1094. And the earth was lightened with his glory.- That this signifies the church now in light from the influx and reception of Divine Truth, is evident from the signification of the earth, as denoting the church, of which we have frequently spoken; and from the signification of being lightened, as denoting to be in light; and from the signification of glory, is here said of the Lord, who is meant there by the angel, as denoting Divine Truth (concerning which see n. 33, 288, 345, 874). That the Divine Truth is denoted by glory, because it is the light of heaven from which the angels derive all their wisdom and happiness, and also their magnificence, may be seen above (n. 678).

It is said of the angel coming down out of heaven, that he had great power, and that the earth was lightened with his glory because the Last Judgment was accomplished upon those meant by the harlot, or Babylon, this being the meaning of the words of the angel: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and is become a habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird" (verse 2). And when judgment was accomplished upon them, then the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord came into its light and into its power; for as long as the Babylonians were tolerated under heaven, they were like dense and dusky clouds between heaven and the earth which intercept the rays of light from the sun, and obscure the day. The reason was that they not only falsified, but also rejected the Divine Truth, that is the Word, and also destroyed the Lord's Divine Power by transferring it to themselves. As long as they were permitted to make habitations for themselves under the heavens, these and several other things were like dusky clouds between heaven and earth, through which the Divine Truth could not pass and enlighten any man of the Church. But as soon as they had been driven away and cast into hell, then the Divine truth which proceeded from the Lord as a Sun, increased in power and light to such a degree that the Lord could not only more powerfully lead, and more clearly enlighten, the spirits under the heavens, but also men in the Church. This is the reason why the spiritual sense of the Word was not revealed before, nor the state of heaven and hell manifested until the Last Judgment was accomplished, for previous to this, the Divine Truth would not have had power and light.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- Since a man at his birth, is not in any society either heavenly or infernal, being without thought, and yet is born for eternal life, it follows that, in course of time, he opens either heaven or hell to himself, enters into societies, and becomes an inhabitant either of heaven or of hell, even while he is in the world. The reason why a man becomes an inhabitant there is, that his real dwelling place, and country, as it is called, is in the spiritual world; after he has dwelt a few years in the natural world, he will live there for ever. It may be inferred, from these things, how necessary it is for a man to know, what it is that opens heaven in him, and introduces him into its societies; also, what it is that opens hell in him, and introduces him into its societies. This will be shown in the sections appended to the following articles. We will merely state here that a man introduces himself successively into more and more societies of heaven, according to the increase of wisdom, and successively into more and more interior societies, according to the increase of the love of good; again, so far as heaven is opened to him, so far hell is closed; but it is man himself that opens hell to himself, for heaven is opened to man by the Lord.

1090. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 18.

1. And after these things I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority, and the earth was lightened by his glory.

2. And he cried out mightily with a great voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.

3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the anger of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her; and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the abundance of her luxuries.

4. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come forth out of her, my people, that ye become not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

5. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her injustices.

6. Render unto her even as she hath rendered unto you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup that she hath mingled mingle to her double.

7. How much she hath glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her, for in her heart she saith, I sit a queen, and a widow I am not, and mourning I shall not see.

8. For this reason in one day shall her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned up in fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

9. And the kings of the earth shall weep for her and wail over her, who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning;

10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, that mighty city; for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, because no one buyeth their merchandise anymore;

12. Merchandise of gold and of silver, and of precious stones and of pearl, and of fine linen, and of purple, and of silk and scarlet, and of all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory and every vessel of precious wood, and of brass, and of iron, and of marble;

13. And cinnamon and incense, and ointment and frankincense, and wine and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and beasts of burden and sheep, and horses and carriages, and slaves, and souls of men.

14. And the fruits of the desire of thy soul have departed from thee; and all fat and splendid things have departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more.

15. The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, shall stand afar off for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;

16. And saying, Woe, woe, that great city, arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and inwrought with gold, precious stone and pearls; ¹ for in one hour were devastated so great riches.

17. And every pilot, and all that are employed on ships, and sailors, and as many as work at sea, stood afar off,

18. And cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like this great city?

19. And they cast dust upon their heads, and cried out weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, that great city, wherein all that had ships in the sea were made rich by her costliness; for in one hour they were devastated.

20. Exult over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath judged your judgment upon her.

21. And one strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall Babylon, that great city, be cast down and shall be found no more.

22. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, shall not be heard in thee anymore; and no craftsman of whatsoever craft shall be found in thee anymore, and the voice of a millstone shall not be heard in thee anymore;

23. And the light of a lamp shall not shine in thee anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and of bride shall not be heard in thee anymore, because thy merchants were the great men of the earth, because by thy sorcery have all nations been seduced.

24. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that had been slain on the earth.

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