704. That perform signs to go away to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. This symbolizes assertions that their falsities are true, and efforts to stir up all those throughout the church who are caught up in the same falsities to attack the truths of the New Church.

To perform signs is to testify and also to assert that something is true, as may be seen in nos. 598, 599 above, here that their falsities are true. Kings of the earth and of the whole world symbolize people who are caught up primarily in falsities springing from evil, here all who are caught up in the same falsities throughout the church. For kings symbolize people impelled by truths that spring from goodness, and in an opposite sense people impelled by falsities springing from evil (no. 483). The earth symbolizes the church (no. 285), and so likewise does the world (no. 551). To go away to gather them to battle means, symbolically, to stir those people to fight or attack; for war symbolizes a spiritual war, which is one of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity (nos. 500, 586). It is to attack the truths of the New Church because it is called the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and that day symbolizes the Lord's advent and a new church then. That this is the symbolic meaning of the great day there will be seen below.

We are told that the spirits of demons would do this, because the spirits of demons symbolize lusts to falsify truths and to reason on the basis of falsities, as just said in no. 703 above.

It is apparent from this that spirits of demons performing signs to go away to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, symbolize assertions by the people meant by the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, as described in nos. 701, 702 above, that their falsities are true, and efforts to stir up all those throughout the church who are caught up in the same falsities to attack the truths of the New Church.

[2] That the great day of God Almighty symbolizes the Lord's advent and a new church then, is clear from many passages in the Word, as from the following:

Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:11)

...in that day... Israel... will depend on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (Isaiah 10:20)

In that day a Root of Jesse... shall the Gentiles seek, and His resting place shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10-11)

In that day... eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 17:7, 9)

They will say in that day: "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, to set us free." (Isaiah 25:9)

...My people shall know My name...(and) in that day, I am He who speaks: "Behold, it is I." (Isaiah 52:6)

Alas! ...great is (the day of Jehovah, and) there is none like it. (Jeremiah 30:7)

Behold, the days are coming... when I will make a new covenant... and the city shall be built for Jehovah... (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 38)

In those days... I will cause to grow up to David a righteous Branch... (Jeremiah 33:15)

(They will not) stand in battle on the day of Jehovah. (Ezekiel 13:5)

In that day Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the children of your people... In that day... shall be delivered everyone who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

...in that day... you will call Me "My Husband."... In that day I will make a covenant for them... ...in that day I will hear... (Hosea 2:16, 18, 21).

Behold, I am sending you Elijah... before the coming of the great... day of Jehovah. (Malachi 4:5)

Jehovah... will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. (Zechariah 9:16)

In that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:8)

Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming... It shall be one day which is known to Jehovah... In that day Jehovah shall be one and His name one... In that day there shall be a great tumult... In that day "Holiness to the Lord" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 6-9, 13, 20-21)

There are many other passages in addition to these in which "the day of Jehovah" means the Lord's advent and a new church from Him then, as in the following: Isaiah 4:2; 19:16, 18, 21, 24; 22:20; 28:5; 29:18; 30:25-26; 31:7; and elsewhere.

Since the end of an age or final period of a former church is the time when the Lord's advent takes place and a new church begins, therefore the day of Jehovah in many places symbolizes the end of a previous church, and we are told that then there will be rumors, tumult, and wars. ¹ See the passages collected in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, nos. 4, 5.

Примітки:

282. "Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." This symbolically means that the Lord has redeemed those in the church or in any other religion who are impelled by truths in respect to their doctrine and by goods in respect to their life.

Tribes mean, symbolically, the church in respect to religion. Tongues symbolize its doctrine, as we will see presently. People mean, symbolically, people impelled by doctrinal truths, and abstractly doctrinal truths themselves (no. 483). And nations mean, symbolically, people who are impelled by goods of life, and abstractly goods of life themselves (no. 483). It is apparent from this that every tribe and tongue and people and nation has the symbolic meaning stated, as it does also in no. 627.

[2] We will now confirm here that tongues in the spiritual sense symbolize the doctrine possessed by a church and by every religion. This is apparent from the following:

My tongue ponders Your righteousness, Your praise all the day long. (Psalms 35:28)

My tongue shall ponder Your righteousness all the day long. (Psalms 71:24)

Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness... (Isaiah 35:6)

...the tongue of stammerers will be swift to speak... (Isaiah 32:4)

It seems as though tongue there means speech, but in the spiritual sense it means that which is spoken, which is the doctrinal truth that they will have from the Lord.

So likewise:

I have sworn... that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue swear an oath. (Isaiah 45:23)

The time will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. (Isaiah 66:18)

In those days ten men from all the tongues of the nations shall take hold of the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." (Zechariah 8:23)

These passages describe as well the Lord's conversion of the nations to doctrinal truth.

[3] On the other hand, in the following places tongues in an opposite sense symbolize doctrinal falsities:

A smooth-tongued man shall not continue to exist in the land. (Psalms 140:11)

You hide them... in Your tabernacle from the strife of tongues. (Psalms 31:20)

...I will bring a nation against you... whose language you do not know... (Jeremiah 5:15)

(To be sent to peoples heavy in tongue.) (Ezekiel 3:5-6). (To a people barbarous in tongue.) (Isaiah 33:19).

It should be known that the tongue as an organ symbolizes doctrine, while as speech it symbolizes also religion.

[4] Someone who knows that the tongue symbolizes doctrine can understand what is symbolically meant by the plea of the rich man in hell to Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue, to keep him from being tormented in the flame (Luke 16:24). The water symbolizes truth, and the tongue doctrine, by whose falsities the rich man was being tormented, and not by any flame. For no one in hell is on fire, but a flame there is how a love of falsity appears, and fire how a love of evil appears.