805. 19:2 "For true and just are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her licentiousness." This symbolically means, because in accordance with justice the profane Roman Catholic religion has been condemned, which by its foul adulterations of the Word destroyed the Lord's church.

"True and just are Your judgments" symbolizes the Word's Divine truths and goods, in accordance with which the Lord executes judgment (nos. 668, 689), and which together are called righteousness. For righteousness in reference to the Lord has just this symbolic meaning, as in verse 11 below, and in Isaiah 63:1, Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16. "Because He has judged the great harlot" means, symbolically, because the profane Roman Catholic religion has been condemned, as described in the preceding chapter. It is called a great harlot because of its adulteration and profanation of the Word. "Who corrupted the earth with her licentiousness" means, symbolically, which by its foul adulterations of the Word destroyed the Lord's church - its licentiousness symbolizing an adulteration of the Word (no. 134), and the earth symbolizing the church (nos. 285, 721).

689. 16:7 And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments." This symbolizes the Divine goodness in the Word supporting that Divine truth.

Another, namely another angel, symbolizes the Divine goodness in the Word. An angel symbolizes the Divinity emanating from the Lord (nos. 415, 631, 633), and an angel from the altar symbolizes the Divine goodness of love (no. 648), here the Divine goodness in the Word, because the Word continues to be the subject, and because the angel of the waters symbolizes the Word's Divine truth (no. 685).

Now because the Word's Divine goodness and the Word's Divine truth are united, therefore the symbolic meaning of what the angel of the waters said and the symbolic meaning of what the angel from the altar said are similar. For the angel of the waters said, "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was, and holy, because You have judged these things," while here the angel from the altar said, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments." These two utterances have the same symbolic meaning, with the sole difference that one of the angels spoke from the prompting of truth, and the other from the prompting of goodness, and that one confirmed what the other said, but using different words, one using words that belong to the classification of truth, and the other using words that belong to the classification of good. For there is a marriage of truth and goodness in every part of the Word (no. 97), and some words are words having to do with goodness, and some are words having to do with truth. They appear to differ, but still they involve similar ideas.