705. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 12.

1. And a great sign was seen in heaven; a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

2. And being with child she cried out, travailing, and pained to bring forth.

3. And there was seen another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.

4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them unto the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bring forth, that when she brought forth he might devour her offspring.

5. And she brought forth a son, a male who is to tend all the nations with an iron rod; and her offspring was caught up unto God and His throne.

6. And the woman 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.

7. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.

8. And they prevailed not; and their place was not found anymore in heaven.

9. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, that seduceth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10. And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, that accuseth them before our God day and night.

11. And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb, and through the word of their testimony: and they loved not their soul even unto death.

12. For this rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to those that inhabit the earth and the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great anger, knowing that he hath but a short time.

13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the son.

14. And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, where she is nourished a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15. And the serpent cast out after the woman out of his mouth water as a river, that he might cause her to be swallowed up by the river.

16. And the earth helped the woman; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17. And the dragon was angry against the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

18. ¹ And I stood upon the sand of the sea.

Fotnoter:

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(Referenser: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])