849. (Verse 1) And I saw. That this signifies a manifestation concerning the future separation of the good from the evil before the Last Judgment, is evident from the signification of I saw, as denoting the things which now follow, seen by John; and which, when seen in the spiritual sense, treat of the assembly and congregation of the faithful, and of their separation from the evil before the Last Judgment, according to what is meant also by these words of the Lord in Matthew:

"They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory; and he shall send his angels and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (24:30, 31).

The subject of that chapter is also the Last Judgment, which is there meant by the Consummation of the Age and the Coming of the Lord. The gathering together and separation of the good from the evil is then described in the above words, as in this chapter of the Apocalypse (vers. 14, 16), by what is said concerning the Son of man sitting upon a white cloud, and by the sickle in his hand with which he reaped the earth.

Similar things are also meant by these words of the Lord in Matthew:

"The kingdom of the heavens is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among them, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares. And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn" (13:24-30).

The separation of the good from the evil, which should take place at the time of the Last Judgment, is there also foretold by the Lord, and is meant by the words, "Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together the tares to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn." By the tares are meant the evil, who shall then be cast into hell, and by the wheat are meant the good, who, being separated from the evil, will be raised up into heaven. These things are similar to those mentioned in this chapter (vers. 15 and 16) where it is said,

"The time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."

The various reasons why the good were not separated from the evil before the time of the Last Judgment, and the good raised up to heaven, and the evil cast into hell, may be seen in the small work concerning the Last Judgment, and also above, n. 391, 392, 394, 397, 411, 413, 418, 419, 426, 489, 493, 497, 668, 669, 670, 674, 675, 676, 754.

338. To receive power, and riches, and wisdom. That this signifies that Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Divine Providence belong to Him, is clear from the signification of power, when said of the Lord, as denoting Omnipotence; from the signification of riches, when said of the Lord, as denoting Omniscience; and from the signification of wisdom, when said of the Lord, as denoting the Divine Providence. The reason why these things are signified, is, because nothing can be said of the Lord but what is above all things; therefore, when it is said that He has power, it is meant that He has all power, which is Omnipotence; and when it is said that He has riches, it is meant that He has all spiritual riches, by which is signified intelligence, consequently Omniscience. That by riches in the Word are signified the knowledges of truth and good, and thence intelligence, may be seen above (n. 236). And when it is said, as in this passage, that He has wisdom, it is meant that He has all wisdom, which is the Divine Providence. For true wisdom consists in perceiving what conduces to the eternal life of any one, and disposing him thereto, which is effected when man not only knows those things and perceives them with his understanding, but also when he wills and does them. The Divine Wisdom, however, is to provide those things for man; thus it is the Divine Providence. Further, what the Divine Providence is, may be seen in the work concerning the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 267-279.