9372. And He said unto Moses. That this signifies that which concerns the Word in general, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Word (of which below); and from the signification of “He said,” as involving those things which follow in this chapter, thus those which concern the Word (see n. 9370). (That Moses represents the Word, can be seen from what has been often shown before about Moses, as from the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 4859, 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805.) Here Moses represents the Word in general, because it is said of him in what follows, that he alone should come near unto Jehovah (verse 2); and also that, being called unto out of the midst of the cloud, he entered into it, and went up the mount (verses 16-18).

[2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect to truth Divine, or in respect to the Word; but chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. That Moses does so, can be seen in the explications just cited above; that so do Elijah and Elisha, can be seen in the preface to Genesis 18; and n. 2762, 5247; and that John the Baptist does so is evident from the fact that he was “Elias who was to come.” He who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, cannot know what all those things infold and signify which are said about him in the New Testament; and therefore in order that this secret may stand open, and that at the same time it may appear that Elias, and also Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, signified the Word, some things may here be quoted which are spoken about John the Baptist; as in Matthew:

After the messengers of John had departed, Jesus began to speak concerning John, saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft things are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, even more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among those who are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist; nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to believe, he is Elias who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:7-15; and also Luke 7:24-28).

No one can know how these things are to be understood, unless he knows that this John represented the Lord as to the Word, and unless he also knows from the internal sense what is signified by “the wilderness” in which he was, also what by “a reed shaken by the wind,” and likewise by “soft raiment in kings’ houses;” and further what is signified by his being “more than a prophet,” and by “none among those who are born of women being greater than he, and nevertheless he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he,” and lastly by his being “Elias.” For without a deeper sense, all these words are uttered merely from some comparison, and not from anything of weight.

[3] But it is very different when by John is understood the Lord as to the Word, or the Word representatively. Then by “the wilderness of Judea in which John was” is signified the state in which the Word was at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely, that it was “in the wilderness,” that is, it was in obscurity so great that the Lord was not at all acknowledged, neither was anything known about His heavenly kingdom; when yet all the prophets prophesied about Him, and about His kingdom, that it was to endure forever. (That “a wilderness” denotes such obscurity, see n. 2708, 4736, 7313.) For this reason the Word is compared to “a reed shaken by the wind” when it is explained at pleasure; for in the internal sense “a reed” denotes truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter.

[4] That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, is crude and obscure in the sight of men; but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining, is signified by their “not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment, for behold those who wear soft things are in kings’ houses.” That such things are signified by these words, is plain from the signification of “raiment,” or “garments,” as being truths (n. 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093); and for this reason the angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining according to the truths from good with them (n. 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216). The same is evident from the signification of “kings’ houses,” as being the abodes of the angels, and in the universal sense, the heavens; for “houses” are so called from good (n. 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997); and “kings,” from truth (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148). Therefore by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord, the angels are called “sons of the kingdom,” “sons of the king,” and also “kings.”

[5] That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is signified by “what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet;” and by, “there hath not arisen among those who are born of women a greater than John the Baptist;” for in the internal sense “a prophet” denotes doctrine (n. 2534, 7269); and “those who are born,” or are the sons, “of women” denote truths (n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257).

[6] That in the internal sense, or such as it is in heaven, the Word is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is signified by, “he that is less in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he;” for as perceived in heaven the Word is of wisdom so great that it transcends all human apprehension. That the prophecies about the Lord and His coming, and that the representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world, is signified by, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” That the Word was represented by John, as by Elijah, is signified by his being “Elias who is to come.”

[7] The same is signified by these words in Matthew:

The disciples asked Jesus, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? He answered and said, Elias must needs first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias hath come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. And they understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

That “Elias hath come, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they wished” signifies that the Word has indeed taught them that the Lord is to come, but that still they did not wish to comprehend, interpreting it in favor of the rule of self, and thus extinguishing what is Divine in it. That they would do the same with the truth Divine itself, is signified by “even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them.” (That “the Son of man” denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, see n. 2803, 2813, 3704)

[8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by the prophecy about John in Malachi:

Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Malachi 4:5).

