539. And there arose smoke out of the well, as the smoke of a great furnace.- That this signifies dense falsities thence from the evils of earthly and corporeal loves, is evident from the signification of smoke, which denotes the falsity of evil, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the well of the abyss, which denotes the hell where those are who have falsified the Word (see above, n. 537); and from the signification of a great furnace, which denotes the evils of earthly and corporeal loves, from which such falsities break forth, of which we shall speak in the following article. Smoke signifies the falsity of evil, because it proceeds from fire, and fire signifies the loves of self and of the world, and all evils thence; therefore also the hells which are in falsities from the evils of those loves, and more so where those are who have falsified the Word by applying it to favour those loves, appear in a fire as of a great furnace, from which ascends a dense smoke mixed with fire. I have also seen them, and it was evident that the loves of those who were there caused the appearance of such fire, and that the falsities issuing therefrom presented the appearance of a fiery smoke. But such things do not appear to those who are there; for they are in those loves and in the falsities thence; in them is their life; they are tormented by these in various ways, and not by material fire and smoke, such as are in our natural world as may be better seen from the article in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 566-575), where what is meant by infernal fire and by gnashing of teeth is explained.

[2] That smoke signifies the dense falsity which goes forth from evil, is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

Abraham "looked toward the faces of Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the faces of the land of the plain, and he saw, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace" (Genesis 19:28).

Sodom and Gomorrah, in the spiritual sense, mean those who are altogether in the loves of self, therefore the smoke seen by Abraham to rise out of the earth after the burning [of those cities], signifies the dense falsity pertaining to those who are entirely in that love. For those who love themselves above all things, are in the utmost darkness as to things spiritual and celestial, being merely natural and sensual, and altogether separated from heaven; and then they not only deny Divine things, but also contrive falsities, by which they destroy them. These falsities are signified by the smoke seen to arise from Sodom and Gomorrah.

[3] In the same:

"And the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, and behold a smoking furnace, and a torch of fire that passed between those pieces" (Genesis 15:17).

These things are said concerning the posterity of Abraham from Jacob, as is evident from the preceding parts of that chapter. The sun going down signifies the last time, when there is a consummation; and thick darkness arising signifies evil in the place of good, and falsity in the place of truth. "Behold a smoking furnace," signifies very dense falsity from evils; the torch of fire signifies the heat of disorderly desires, and that these separated them from the Lord is signified by its passing between the pieces. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 1858-1862).

[4] Again, in Moses:

"Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether parts of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly" (Exodus 19:17, 18).

And afterwards it is said:

"And all the people saw the voices and the torches and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw it, and they were moved and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:18, 19).

These things represented the nature and quality of that people, for Jehovah, that is the Lord, appears to every one according to his quality. To those who are in truths from good, He appears as a serene light, but to those who are in falsities from evil, as smoke from fire; and because that people was in earthly and corporeal loves, and thence in the falsities of evil, therefore the Lord from mount Sinai appeared to them as a devouring fire, and as the smoke of a furnace. That the sons of Jacob were of such a character is shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, from which a number of passages are quoted in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248); and that the Lord appears to every one according to his quality, as a vivifying and recreating fire to those who are in good, and as a consuming fire to those who are in evil, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551). The signification of the remaining details in the passages above adduced, is also given in the Arcana Coelestia, where the book of Exodus is explained.

[5] The signification of smoke and fire in the following passages in David is similar:

"Because he was wroth, there went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and a fire out of his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by him. He bowed the heaven also, and came down; and thick darkness was under his feet" (Psalm 18:7-9; 2 Sam. 22:8, 9).

This does not mean that smoke and devouring fire ascended from Him, for there is no wrath in Him; but it is so said, because the Lord thus appears to those who are in falsities and evils, for they view Him from their own falsities and evils.

[6] Similar things are signified by the following in the same:

"He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke" (Psalm 104:32).

And again:

"Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke" (Psalm 144:5).

