557. Verse 9. (Revelation 9:9) And they had breastplates as iron breastplates, signifies the persuasions with which they gird themselves for combats, against which the truths of the rational-spiritual man prevail not. This is evident from the signification of "breastplates" (or coats of mail), as being defenses against evils and falsities in combats, but here defenses of evils and falsities against goods and truths, because this treats of those who are in the falsities of evil in opposition to truths. Here "breastplates" signify persuasions, because sensual men who are in the falsities of evil, who are here described, do not fight against truths from reason, for they do not see truths, but falsities only, and are therefore in the persuasion that falsities are truths, consequently they fight solely from the persuasion of falsity, and with them this persuasion is such that the truths brought forth by the spiritual-rational man are of no avail, for they are repelled as a sword is from a breastplate or coat of mail. So "breastplates as iron breastplates" signify persuasions against which truths are of no avail. That the persuasiveness with such is so infatuating and suffocating that the spiritual-rational is of no avail against it may be seen above (n. 544, 549, 556). Moreover, breastplates or coats of mail, cover that part of the body called the breast or thorax, and this signifies the spiritual affection of truth; also all affection is contained in the sound which comes forth from the breast with the speech. But those who are here signified by "locusts," who are such sensual men as are in falsities, have no other affection than that of the love of self, and because that affection is full of self-confidence and full of the persuasion that their falsity is truth, and because that affection is in the sound which comes forth from the breast with the speech, so the locusts appeared in "breastplates which were as iron breastplates." Moreover, "iron" signifies truth in ultimates, and likewise falsity there, and at the same time what is hard; and the persuasiveness that they have causes the falsity to be so hard that the truths opposed to it rebound, as if they were of no account or avail. Because the persuasion of sensual men who are in falsities from self-confidence is such, and with spirits is so powerful that it suffocates and extinguishes the rational of other spirits with whom they converse in the world of spirits, it is severely prohibited, and those who make use of it are sent among spirits where they are distressed even to swooning by other spirits by means of still stronger persuasions, and this until they desist.

[2] Because breastplates or coats of mail were in use in wars, and to put them on signified to gird oneself for war and thus to fight, therefore in the Word those who were girt for fighting are said to have put on coats of mail. Thus in Jeremiah:

Harness the horses, and go up, ye horsemen; and stand ye forth in helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the coats of mail (46 Jeremiah 46:4).

These words do not mean the combat of one army against another, but the combat of the spiritual-rational man against the natural man who, from knowledges [scientifica] falsely applied, fights against truths and goods. For this is said of the army of Pharaoh king of Egypt, whom the king of Babylon smote, and "Pharaoh king of Egypt" means such a natural man, and "the king of Babylon," near the Euphrates, means the spiritual-rational man, therefore "Harness the horses, go up, ye horsemen, and stand ye forth in helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the coats of mail," signifies such things as relate to the combat of the spiritual-rational man against the natural man who is in falsities; "horses" mean the things of the understanding, "chariots to which they were harnessed" the things of doctrine, "horsemen" the intelligent, "helmets" the things of reason, "spears" truths combating, and "coats of mail" force and strength in fighting and resisting. A "coat of mail" has this meaning because it girds the breast, and from the breast through the arms is all the strength in fighting and resisting.

[3] In the same:

Against Babylon let him bend, let him that bendeth bend his bow; against her he shall lift himself up in his coat of mail (Jeremiah 51:3).

Here, too, "coat of mail" stands for the power to fight and resist. In Isaiah:

He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and the helmet of salvation upon His head (Isaiah 59:17).

This treats of the Lord, and of the subjugation of the hells by Him; and "righteousness as a coat of mail" signifies the zeal for rescuing the faithful from hell and the Divine love of saving the human race; and as it was from the zeal of Divine love and power therefrom that the Lord fought and conquered, so righteousness is called a "coat of mail;" while the "helmet of salvation" signifies Divine truth from Divine good, by means of which is salvation, for a "helmet" has a similar signification as the head, because it is worn on the head; that the "head" in reference to the Lord signifies Divine truth and Divine wisdom will be seen in what follows.

9051. 'Eye for eye' means if anything is injured by them in the inner part of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'the eye' as the understanding, in this instance the inner part of it, the life of which is the life of faith. A person's understanding has an outer part and an inner part The outer part of his understanding is where thought that enters his awareness is, whereas the inner part is where thought that does not enter his awareness is, though it enters that of the angels. This part of the understanding is what the Lord enlightens when a person receives faith, for it exists in the light of heaven and holds within it a person's spiritual life. This is not made plainly evident to the person while in the world, but it is made so to that person in the next life when he becomes an angel among angels in heaven. In the meanwhile that life lies hidden within the thought belonging to the outer part of the understanding, producing there the holiness and reverence for the Lord, for love and faith in Him, for the Word, and for everything else that is the Church's. The reason why 'the eye' means the understanding is that the eye corresponds to the understanding; for the understanding sees in the light of heaven, but the eye sees in the light of the world. The things that the former eye, that is, the understanding, sees are spiritual, and its field of vision is the factual knowledge contained in the person's memory. But the things which the physical eye sees are earthly, and its field of vision consists in every object that appears in the world. Regarding 'the eye', that in the spiritual sense it means the understanding, and also faith since faith composes the life of the inner part of the understanding, see 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534.

[2] Anyone who does not know that 'the eye' is used in the Word to mean the understanding cannot know what the meaning is of the things which the Lord spoke concerning the eye in the Gospels, first of all these,

If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire. Matthew 5:29; Mark 9:47.

Everyone recognizes that the eye should not be plucked out even if it does cause a person to stumble, and that no one enters the kingdom of God with only one eye. But 'the right eye' means falsity in a person's belief about the Lord; this is what must be plucked out. Then there are these things spoken by the Lord,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 11:34.

Nor is 'the eye' used here to mean the eye, but an understanding composed of the truth of faith. This is why the eye is called 'the lamp of the body' and why the Lord says, 'If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!' For 'darkness' in the spiritual sense is falsities constituting faith, 1839, 1860, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711.

[3] There are these words too spoken by Him,

Why do you notice the speck which is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank that is in your own eye? Matthew 7:3-5.

'Noticing a speck in a brother's eye' means seeing something erroneous in a person's understanding of truth; 'the plank in one's own eye' is huge evil of falsity, since 'wood' in the internal sense means good and in the contrary sense evil, 643, 2784, 2812, 3720, 8354. Good is also represented in the next life by a plank, which is why those who pretend to have good within themselves are seen carrying a plank, walking in safety as they do so. If 'eye' and 'plank' did not have these meanings, would 'seeing a plank in an eye' have any meaning at all? If it is not known that 'eye' in the Word means the understanding of truth, which is faith, neither can it be known what is implied by the Lord's action when He healed the blind man,

He spat on the ground and made clay with His saliva, and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. John 9:6-7.

Since all the Lord's miracles, like all Divine miracles, had to do with those things that belong to the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 7337, 8364, so did this miracle too.