De Bijbel

 

Revelation 20:2

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2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

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Apocalypse Explained #875

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875. For the hour of His judgment is come, signifies the separation of those who live according to Divine truths from those who do not live according to them. This is evident from the signification of "hour," as being state, here the last state of the church (of which presently); also from the signification of "judgment," as being the separation of the good from the evil, thus of those who live according to the Lord's Divine truths from those who do not; for the latter are the evil but the former are the good. That the Last Judgment means the separation of these can be seen from what has been said in the small work on The Last Judgment. That this is the separation of those who live according to Divine truths from those who do not live according to them can be seen from the passages in the Word where the Last Judgment is treated of, as in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, where the separation of the sheep from the goats is described, the "sheep" being those who have done goods, and the "goats" those who have not done goods; also from passages in the Word where it is said that "everyone shall be judged according to his works," that is, according to his life (as Matthew 16:27; John 5:29; Revelation 14:13; 20:12, 13; 22:12 and elsewhere), see also above n. 785. It is said "the hour of judgment," because "hour" signifies not only time but also state (the same as "day," "week," "month," "year," and time in general, as may be seen above, n. 571, 610, 664, 673, 747, 761; also concerning the signification of "hour" in particular, n. 194, 488, 673). "Hour" and "day" are so often mentioned in the Word on account of the spiritual sense in every particular of the Word; for while a man is thinking of hour and day, and thus of time, the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word, are thinking of state; and for the reason that the angels, have no idea of time because they have no days, weeks, months, and years, such as are in the world, but have changes of state, from which they measure things successive (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 162-169, where Time in Heaven is treated of).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

Van Swedenborgs Werken

 

Apocalypse Explained #761

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761. Where she is nourished a time and times and half a time, from the face of the serpent, signifies until the church grows and comes to its fullness. This is evident from the signification of "to be nourished," as being to be sustained, and in the meantime to grow; from the signification of "a time and times and half a time," as being a state of increase of the church, even to its fullness, for this has a similar signification as "a thousand two hundred and sixty days," in the sixth verse above, for it is there, too, said of the woman that "she fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days." That this number has a similar signification as the number "three and a half," as also the number "seven," namely, until it grows to its full, may be seen above n. 732. But here it is said "a time, times, and half a time," because the above named numbers in their places also signify times, and "times" signify the states of life in their progress (as may be seen above, n. 571, 610, 664, 673, 747), so here, their progress and growth even to fullness. It is said "a time, times, and half a time," because "time" in the singular signifies a state of good, "times" in the plural a state of truth, both in respect to their implantation, and "half a time" signifies a holy state of the church. They have this signification because a thing in the singular involves good, in the plural truths, and a "half" holiness; a "half" involves holiness because "three," likewise "three and a half" and "seven," signify fullness, but "seven" signifies fullness when things holy are treated of, and the half after the three fills out or constitutes the number seven, for three and a half doubled makes seven, and a number doubled or multiplied has a similar signification as the number that is doubled or multiplied, as seven has a similar signification here as three and a half. That "seven" signifies fullness and the whole, and is predicated of things holy, may be seen above (n. 20, 24, 257). That "a time, times, and half a time," have this signification can be seen from these words in Daniel:

A man clothed in linen held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and sware by Him that liveth forever that it shall be for a fixed time of fixed times and a half; and when they shall make an end of scattering the hand of the people of holiness all these things shall be consummated (Daniel 12:7).

From this it is clear that these times signify a consummation, for it is said "until all these things shall be consummated," and consummation means fulfillment, thus even to fullness.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.