And in Isaiah:

"Howl, O gate, cry, O city; thou whole Philistia, art dissolved; for there cometh a smoke from the north" (14:31).

By the gate is signified truth which introduces into the church; by city is signified doctrine. By Philistia is signified faith; hence by howl, O gate, cry, O city, thou whole Philistia, art dissolved, is signified the vastation of the church as to the truth of doctrine, and thence as to faith. The north signifies the hell where and whence are the falsities of doctrine and the falsities of faith, and the smoke those falsities themselves. Therefore by smoke coming from the north is signified falsity vastating from the hells.

[7] So in Nahum:

"Behold, I will burn her chariot in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions" (2:13).

The subject here treated of is the vastation of the church. By burning the chariot in the smoke is signified the perversion of all the truths of doctrine into falsities, smoke signifying falsity, and chariot denoting doctrine. By the sword shall devour the young lions, is signified that falsities will destroy the principal truths of the church, young lions denoting the principal and defensive truths of the church, and sword denoting falsity destroying truth.

[8] So in Joel:

"I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke" (2:30).

These things are said concerning the Last Judgment, and by blood, fire, and pillars of smoke, are signified the truth of the Word falsified, the good thereof adulterated, and absolute falsities therefrom. Blood denotes the truth of the Word falsified, fire, its good adulterated, and pillars of smoke denote the absolute and dense falsities thence.

[9] Again, in David:

"The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of Jehovah as the glory of lambs shall be consumed; in smoke shall they be consumed" (Psalm 37:20).

By the wicked perishing, and the enemies of Jehovah being consumed in smoke, is signified that they shall perish by means of the falsities of evil. Those who are in falsities are called wicked, and enemies those who are in evils, while smoke denotes the falsity of evil.

[10] Again:

"As smoke is driven away, so shalt thou drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, so the wicked shall perish before God" (Psalm 68:2).

The destruction of the wicked is here compared to smoke driven away by the wind, and to wax which melts before the fire, because smoke signifies falsities, and fire, evils.

[11] So in Isaiah:

"The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment" (51:6).

Here also smoke signifies falsity, in which they should perish who were in the former heaven; and by the garment waxing old is signified truth destroyed by the falsities of evil. Comparison is made with smoke vanishing away, and with a garment waxing old, because comparisons in the Word are also correspondences, and are equally significative.

[12] So in Hosea:

"They sin more and more, and make them a molten image of their silver, and idols in their intelligence, all of it the work of the craftsmen; therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early falling dew that passeth away, as the [chaff] that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney" (13:2, 3).

By these words are described doctrinals which are from [man's] own intelligence in which are evils of falsity, and falsities of evil. Such doctrinals are signified by the molten images of silver, and by idols. Their silver signifies that which is from [man's] own intelligence, and the work of the craftsmen signifies that intelligence; therefore it is also said, that they have made them idols in their own intelligence, all of it the work of the craftsmen. That those doctrinals because they are falsities, would pass away, is signified by their passing away as smoke out of the chimney. The reason why they are said to be as the morning cloud, and as the early falling dew that passeth away, and as [the chaff] out of the floor, is, because the church in its beginning is as the morning cloud, as the early falling dew, and as corn on the threshing floor, by which are signified truths of good, and goods of truth, which yet successively pass away, and are changed into falsities of evil, and into evils of falsity.

[13] By smoke is also signified falsity in other passages in the Apocalypse; as in the following:

"Out of the horses' mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone" (9:17, 18).

Again:

"The smoke of their torment ascendeth up unto ages of ages" (14:11).

And again:

"The smoke of Babylon rose up unto ages of ages" (19:3).

[14] Because fire signifies love in both senses, both heavenly love and infernal love, and smoke signifies that which flows from love, both the falsity from infernal love, and the truth from heavenly love, therefore smoke also, in a good sense, signifies holy truth; this is what smoke from the fire of the incense offerings signifies, as may be seen above (n. 494), and also in the following passages:

"Jehovah shall create over every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day and smoke, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory a covering" (Isaiah 4:5).

