2. B

Babel and Babylon [Babel et Babylon]. See Papists.

Balaam [Bileam]. Balaam was a hypocrite and a diviner or soothsayer, and that through his counsel given to Balak he sought to destroy the children of Israel by eating things offered to idols, shown n. 114.

Balances or Scales [lances, statera]. See Measure.

Bald [calvus. ] It signifies those who are without truths from the Word, illustrated and shown n. 47.

Baptism [baptismus]. What the papists teach concerning baptism may be seen in what is set forth concerning their doctrine, n. 1. Baptism is a sacrament of repentance and an introduction into the church, illustrated n. 224, and at n. 531 toward the end 776. What the Reformed teach concerning baptism, see what is set forth concerning their doctrines at n. 7. Baptism is for a sign before angels, and for a memorial before men, n. 776. The reason of John’s baptism, n. 776. Baptism represents and thence signifies a cleansing and purification from evils and falsities, and consequently reformation and regeneration, the like was formerly signified by washing, shown n. 378.

Barley [hordeum, vide triticum]. See Wheat.

Bear [ursus]. Bears signify those who read the Word and do not understand it, whereby they involve themselves in fallacies, illustrated and shown n. 573. In the spiritual world there appear bears that are hurtful and bears that are harmless, n. 573.

Bear Witness, to [testari]. See Testimony.

Beast [bestia]. Beast signifies various things with men and angels, which are of their will or affection and their understanding and thought, illustrated and shown n. 290. Beasts signify men as to their natural affections and lusts, illustrated and shown n. 567. Affections and lusts appear in the spiritual world as beasts, concerning which see n. 601. Beasts, birds, and fish, in general termed creatures signify affections, perceptions, and thoughts with men, and consequently men as to such things, illustrated and shown n. 405. Man and beasts signify man as to spiritual affection and as to natural affection, shown n. 567. What is signified by the four beasts rising out of the sea in Daniel, chap. vii. and that nearly the same is signified by the beast from the sea in Rev. 13, illustrated n. 574. By the beast from the sea in Rev. 13, are signified the men of the external church, who are called the laity, who are in faith separate from charity, n. 594, By the beast from the earth, which is also called the false prophet, are meant the men of the church on earth, who are called clergy, and are in faith separate from charity shown n. 594. By the throne of the beast is signified where the falsity of faith reigns n. 694. By the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name, is signified faith alone, its doctrine, its acknowledgment, and the falsification of the Word, n. 660, 679. By the scarlet beast is signified the Word, illustrated and shown n. 723, 733–735, 739–741, 746, 749. What is signified by the four animals, see Cherubim.

Bed [lectus]. Bed signifies doctrine, illustrated from beds in the spiritual world, and shown n. 137. Inasmuch as in the Word Jacob signifies the doctrine of the church, when any one thinks profoundly concerning him, there appears a man above toward the right, as it were lying on a bed, n. 137 Benjamin [Benjamin]. Benjamin signifies a life of truth from good, shown 361.

Bind, to [vincire, vide vinctus]. See Bound.

Bird [avis]. See Fowl.

Birth [nativitas]. By births and conceptions in the Word are meant spiritual births and conceptions, which relate to the good of love and the truth of faith; inasmuch as they are procreated from the marriage of good and truth, illustrated n. 139, illustrated n. 543. The members of generation in both sexes correspond with celestial love, n. 213. See To Bring Forth.

Bishops [episcopi]. Some particulars relative to certain English bishops in the spiritual world, contained in the relations at the end of some chapters, n. 241, 675, 716.

Bitter [amarum]. It signifies falsified truth, illustrated and shown n. 411. See Wormwood.

Black, Blackness [nigrum, nigredo] There are two kinds of blackness; one in opposition to white, and the other in opposition to red, concerning which see n. 231, illustrated and shown n. 312. Blackness also signifies ignorance, n. 915.

Blasphemy [blasphemia]. It is a denial of the Divine of the Lord, and the holiness of the Word, illustrated and shown n. 571. It is also profanation, illustrated n. 723.

Blessed, Happy [beatus]. The blessed or the happy signifies those who have the felicity of eternal life, n. 639, 816, 944, 951.

Blind [caecus]. The blind signifies those who do not know truth, and those who do not understand truth, shown n. 210.

Blood [sanguis]. The blood of the Lamb signifies the Divine truth of the Lord in him and from him, illustrated and shown n. 379, for this reason, because the Lord is the Word, and the Divine truth therein is meant by his blood, and the Divine good therein by his flesh, likewise by his body, illustrated n. 555, 684. Blood in the opposite sense signifies violence offered to the Word, consequently to the Lord, shown n. 825. In the opposite sense, it signifies the Divine truth falsified, adulterated, and profaned, shown n. 379, 404, 687, 688. Blood as of one dead signifies infernal falsity, illustrated n. 681.

