389. Verses 9-11. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little time until both their fellow-servants and their brethren, that should be killed, as they were, should be fulfilled.

"And when he had opened the fifth seal," signifies prediction still further; "I saw under the altar," signifies those who were reserved under heaven; "the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held," signifies those who were rejected and concealed on account of the Divine truth and confession of the Lord.

"And they cried with a great voice," signifies the grief of their minds saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth," signifies sighings to the Lord, who is justice, concerning the judgment and removal of those who persecute and infest them who acknowledge the Lord, and are in the life of charity.

"And white robes were given unto every one," signifies Divine truth from the Lord with them, and protection. "And it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little time," signifies some further duration in that state; "until both their fellow-servants and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled," signifies, until all things were consummated.

259. The occurrence of written materials in the heavens is provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word, for in its essence the Word is the divine truth from which both angels and people on earth get all their wisdom. It has in fact been spoken by the Lord, and what is spoken by the Lord passes through all the heavens in sequence and comes to rest with us. In this way it is adapted both to the wisdom that angels enjoy and to the intelligence that we do. As a result, angels have a Word that they read just as much as we do ours. They draw their doctrinal principles from it, and their sermons come from it (221). It is the same Word; but its natural meaning, which to us is its literal meaning, does not exist in heaven. There is a spiritual meaning there instead, which is its inner meaning. The nature of this meaning may be seen in the booklet The White Horse Described in the Book of Revelation.