This passage may be seen explained above (n. 294:10, 504:11).

Again, in the same prophet:

"The posts of the thresholds were moved at the voice of the seraphim that cried, and the house was filled with smoke" (6:4).

And in the Apocalypse it is written:

"The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power" (15:8).

And again:

"The smoke of the offerings of incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand" (8:4).

130. (Verse 12) And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write. That this signifies for remembrance to those within the church who are in temptations, is evident from the signification of writing, as being for remembrance (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 8620); from the signification of angel, as being a recipient of Divine truth, and, in the highest sense, the Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord (concerning which more will be said in what follows); and from the signification of the church in Pergamos, as being those within the church who are in temptations. That such are meant by the church in Pergamos, is evident from the things written to that church, which follow; for from no other source can it be known what is signified by each of the seven churches. For, as was before shown, by the churches here mentioned are not meant churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, but all those who belong to the Lord's church, and by each church something which constitutes the church with man. And because the primary things of the church are the knowledges of truth and good and the affection of spiritual truth, therefore the subject first treated of are those things, written to the angel of the church of Ephesus and Smyrna; concerning the knowledges of truth and good to the angel of the church of Ephesus, and concerning the spiritual affection of truth to the angel of the church of Smyrna. And because no one can be infilled with the knowledges of truth and good as to life, and persevere in the spiritual affection of truth, unless he undergoes temptations, therefore the subject now treated of in what is written to the angel of the church in Pergamos is those temptations.

[2] It is therefore clear in what order the things taught under the names of the seven churches follow. The reason why it is said, "To the angel of the church, write," and not to the church is, that by angel is signified the Divine truth which constitutes the church; for Divine truth teaches how man is to live that he may become a church. That by angel in the Word, in the spiritual sense, is not meant any angel, but, in the highest sense, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and, in a relative sense, he who receives it, is evident from this consideration, that all the angels are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, and that no angel is of himself an angel; also, that in proportion as he receives Divine truth, in the same proportion he is an angel. For angels know and perceive better than men, that all the good of love and truth of faith are not from themselves, but from the Lord; and, because the good of love and truth of faith constitute their wisdom and intelligence, and these the whole angel, therefore they know and acknowledge that they are only recipients of the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and thus that they are angels in that degree in which they receive it. This is why they are desirous that the term angels should be understood spiritually, that is, impersonally, and be interpreted as meaning Divine truths.

By Divine truth is meant also Divine good, because they proceed unitedly from the Lord (as may be seen in the work,Heaven and Hell 13, 140).

[3] Now because Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes an angel, therefore, in the highest sense, in the Word, by angel is meant the Lord Himself, as in Isaiah:

"The angel of the faces of Jehovah liberated them; on account of his love, and his indulgence, he redeemed them; and he bore, and carried them all the days of eternity" (Isaiah 63:9).

And in Moses:

"The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Genesis 48:16).

In the same:

"Behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; beware of his faces, and obey his voice, for my name is in the midst of him" (Exodus 23:20-23).

[4] Because the Lord as to Divine truth is called an angel, therefore also Divine truths are meant, in the spiritual sense, by angels, as in the following passages:

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. In the consummation of the age the angels shall go forth, and sever the wicked from among the just" (Matthew 13:41, 49).

"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together the elect from the four winds" (Matthew 24:31).

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (Matthew 25:31).

Jesus said, "Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51).

In these passages, in the spiritual sense, by angels are meant Divine truths, and not angels; as in the foregoing passages, where it is said that, in the consummation of the age, the angels shall gather out all things that offend, shall sever the wicked from the just, that they shall gather together the elect with a great sound of a trumpet from the four winds, and that the Son of man with His angels shall sit upon a throne of glory. It is not meant that the angels will do these things, together with the Lord, but the Lord alone by His Divine truths; for an angel has no power of himself, but all power is from the Lord by means of His Divine truth (see the work, Heaven and Hell 230-233). Similarly by the angels of God seen ascending and descending upon the Son of man is meant, that Divine truths were in Him and from Him.

