[This second section of threshold materials is a reconstruction of the lost text of Spiritual Experiences, paragraphs 1 to 148, 1:3, from the indexes and the "Bath Fragment."]
Revelation 11
1
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14
The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Apocalypse Explained #665
665. The spirit of life from God entered into them, signifies enlightenment and the reception of Divine truth from the Lord with some for the beginning of the New Church. This is evident from the signification of "the spirit of life from God," as being the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which presently); also from the signification of "entering into them," namely, into the "witnesses" that were slain and cast forth, as being enlightenment and reception of influx, namely, of Divine truth, which is signified by "the spirit of life;" it means also with some for establishing the New Church, as is evident from the following verse, where it is said that "they went up into heaven in the cloud," thus it is meant with some, for "the two witnesses" signify the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, also they mean those with whom these goods and truths are, for all such are "witnesses."
[2] When the end of the church is at hand then it is provided by the Lord that a New Church shall succeed, for without a church in which is the Word and in which the Lord is known, the world cannot subsist; for without the Word, and thence the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord, heaven cannot be conjoined to the human race, nor therefore can the Divine proceeding from the Lord flow in with new life; and without conjunction with heaven and through that with the Lord, man would not be a man, but a beast. This is why a New Church is always provided by the Lord when an old church comes to its end. Why the beginning only of the New Church and not yet its establishment is meant, shall be told in the explanation of the following verse.
[3] That "the spirit of life from God" or "the Spirit of God," and "the Holy Spirit," mean the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which is called the Divine truth, from which is all wisdom and intelligence, has been said and shown above (n. 24, 183, 318). This Divine proceeding is what enlightens man and flows into him when he is being reformed and regenerated, thus when the church is commencing and being established with him, as can be plainly seen from the passages quoted above from the Word n. 183, also from this in Ezekiel:
Jehovah said unto me, Prophesy about the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus the Lord Jehovih hath said, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these slain, that they may live. And when I had prophesied the spirit entered into them, and they revived and stood upon their feet, a very great army (Ezekiel 37:9, 10).
[4] This treats of "the dry bones" seen by the prophet upon the face of the valley, which signify the house of Israel, as is plainly declared in verse 11 of that chapter. "The house of Israel" signifies the church, and that house or church is here compared to "dry bones" because it had no good of love or truth of doctrine. The establishment of a New Church by the inbreathing of a new life, or by regeneration, is described by the "sinews, flesh, and skin," with which the bones were clothed and encompassed, and especially by the "spirit" that entered into them, and from which they lived; the "spirit" in them here signifies also the reception of the influx of Divine truth and consequent spiritual life. The prophet said to the wind, "Come from the four winds, O spirit," because "the four winds" signify the four quarters in the spiritual world, and the four quarters there signify the goods of love and the truths of doctrine in the whole complex. (On the signification of these see above, n. 417, 418, 419, 422, and in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-150.)