Book [liber]. Books signify the interiors of the mind of man, because in them are written all things appertaining to his life, n. 867. The book of life is the Lord considered as the Word, consequently the Word, n. 958. To be written in the book of life, and to be judged therefrom, signifies from the Divine truth of the Word, and from the Lord thereby, shown n. 256. To open the book, and to loose the seals thereof signifies to know the states of all and to judge every one according to his state, illustrated n. 259, 295. No one can look in the book signifies that no one but the Lord alone is able to know it in the least, n. 262. See Seal. To be written in the book of life signifies he who believes in the Lord, and lives according to his commandments, shown n. 874. Not to be written in the book of life signifies on the contrary, n. 874. By the little book open in the hand of the angel is meant that essential of the new church, that the Lord, even as to his human, is the God of heaven and earth, n. 469. What was written in that little book may be seen, n. 472. To depart as a book or scroll rolled together signifies that good and truth, which is in the Word, would recede and become hidden in the church, n. 335. It is said that the book was rolled together, because books were then made of skins, and were rolled up, n. 335.

Bottle [uter]. A bottle or pitcher signifies the same as its contents, shown n. 672.

Bottomless Pit [abyssus]. See Abyss.

Bound, to Bind [vinctus, vincire]. To be bound in prison and in custody signifies to be infected by evils and falsities, shown n. 99. See Captive.

Bow [arcus]. A bow signifies doctrine combating from truths against falsities, and from falsities against truths, illustrated and shown n. 299. Therefore arrows and shafts signify truths or falsities, n. 299.

Brass [aes]. Brass signifies natural good, illustrated and shown n. 775.

Bread [panis]. There are bread and wine in the holy supper, because bread there signifies the holy of love, and wine the holy of faith; and because the material bread and the heavenly bread mutually correspond therein, also the material wine and the heavenly wine, illustrated n. 224. Bread from flour of wheat was offered up together with the sacrifices upon the altar, which was called a cake or meal offering, shown n. 778. The bread of faces upon the table in the tabernacle was also made of fine flour of wheat, shown n. 778; because wheat signifies the good of the church from the Word fine flour its truth thence derived, illustrated shown 315.

Breadth [latitudo]. Breadth signifies the truth of the church, and length the good of the church, illustrated and shown n. 906, 907.

Breast [mamma, mamilla]. See Paps.

Breast Plate [thorax, vide arma]. See Arms.

Bridegroom, Bride [sponsus, sponsa]. From the marriage of the Lord with the church, the Lord is called the bridegroom, and the church the bride, n. 797, 881. The new church, which is the new Jerusalem, is called the bride, the lamb’s wife, shown n. 813, 955. That the church is called the bride while it is being established, and that it is called the wife when it is established, n. 895 toward the end. At the end of Revelation the bride bridegroom speak, that is, the {w219} the church as if it were during the betrothal 960.

Bridle of a Horse [fraenum equi]. The bridle of a horse signifies that by which the understanding is guided, shown n. 653.

Brimstone. See Sulphur.

Bring Forth, to Travail in Birth, Birth [parere, parturire, partus]. To bring forth and to travail in birth signifies to conceive and bring forth those things which appertain to spiritual life, shown n. 535. See also Birth.

Brother [frater]. A man-brother is spoken of charity, and a companion of faith, shown n. 32. The Lord calls those who from him are in charity, brothers, illustrated and shown n. 32. But that it is not written, neither is it becoming, that they, on the other hand, should call the Lord brother, n. 32.

Building [structura]. Building or structure signifies every subject to which it relates, because the all of it is in the building, n. 911.

Bury, Burial, Monument [sepelire, sepultura, sepulchrum]. To be buried signifies to rise again, and to continue life, because all earthly and impure things are rejected, n. 506. Not to be buried signifies to continue in things earthly and unclean, and for that reason to be rejected as condemned, shown n. 506.

Buy, to [emere]. By buying and selling is signified to acquire knowledges of good and truth, or truths, and to teach them, shown n. 606. See To Trade. By the bought of the Lord are signified the redeemed, that is, the regenerate, n. 619.

647. 14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. This symbolizes the heavens of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the Word's Divine truth in them.

