503. And there followed hail and fire mingled with blood.- That this signifies infernal falsity and evil destroying, intermingled with the truths and goods of the Word to which violence was done, is evident from the signification of hail, as denoting infernal falsity destroying, concerning which more will be said presently; and from the signification of fire, as denoting infernal evil destroying, concerning which also we shall speak presently; and from the signification of blood, as denoting the Divine Truth, in the present case, the Divine Truth to which violence was done, consequently, Divine Truth falsified, for it is said, "hail and fire mingled with blood."

[2] That blood signifies Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and the opposite sense its destruction by the falsities of evil, and thus violence done to it may be seen above (n. 329). That hail and fire signify infernal falsities and evil destroying, is also a result of appearances in the spiritual world. When the Divine Truth flows down there out of heaven, and flows into the sphere where those are who are in falsities from evil and who desire to destroy the truths and goods of the church, then as it were a raining down of hail and fire appears to those who stand afar off; as it were a raining down of hail, as a result of their falsities, and of fire, as a result of their evils. The reason of this appearance is, that the Divine Truth, when it flows into the sphere where evils and falsities are, is changed into what is similar to that sphere. For all influx is changed in the recipient subject according to the quality thereof, just as the light of the sun when it flows into dark objects, and the heat of the sun when it flows into putrid things. The case is similar with the Divine Truth, which is the light of heaven, and with the Divine Good, which is the heat of heaven, when they flow into evil subjects, which are those spirits who are in falsities from evil. This is the reason of that appearance. It is from this fact that hail and fire have such significations in the Word; for the sense of the letter of the Word as to the greater part of it is from appearances in the spiritual world.

[3] That hail signifies infernal falsity destroying the truth of the church, is clear from other places in the Word, where the destruction of truth is described by hail as in Egypt, when Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go, concerning which it is thus written:

Moses told Pharaoh that it should rain a very grievous hail, such as had not been in Egypt. "And the hail shall be upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven; and Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and the fire walked to the earth; and Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and at the same fire walking in the midst of the hail, very grievous. And the hail smote all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail. And the flax and barley were smitten; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax a stalk. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were hidden" (Exodus 9:18-32).

Similar things are signified by the hail in Egypt as by the hail here mentioned in the Revelation; therefore several things of a similar kind are said concerning it; as that the hail and the fire walked together, that the herb of the field was smitten, and the trees broken. The reason why several things of a similar kind are here related is, that the signification of the plagues of Egypt is similar to that of the plagues in the Apocalypse which took place when the seven angels sounded. For the Egyptians signified merely natural men, the sons of Israel spiritual men, and the plagues of Egypt, the changes which precede a last judgment, just as here in the Apocalypse. For the drowning of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the Sea Suph [or Red Sea] represented a last judgment, and condemnation; therefore hail and fire here also signify falsities and evils destroying the church. But these things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 7553-7619).

[4] The signification also of hail and hot thunderbolts, mentioned in David, is similar:

"He destroyed their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with great hailstones. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to burning coals. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, the sending of evil angels" (Psalm 78:47-59).

Because hail signifies falsity destroying the truths of the church, it is therefore said, "He destroyed their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with great hailstones;" for vine signifies the spiritual truth of the church, and a sycamore its natural truth; and because burning coals, or fire, signify the love of evil, and its eagerness to destroy the goods of the church, it is therefore said, "he gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to burning coals." Cattle and flocks signify evil affections or inordinate desires which arise from evil love, and burning coals, or fire, the lust and burning desire to destroy; by the sending of evil angels, is signified the falsity of evil from hell.

[5] So again:

"He gave them hail for rain; flaming fire in their land, and he smote their vine, and their fig tree; and brake the tree of their border" (Psalm 105:32, 33).

These things are also said concerning the hail of Egypt, which signifies infernal falsity destroying the truths of the church. The vine and the fig tree have here a similar signification to the vine and sycamores mentioned above, the vine signifying spiritual truth, and the fig tree, natural truth, each pertaining to the church, and tree signifies the perceptions and cognitions of truth and good.

[6] The signification of hail mentioned in Joshua, when he fought against the five kings of the Amorites, is similar, of which it is said:

"And it came to pass," as the kings "fled before Israel, while they were in the going down to Bethhoron, that Jehovah cast down great stones of hail from heaven upon them unto Azekah; and they were more that died from the hailstones than they whom the sons of Israel slew with the sword" (10:11).

Because the historical parts of the Word are representative, and contain an internal sense, equally as the prophetical parts, therefore this is the case also in regard to what is related of the five kings of the Amorites, and of the battle of the sons of Israel with them. For the nations that were driven out of the land of Canaan signified the evil who were to be cast out of the kingdom of the Lord, and the sons of Israel signify those to whom it is granted to possess the kingdom. The land of Canaan signified heaven and the church, and therefore the kingdom of the Lord; hence the five kings of the Amorites signified those who are in falsities of evil, and desire to destroy the truths of the good of the church. It was for this reason, that they were slain by hailstones from heaven, that is to say, they perished and were destroyed by their own falsities of evil; for the evil themselves perish by their own evils and falsities, by means of which they desire to destroy the truths and goods of the church.

[7] Again, in David:

"At the brightness before him his clouds passed, with hailstones and coals of fire. Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his darts and scattered them and many lightnings and discomfited them" (Psalm 18:12-14).

In these passages, hailstones and fire signify the same things as the hail and fire here in the Apocalypse, that is, falsities and evils destroying the truths and goods of the church.

