434. Vers. 9:8. Et elles avaient des cheveux connue des cheveux de femmes, signifie qu'ils apparaissaient à eux-mêmes comme dans l'affection du vrai. Dans la Parole, par l'Homme est signifié l'entendement du vrai, et par la Femme l'affection du vrai, parce que l'homme naît entendement et la femme affection ; voir sur ce sujet le Traité de l’amour conjugal ; par les cheveux dans la Parole est signifié le dernier de la vie de l'homme, c'est-à-dire, le sensuel, dont il a été parle, No. 424 ; c’est là ce qui fait qu'il leur semble qu'ils sont dans l'affection du vrai, quoique cependant ils soient dans l'affection du faux, car ils croient que le faux est le vrai. Que la Femme signifie l'affection du vrai, on peut le voir parmi grand nombre de passages dans la Parole ; de là vient que l'Église est appelée Épouse, Femme, Fille, vierge, et l'Église est Église d'après l'amour ou l'affection du vrai, car de cette affection vient l'entendement du vrai. L'Église est appelée Femme dans ces passages :

— « Deux femmes, filles d'une même mère, qui ont commis scortation en Égypte, Ohola qui est Samarie, et Oholibah qui est Jérusalem. » — Ézéchiel 23:2-4.

— « Comme une femme abandonnée et affligée en son esprit t’a appelée Jéhovah, et (comme) une femme de Jeunesse. » Ésaïe 54:6-7.

— « Jéhovah créera de nouveau sur la terre, la femme enveloppera l'homme. » — Jérémie 31:21, 22.

— Par la femme enveloppée du Soleil, que te Dragon poursuivit, Apocalypse 12, — est signifiée la Nouvelle Église, qui et la Nouvelle Jérusalem.

Par les Femmes sont signifiées les affections du vrai, d'après lesquelles l'Église est Église, dans plusieurs passages ; par exemple, dans ceux-ci :

— « Les femmes de mon peuple vous chassez, chacune de sa maison de délices. » — Michée 2:9.

— « Les familles des maisons gémiront à part, et les femmes à part. » Zacharie 12:11, 12, 13.

— « Femmes, qui êtes dans la sécurité, arrêtez-vous ; écoutez mon discours. » — Ésaïe 32:9.

— « Pourquoi faites-vous le mal, pour retrancher de vous l'homme et la femme. » — Jérémie 44:7.

— « Je disperserai l’homme et la femme. » — Jérémie 51:22.

— Par l'Homme et la Femme, ici et ailleurs, dans le sens spirituel, il est signifié l'entendement du vrai et l'affection du vrai.

884. 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more toil, for the former things have passed away." This symbolically means that the Lord will take away from them all grief of mind, all fear of damnation, all fear of evils and falsities from hell, and of temptations or trials on account of them, and they will remember them no more, because the dragon that inflicted them has been cast out.

God's wiping away every tear from their eyes means, symbolically, that the Lord will take away from them all grief of mind, for shedding tears is caused by grief of mind. The death that will be no more symbolizes damnation, as in nos. 325, 765, 853, 873 - here, the fear of it. The sorrow that will be no more symbolizes a fear of evils from hell, for sorrow has various symbolic meanings, being everywhere a sorrow over whatever is portrayed as its cause. Here it is a fear of evils from hell, because it is preceded by a fear of damnation and followed by a fear of falsities from hell, and of temptations or trials on account of them. Crying symbolizes a fear of falsities from hell, as will be seen in the next number. The toil that will be no more symbolizes temptations or trials (no. 640). Its being no more because the former things have passed away means, symbolically, that the temptations or trials will not be remembered, because the dragon that inflicted them has been cast out; for these are the former things that have passed away.

[2] But this needs to be illustrated. Every person after death comes first into the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell, and there he is prepared, a good person for heaven, and an evil one for hell. Regarding this world, see nos. 784, 791, 843, 850, 866, 869 above. And because associations are formed there as in the natural world, it had to be the case, before the Last Judgment, that people who outwardly were civic-minded and moral but inwardly evil met up with and conversed with people who likewise were outwardly civic-minded and moral but inwardly good. And because inherent in evil people is a desire to lead astray, therefore the good people with whom they associated were harassed by them in various ways. But those who grieved because of their torments and began to experience fears of being damned, of evils and falsities flowing in from hell, and of undergoing severe temptation or trial - these the Lord removed from association with the evil and conveyed them into a land below the one they were on, where they formed new associations, and there were protected. Moreover, this continued until all the evil had been separated from the good, which was brought about by the Last Judgment; and then those who were protected in the lower land or earth were raised by the Lord into heaven.

[3] The torments were inflicted primarily by the people meant by the dragon and its beasts. That is why the dragon and its two beasts were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Then, because all harassment ceased, and so also any grief over and fear of damnation and hell, those who had been tormented were told that God would wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there would be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither would there be any more toil, for the former things had passed away, which symbolically means that the Lord would take away from them all grief of mind, all fear of damnation, all fear of evils and falsities from hell, and of severe temptation or trial on account of them, and they would remember them no more, because the dragon that inflicted them had been cast out.

That the dragon had been cast out along with its two beasts and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone may be seen in 19:20 verses and 20:10 above. Moreover, that the dragon inflicted torments is apparent from many passages. For it fought with Michael and tried to devour the child that the woman bore, and after pursuing the woman, it went off to make war with the rest of her offspring (12:4 verses, 5, 7-9, 13-17; 16:13-16, and elsewhere).

Many people who were inwardly good were protected by the Lord to keep them from being tormented by the dragon and its beasts. This is apparent from 6:9-11 verses. That they were tormented is apparent from 7:13-17 verses, and that they were afterward taken up into heaven from 20:4-5 and elsewhere.

The same people are also meant by prisoners and those bound in a pit, and by those set free by the Lord (Isaiah 24:22; 61:1; Luke 4:18-19; Zechariah 9:11; Psalms 79:11).

This is symbolized as well in the Word where we are told that graves were opened, ¹ and where we are told of souls awaiting a last judgment and resurrection then. ²

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