In the highest sense an angel symbolizes the Lord, and also the angelic heaven, and likewise the Divine truth emanating from the Lord (see nos. 5, 65, 170, 258, 342-344, 415, 465 above). Here, however, the angel symbolizes the heavens of the spiritual kingdom, and consequently the Divine truths there, because we are told in the next verse that another angel came out from the altar, who symbolizes the heavens of the Lord's celestial kingdom, thus the Divine goodness there, as shown in the next number.

All the heavens are divided into two kingdoms - the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom. The spiritual kingdom is the kingdom of the Lord's wisdom, because the angels in it are in a state of wisdom gained from Divine truths received from the Lord; and the celestial kingdom is the kingdom of the Lord's love, because the angels there are prompted by love received from the Lord and so possess every kind of goodness.

That all the heavens are divided into two kingdoms may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758), nos. 20-28. Also in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom (Amsterdam, 1763), nos. 101, 381.

A temple symbolizes the whole of heaven, as in no. 644 above; but because it is called here the temple which is in heaven, and after that mention is made of the altar, the temple symbolizes the heaven of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as said just above. And the sharp sickle symbolizes Divine truth in the Word, as in nos. 643, 645 above.

[2] Previously the text said that He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle and the earth was reaped, and now that an angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle, and he thrust it into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth; and the reason is that the earth which was reaped by Him who sat on the cloud, or the Lord, symbolizes the church throughout the world, while the vine of the earth symbolizes the church in the Christian world.

This description includes elements similar to those in what the Lord foretold in the parable of the sower and his gathering in of the harvest in Matthew 13, which we quoted above at the end of no. 645. There we said that the harvest is the culmination of the age, that is, the end of the church, and that the reapers are angels who symbolize Divine truths. For angels are not sent to reap, that is, to perform the actions symbolized, but the Lord accomplishes the actions through the Divine truths in His Word. As the Lord says, "the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). See nos. 233, 273 above.

1. THE APOCALYPSE OR BOOK OF REVELATION

CHAPTER 1

1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

2. who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to whatever he saw.

3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

4. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne,

5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, who loves us and washes us from our sins in His blood,

6. and makes us kings and priests to His God and Father. To Him be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.

7. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

9. I, John, who am also your brother and your companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patient awaiting of Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10. I became in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

11. saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. What you see, write in a book and send it to the churches which are in Asia - Ephesus and Smyrna, Pergamum and Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

12. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13. and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and girded about the breasts with a golden girdle.

14. His head and hair were white, like wool as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire.

15. His feet were like fine brass, as though fired in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

16. having in His right hand seven stars, and issuing from His mouth a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance as the sun shines in its power.

17. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

18. and am He who lives, and was put to death, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death.

19. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

20. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches."

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter:

The meaning is that this revelation comes from the Lord alone, and is received by people who will be in His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, and who will acknowledge the Lord as God of heaven and earth. The Lord also is described in relation to the Word.

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The Contents of the Individual Verses:

THE EXPOSITION

People have hitherto not known what the spiritual meaning is. We have shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture, nos. 5-26, that it exists in every constituent of the Word, and that in many places the Word cannot be understood apart from it. This meaning is not apparent in the literal sense, for it is present in it as the soul is in the body.

People do know that there is a spiritual reality and a natural one, and that the spiritual one flows into the natural one and presents itself to be seen and felt in forms that fall within the scope of people's vision and touch. Moreover, they know that apart from these forms the spiritual component is perceived only as affection and thought, or as love and wisdom, which are properties of the mind. They acknowledge that affection and thought, or love, which has the capacity to be affected, and wisdom, which has the capacity to think, are spiritual. They know that these two faculties of the soul present themselves in forms in the body that are called sensory and motor organs, and furthermore, that these forms operate in harmony with those faculties, so much so that when the mind thinks something, the mouth in an instant expresses it, and when the mind wills something, the body in an instant does it. It is apparent, therefore, that there is a perfect union of spiritual and natural components in the human being.

[2] The case is the same with each and every constituent of the world. Each has in it something spiritual as the inmost of its cause, and something natural as its effect, and these two function as one. Moreover, the spiritual component is not apparent in the natural one, because, as we said, it is present in the natural one as the soul is in the body and as the inmost of a cause is in the effect.

It is the same with the Word. Because it is Divine, no one can deny that it is spiritual at its core. But because the spiritual component is not apparent in the literal sense, which is natural, therefore the spiritual meaning has been hitherto unknown. Nor could it have been known previously, before the Lord revealed genuine truths, as the spiritual meaning consists in those truths.

It is on this account that the book of Revelation has heretofore not been understood. But lest there be any doubt that it contains such truths, its contents must be explained phrase by phrase and demonstrated by similar passages elsewhere in the Word. The explanation and demonstration now follow.