[5] By angels also in other places are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, consequently the Lord as to Divine truths, as where it is said, that

to the seven angels were given seven trumpets, and that the angels sounded the trumpets (Apoc. 8:2, 6-8, 10, 12, 13; 9:1, 13, 14).

It is said, that to the angels were given trumpets, and that they sounded them, because trumpets and the sound of them signify Divine truth to be revealed (see above, n. 55). Similar things are also meant

by the angels fighting against the dragon (Apoc. 12:7, 9);

by the angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel (Apoc. 14:6);

by the seven angels pouring out the seven vials (Apoc. 16:1-4, 8, 10, 12);

by the twelve angels at the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem (Apoc. 21:12).

[6] That this is the case will also be seen in what follows. That by angels are meant Divine truths from the Lord, is quite clear in David:

Jehovah "maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flaming fire" (Psalms 104:4).

By these words are signified Divine truth and Divine good; for the wind of Jehovah in the Word signifies Divine truth, and His fire Divine good. (As is evident from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as, that the wind of the nostrils of Jehovah denotes Divine truth, n. 8286; that the four winds denote all things of truth and good, n. 3708, 9642, 9668; that hence to breathe in the Word signifies the state of the life of faith, n. 9280; from which it is evident what is signified by Jehovah breathing into the nostrils of Adam (Genesis 2:7); by the Lord breathing upon His disciples (John 20:22): and by these words of the Lord, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, and knowest not whence it cometh" (John 3:8); concerning which see n. 96, 97, 9229, 9281; and, moreover, n. 1119, 3886, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893. That flaming fire denotes Divine love, and thence Divine good see in the work, Heaven and Hell 133-140, 566, 567, 568; and above, n. 68.)

[7] That an angel signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is quite clear from these words in the Apocalypse:

"He measured the wall" of the New Jerusalem "an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (21:17).

That the wall of the New Jerusalem is not the measure of an angel anyone may see; but that the term signifies all truths for defence, which are there meant by angel, is evident from the signification of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the signification of the number one hundred and forty-four. (That a wall signifies all truths for defence, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 6419; that the number one hundred and forty-four signifies all things of truth in the aggregate, n. 7973; that measure signifies the quality of a thing as to truth and good, n. 3104, 9603, 10262. These things may also be seen explained as to the internal sense in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1.)

[8] Because by angels in the Word are meant Divine truths, therefore men through whom Divine truths are made known are sometimes called angels, as in Malachi:

"The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of Jehovah" (2:7).

He is said to be the angel of Jehovah, because he teaches Divine truth; not that he is the angel of Jehovah, but the Divine truth which he teaches is. It is also known in the church that no one has Divine truth from himself. Lips, in the above passage, also signify the doctrine of truth, and law the Divine truth itself. (That lips signify the doctrine of truth may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1286, 1288, and that the law is the Divine truth itself, n. 3382, 7463.) This also is why John the Baptist is called an angel:

Jesus said, "This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee" (Luke 7:27).

[9] The reason why John is called an angel is, because by him, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Word, which is Divine truth, just as by Elias. (See Arcana Coelestia 7643, 9372; and that what is signified, the same is meant, by a person in the Word, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229.)

[10] It is said, that by angels in the Word, in the spiritual sense, are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, because these constitute angels, and when angels utter them, they do not speak from themselves but from the Lord. That this is the case, the angels not only know but also perceive. A man who believes that nothing of faith is from himself, but from God, also knows this, but he does not perceive it. That nothing of faith is from man, but all from God, is the same thing as if it were said, that nothing of truth which has life is from man, but from God; for truth has relation to faith, and faith to truth.