806. "And He has avenged the blood of His servants shed by her hand." This symbolizes a retribution for the injuries and violence done to the souls of worshipers of the Lord.

His avenging the blood of His servants shed by her hand symbolizes a retribution for the injuries and violence done to the souls of worshipers of the Lord, because His avenging symbolizes retribution. To shed blood means, symbolically, to do violence to the Lord's Divinity and to the Word (nos. 327, 684), in this case to worshipers of the Lord, who are meant by His servants. Roman Catholics inflicted injuries and violence on their souls by transferring Divine worship of the Lord to themselves and preventing their reading of the Word.

The Lord is said to have avenged or exacted retribution for the blood of His servants as though He did this to take revenge or punish; but still He does not act to take revenge or punish, just as He does not act out of anger or wrath, even though anger and wrath are occasionally attributed to Him in the Word (see nos. 525, 635, 658, 673 above).

Anger and revenge are attributed to the Lord when evil people are separated from the good and cast into hell, as happens at the time of a last judgment. That time is therefore called wrath and a day of wrath, and a day of vengeance. Not that the Lord is angry or vengeful, but that those people are angry at the Lord and filled with vengeance against Him. The case is like that of a criminal after sentence has been passed, who is angry at the law and filled with vengeance against the judge. For the law is not angry, nor is the judge taking revenge.

[2] Vengeance is meant in this sense in the following passages:

...the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. (Isaiah 63:4)

The reference there is to the Lord and the Last Judgment.

...the day of Jehovah's vengeance, the year of retribution for the case of Zion. (Isaiah 34:8)

Behold, your God will come for vengeance; for the retribution of God He will come, and He will save you. (Isaiah 35:4)

...these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (Luke 21:22)

The reference there is to the culmination of the age, when the Last Judgment takes place.

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me... to proclaim the day Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Shall My soul not take vengeance... for this? (Jeremiah 5:9, 29)

I will take vengeance (on Babylon), and will not allow anyone to intercede. (Isaiah 47:3)

...His thought is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of Jehovah, vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11, cf. 51:36)

Sing, O nations, His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and visit vengeance on His adversaries; He will purge His land, His people. (Deuteronomy 32:43)

674. 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power. This symbolizes the inmost of heaven filled with spiritual and celestial Divine truth from the Lord.

The temple symbolizes the inmost of heaven, as shown in no. 669 above. Smoke symbolizes the Divine in outmost expressions, as will be seen below. Glory symbolizes spiritual Divine truth (nos. 249, 629), and power symbolizes celestial Divine truth (no. 373). Consequently the temple's being filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power symbolizes the inmost of heaven filled with spiritual and celestial Divine truth.

Smoke symbolizes Divine truth in its outmost expressions because the fire giving off the smoke symbolizes love - the fire of the altar of burnt offering symbolizing celestial love (nos. 395, 494), and the fire of the altar of incense symbolizing spiritual love (nos. 277, 392, 394).

That smoke has this symbolic meaning can be seen from the following passages:

Jehovah will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion... a cloud by day and smoke... by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. (Isaiah 4:5)

The posts of the thresholds were shaken by the voice of (the seraphim) that cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)

The smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. (Revelation 8:4)

...smoking flax He will not extinguish; in truth He will bring forth judgment. (Isaiah 42:3)

In an opposite sense smoke symbolizes the falsities of lusts, as may be seen in no. 422 above; and the falsities arising from a conceit in one's own intelligence, in no. 452. Moreover, in many places smoke has the same symbolic meaning as a cloud.

[674 repeated.] And no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended. This symbolically means, to such a degree there that no higher truth could be endured, and this until that church was destroyed and its end became apparent.

That no one was able to enter the temple means symbolically that the inmost of heaven was filled with spiritual and celestial Divine truth to such a degree that no higher truth could be endured. The temple symbolizes, here as before, the inmost of heaven. Till the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended means, symbolically, this until the destruction of the church and its end (no. 658). And the seven plagues of the seven angels symbolize the evils and falsities that destroy the church and bring about its end (no. 657).