489. "And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months." This symbolically means that the church has dispelled every truth of the Word to the point that none remains.

The holy city means the Holy Jerusalem, and the Holy Jerusalem means the New Church which possesses doctrinal truths, as holiness is predicated of Divine truth (no. 173). A city, moreover, symbolizes doctrine (no. 194). Consequently to tread that city underfoot means, symbolically, to dispel its doctrinal truths. Forty-two months mean, symbolically, to the end when nothing remains.

Doctrinal truths mean truths from the Word, because that is the source of the church's doctrine and every particular of it.

People concerned with the internal elements of the church today have thus dispelled the Word's truths and the church's doctrine from it. All of this is described in the present chapter by the beast ascending from the bottomless pit, which killed the two witnesses (verse 7); and it may also be seen from the accounts from the spiritual world appended to each chapter.

[2] Forty-two months mean, symbolically, to the end when nothing of the church's truth and goodness remains, because the number forty-two has the same symbolic meaning as six weeks, inasmuch as forty-two is the product of six multiplied by seven, and six weeks symbolizes a period complete to the end. For that is the symbolic meaning of the number six, and a week symbolizes a state, and the seventh week a holy state, which is the new state of the church when the Lord begins His reign.

The number forty-two has the same symbolic meaning in the following verse:

(The beast rising up out of the sea) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given the power to do this for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5, no. 583)

The number six symbolizes a period complete to the end because that is the symbolic meaning of the number three, six being that number doubled; and doubled or not, in the case of numbers the symbolism is the same.

Furthermore, this number has the same symbolic meaning as the number three and a half, because forty-two months is equivalent to three and a half years.

The period is expressed in terms of months because a month symbolizes a complete state, as in Isaiah 66:23, Revelation 22:1-2, Genesis 29:14, Numbers 11:18-20, Deuteronomy 21:11, 13.

562. Where she might be nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the face of the serpent. This symbolically means, because of the cunning of those leading astray, to provide vigilantly for the New Church to spread among more people, until it grows to its appointed state.

To nourish, when mentioned in connection with the New Church, means, symbolically, to provide that it spread among more people, as we said in no. 547 above. "A time and times and half a time" means, symbolically, to the end and a new beginning, thus until it grows from a few people to many more, till it reaches its appointed state, as we said also in no. 547 above. The face of the serpent symbolizes the cunning of those leading astray - the face symbolizing the cunning, and the serpent those who lead astray.

That a serpent symbolizes people who lead astray is apparent from these words in this chapter:

The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old..., which leads the whole world astray. (Revelation 12:9)

And elsewhere:

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old..., and he cast him into the bottomless pit..., so that he should lead the nations no more astray... (Revelation 20:2-3)

The meaning here is the same as that of the serpent which led Eve and Adam astray, of which it is said,

Now the serpent became more cunning than any beast of the field... And the woman said (to Jehovah), "The serpent led me astray...." (Genesis 3:1, 13)

[2] A face in the Word symbolizes what lies within a person, because the face reflects his character, its expression being formed in correspondence with it. The face of a serpent, therefore, symbolizes anger, hatred and cunning.

"A time, times and half a time" here has the same symbolic meaning as the one thousand two hundred and sixty days in verse 6, which says,

Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they may feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)

An explanation of the meaning may be seen in no. 547 above.

The same is also the meaning of the three and a half days in Revelation 11:9, 11, and of the three years and six months of famine in Luke 4:25.

It is also the meaning of the appointed time of appointed times and a half in Daniel, "when they shall completely disperse the hands of the holy people" (Daniel 12:7).