Moreover, the Word in the ultimate, or such as it is in the external form in which it appears before man in the world, is described by the “clothing” and “food” of John the Baptist, in Matthew:

John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, had His clothing of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1, 4).

In like manner it is described by Elijah in the second book of Kings:

He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins (2 Kings 1:8).

By “clothing,” or a “garment,” when said of the Word, is signified truth Divine there in the ultimate form; by “camel’s hair” are signified memory-truths such as appear there before a man in the world; by the “leathern girdle” is signified the external bond connecting and keeping in order all the interior things; by “food” is signified spiritual nourishment from the knowledges of truth and of good out of the Word; by “locusts” are signified ultimate or most general truths; and by “wild honey” their pleasantness.

[9] That such things are signified by “clothing” and “food” has its origin in the representatives of the other life, where all appear clothed according to truths from good, and where food also is represented according to the desires of acquiring knowledge and growing wise. From this it is that “clothing,” or a “garment,” denotes truth (as may be seen from the citations above; and that “food” or “meat” denotes spiritual nourishment, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; that “a girdle” denotes a bond which gathers up and holds together interior things, n. 9341; that “leather” denotes what is external, n. 3540; and thus “a leathern girdle” denotes an external bond; that “hairs” denote ultimate or most general truths, n. 3301, 5569-5573; that “a camel” denotes memory-knowledge in general, n. 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; that “a locust” denotes nourishing truth in the extremes, n. 7643; and that “honey” denotes the pleasantness thereof, n. 5620, 6857, 8056). It is called “wild honey,” or “honey of the field,” because by “a field” is signified the church (n. 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295). He who does not know that such things are signified, cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were so clothed. And yet that these things signified something peculiar to these prophets, can be thought by everyone who thinks well about the Word.

[10] Because John the Baptist represented the Lord as to the Word, therefore also when he spoke of the Lord, who was the Word itself, he said of himself that he was “not Elias, nor the prophet,” and that he was “not worthy to loose the latchet of the Lord’s shoe,” as in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. And he confessed, and denied not, I am not the Christ. Therefore they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? But he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet? He answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. They said therefore, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. When he saw Jesus, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man who was before me; for he was before me (John 1:1, 14, 19-30).

From these words it is plain that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was Truth Divine itself, or the Word, he said that he himself was not anything, because the shadow disappears when the light itself appears, that is, the representative disappears when the original itself makes its appearance. (That the representatives had in view holy things, and the Lord Himself, and not at all the person that represented, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.) One who does not know that representatives vanish like shadows at the presence of light, cannot know why John denied that he was Elias and the prophet.

[11] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by Moses and Elias, who were seen in glory, and who spoke with the Lord when transfigured, of His departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:29-31); namely, that they signified the Word (“Moses” the historic Word, and “Elias” the prophetic Word), which in the internal sense throughout treats of the Lord, of His coming into the world, and of His departure out of the world; and therefore it is said that “Moses and Elias were seen in glory,” for “glory” denotes the internal sense of the Word, and the “cloud” its external sense (see the preface to Genesis 18, and n. 5922, 8427).

612. REVELATION: CHAPTER 14

1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

2. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

3. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and before the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

4. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

5. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

6. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people -

7. saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

8. And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her licentiousness."

9. Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10. he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed with pure wine in the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

11. And the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever; and they will have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

12. Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Christ.)

13. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them."

14. Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.

15. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the hour has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth has dried."

16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17. Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are ripe."

19. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vintage of the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

20. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

The New Christian Heaven, described in verses 1-5. The gospel concerning the Lord's advent preached, and a new church then, verses 6, 7, 13. An exhortation for people to forsake the faith divorced from charity that grips today's church, verses 9-12. An examination and exposure of those people, revealing that their works are evil, verses 14-20.

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

THE EXPOSITION

14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand. This symbolizes the Lord now present in a new heaven composed of people in the Christian churches who acknowledged the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth, and had doctrinal truths springing from the goodness of love received from Him through the Word.

