighbour's wife, his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass."

[2] These lusts extend to what are man's own, since the wife, the man-servant, the maid-servant, the ox, and the ass are in his house. And by those things in a man's house, in the spiritual internal sense, are meant what are his own; that is to say, by the wife is meant the affection of spiritual truth and good; by the man-servant and maid-servant, the affection of rational truth and good serving the spiritual, and by the ox and the ass, the affection of natural good and truth. These affections are signified by such things in the Word. But whereas to covet and desire those affections is to will and to covet the subjection of the man to one's own power and authority, therefore it follows, that by the lusts of those things are meant those of the love of self, that is, of the love of ruling; for thereby a man makes the things belonging to his neighbour his own.

[3] From those things it is evident that the lust of the ninth precept is that of the love of the world; and that the lusts of this precept are those of the love of self. For, as said before, all lusts pertain to love; for it is the love which covets. And as there are two evil loves to which all lusts have reference, namely, the love of the world and the love of self, it follows that the lust of the ninth precept has reference to the love of the world, and that the lusts of this precept have reference to the love of self, particularly to the love of ruling.

That from these two loves all evils and the falsities therefrom take their rise may be seen above (n. 159, 171, 394, 506, 517, 650, 950, 951, 973, 982, 1010, 1016); and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 65-83).

593. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.- That this signifies the Lord as to the Word, in this case, as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, is evident from the signification of a strong angel, as denoting the Lord as to the Word, of which we shall speak presently. The reason why it denotes the Lord as to the Word in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, is, that from that sense the Lord is called strong, for all the strength, and all the power of Divine Truth, exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word, of which also we shall speak presently.

[2] Because the sense of the letter of the Word is here meant, therefore it is said of the angel that he was seen coming down out of heaven, the same being said of the Word, which is Divine Truth; for this descends from the Lord through the heavens into the world, on which account it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels in the three heavens, and also to men in the natural world. For this reason the Word in the first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterwards celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural. It is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven, who are called spiritual angels, and celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven, who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and natural for men in the world; for men, while they live in the material body, think and speak naturally.

This is the reason why the angels of each heaven possess the Word, but with a difference according to the degree of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge (scientia); and although it differs as to its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word. For when the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord, descends to the inmost or third heaven, it becomes celestial Divine; when it descends from this to the middle or second heaven, it becomes spiritual Divine; and when from this heaven it descends to the ultimate or first, it becomes celestial-natural or spiritual-natural Divine; and when it descends thence into the world, it becomes the natural Divine Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord Himself, exist from correspondences established from creation itself between things higher and lower, on which subject, the Lord willing, more will be said elsewhere.

[3] The reason why all strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine Truth, that is in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is, that this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, namely, of the spiritual and celestial, spoken of above; and since it is the containant, it is also the base, and all strength is in the base; for if things higher do not rest upon their base, they fall down and are scattered. Such would be the case with spiritual and celestial things if they did not rest upon the natural or literal sense of the Word, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, therefore the Word or Divine Truth, in this sense, is not only in its power, but also in its fulness. But upon this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine there is in its fulness (n. 346, 567). It is also further explained in the Arcana Coelestia that interior things successively flow into exterior, even into the extreme or ultimate, and that therein they co-exist (n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous; in what order (n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in the ultimates (n. 9836); that consequently responses and revelations are given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548); that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors (n. 9824).

[4] From these things, it also follows, that everything of the doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, and that all the power of doctrine is therefrom (see above, n. 356); this is the reason why the angel coming down out of heaven is called strong. That an angel in the Word, in the highest sense, means the Lord, in the respective sense (sensu respectivo), every recipient of Divine Truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, Divine Truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here therefore the angel means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is the Divine Truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by the angel, is evident from a similar representation of Him as to His face, and feet, in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord, that "his countenance shone as the sun in his strength, and that his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (ver. 15, 16).