This and the rest of what is said in this chapter is symbolically meant by "I saw." The Lamb means the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity (no. 269). Mount Zion symbolizes a heaven where the inhabitants are people impelled by love toward the Lord, as described below. One hundred and forty-four thousand symbolizes all those people who acknowledge the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth and have doctrinal truths springing from the goodness of love received from Him through the Word (nos. 348ff.).

We described these people in chapter 7, but there we were told that they were sealed on their foreheads, being thus distinguished and separated from the rest. Here we are now told that they were gathered together and a new heaven formed of them.

[2] The heaven that is the subject here is a heaven composed of Christians from the time the Lord was in the world, and formed of those who approached the Lord alone and lived in accordance with His commandments in the Word by shunning evils as sins against God.

This heaven is the new heaven from which the holy Jerusalem, or New Church, will descend on earth (Revelation 21:1-2). The heavens that existed before the Lord's advent are above it and are called the ancient heavens. The people in them also all acknowledge the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth. Those heavens communicate with this new heaven through influx.

[3] People know that the land of Canaan symbolizes the church, because the Word existed there, and by it the Lord was known. Moreover, in the middle of it was the city of Zion, and below it the city of Jerusalem, both situated on the mountain. Zion and Jerusalem symbolized, therefore, the innermost elements of the church. And because the church in the heavens goes hand in hand with the church on earth, therefore the church in both places is meant by Zion and Jerusalem - Zion meaning the church as to love, and Jerusalem the church as to its accompanying doctrine.

The mountain is called Zion, because a mountain symbolizes love (no. 336).

[4] That Mount Zion symbolizes heaven and the church where the Lord is worshiped can be seen from the following passages:

I have anointed My King on... Zion. I will declare the decree: ..."You are My Son, today I have begotten You. ...I will give You the nations for Your inheritance...." ...Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish... Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalms 2:6-8, 12).

Get up into the high mountain, O Zion, you who bring good tidings... Say..., "Behold, the Lord Jehovih is coming with might...." (Isaiah 40:9-10)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! ...Behold, your King is coming to you, just and having salvation... (Zechariah 9:9, cf. Matthew 21:2, 4-5)

Cry out and exult, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst! (Isaiah 12:6)

The redeemed of Jehovah shall return... to Zion with singing... (Isaiah 35:10)

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! ...behold, I am coming to dwell in your midst... (Zechariah 2:10-11)

Who shall give in Zion the salvation of Israel? (Psalms 14:7; 53:6)

(The Lord Jehovih will) lay in Zion a testing stone... And (then) your covenant with death will be annulled... (Isaiah 28:16-18)

My salvation shall not linger. I will give salvation in Zion... (Isaiah 46:13)

He will come to Zion, a Redeemer... (Isaiah 59:20)

...Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion... (Isaiah 24:23)

Jehovah loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things shall be proclaimed in you, O city of God! ..."This one was born there." ..."All my springs are in you." (Psalms 87:2-3, 6-7)

...Jehovah has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place. "This is My resting place forever; there I will dwell...." (Psalms 132:13-14)

Let the children of Zion exult in their King. (Psalms 149:2-3)

(Arise, O Jehovah) and have mercy on Zion; ...the set time has come... (Declared shall be) the name of Jehovah in Zion..., when the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah. (Psalms 102:13-16, 22-23)

Out of Zion... God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and... He shall call to heaven above, and to the earth...: "Gather My saints together to Me...." (Psalms 50:2-5)

And so on elsewhere, as Isaiah 1:27; 4:3-5; 31:4, 9; 33:5, 20; 37:22; 52:1; 64:10; Jeremiah 6:2; Lamentations 4:2; Amos 1:2; Micah 3:10, 12; 4:1-3, 7-8.

Many passages mention the daughter, or virgin, of Zion, which does not mean some daughter or virgin there, but the church in respect to its affection for goodness and truth, like the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17).

The daughter, or virgin, of Zion symbolizes the Lord's church in the following places: Isaiah 1:8; 3:16-26; 4:4; 10:32; 16:1; 37:22; 52:2; 62:11; Psalms 9:14; and elsewhere.