It is said that such things are from Jehovah, because the Divine Truth descending out of heaven is changed into infernal falsities with the evil, as stated above. Out of this change various appearances arise, such as the flowing down of hail and fire; still these things do not proceed out of heaven from the Lord, but from those who are in falsities of evil, who turn the influx of Divine Truth and Good into the falsity of evil. It has also been granted me to perceive those changes, when the Divine Truth has flowed down out of heaven into some hell. During its course it was successively changed into the falsity of evil, according to the quality of that evil in those [who were there]; just as the heat of the sun, when it falls upon dunghills, and the light of the sun, when it falls upon subjects which turn its rays into dismal colours; or as the light and heat of the sun, in putrid marshy lands, produce noxious herbs which nourish serpents, while in good lands they cause trees and grasses to grow, which nourish men and useful beasts. The cause of such effects in putrid lands is not in the light and heat of the sun, but in the nature of the lands themselves, and yet those effects may be ascribed to the fire and heat of the sun. From these things the source from which hail and fire appear in the spiritual world is evident, and also why it is said that Jehovah causes them to be rained down, when nevertheless nothing comes from Jehovah but what is good. When Jehovah, that is the Lord, causes a powerful influx, it is not for the purpose of destroying the evil, but to rescue and protect the good, for by this means he conjoins the good to himself more closely and interiorly, and therefore they are separated from the evil, and the evil perish. For if the evil were not separated, the good would perish, and the angelic heaven would fall to ruin.

[8] Similar things are signified by hail, and by a tempest of hail, in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and behold, the Lord, strong and mighty, as a tempest of hail, as a destroying storm" (28:1, 2).

Again:

"The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place" (28:17).

Again:

"And Jehovah shall cause the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall cause his arm to see rest, in the indignation of his anger, and in the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering and inundation, and hailstones" (30:30).

And again:

"It shall hail until the forest come down, and the city humble herself with humility" (32:19).

In Ezekiel:

"And I will plead with" Gog "with pestilence and with blood; and I will cause to rain upon him, an overflowing rain, and hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (38:22).

In the Apocalypse,

"Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of the covenant; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail" (11:19).

And in another place:

"And great hail, as it were the weight of a talent, came out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (16:21).

[9] Therefore those who are in falsities are called hailstones in Ezekiel:

"Say unto them that cover over with untempered [mortar], that it shall fall; there shall be an overflowing rain, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall" (13:11).

Here by them "that cover over with untempered [mortar]," are signified those who confirm falsities in order that they may outwardly appear as truths. They are called hailstones, because they thus destroy truths; and the dispersion of such falsities is signified by the words "there shall be an overflowing rain."

[10] In Job,

"Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail? which I reserve against the time of battle and of war? Which is the way where the light is spread abroad?" (Job 38:22-24).

Job is being questioned by Jehovah about many things, to see whether he knows them; but these things about which he is questioned signify such things as have reference to heaven and the church. Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail? signifies, whether he knows whence come the deprivation of truth and the destruction of it by the falsities of evil, which appear in the spiritual world like a fall of snow and hail from heaven. That these appearances are seen when the evil have to be dispersed, is signified by the words, "Which I reserve against the time of battle and of war." It is therefore also said, "Which is the way where the light is spread abroad?" which signifies, by what way is truth insinuated? light denoting truth. Hail signifies the falsity of evil, and a storm of hail, the destruction of truth, because hail in itself is cold, and cannot support the heat of heaven, and cold signifies the deprivation of the good of love; and heat in the angelic heaven, is the good of love. As may be seen in the Heaven and Hell 126-140); also, because stones in the Word, signify truths, and in the opposite sense falsities; and large hail appears to consist as it were of stones cast down from heaven, which destroy the crops and herbs of the field, as well as the smaller animals, just as stones would do; therefore it is also said, hailstones. That stones, in the Word, signify truths, and in the opposite sense falsities, may be seen in the Arcana. Coelestia (n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376).

9429. 'And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai' means the more internal levels of the Lord's Word in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the glory of Jehovah', when the Word is the subject, as its inward sense, thus the more internal levels of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 5922; and from the meaning of 'Mount Sinai' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and consequently as heaven, dealt with above in 9420, 9427. The reason why the more internal levels of the Word are called 'the glory' is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun composes the light in heaven, which enables the angels there to see with their eyes and at the same time gives them intelligence and wisdom, 1531, 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4302, 4415, 4527, 5400, 6313, 6608, 6907, 8644, 8707, 8861. This Divine light is the source of all the glory in heaven, whose brightness is such that it exceeds all human imagination. From this it is evident why the inward sense of the Word is 'the glory'; for the inward sense of the Word is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord in heaven, and so it is the light which is the source of all the glory there.

[2] This is what 'glory' is used to mean in a large number of places in the Word, such as where it says that they would see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with glory, Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27; that the Lord, after He had suffered would enter into His glory, Luke 24:26; that when He came in His glory He would sit on the throne of His glory, Matthew 25:31, 'sitting on the throne of glory' meaning judging with Divine Truth that comes from Him; and that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, Luke 9:30-31, 'Moses and Elijah' there being the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247, 9372. It is also what the Lord's 'being glorified' is used to mean in John,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31-32.

'Being glorified in God' means becoming Divine Good from which Divine Truth springs. Something similar appears in John 12:28.

[3] Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as it exists in heaven is meant by 'the glory' in the following places as well: In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. And the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. Isaiah 40:3, 5.

These are words referring to the Coming of the Lord, in which 'the glory of Jehovah' that will be revealed is Divine Truth. The Lord is that Truth because it comes from Him, as is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light. And the Word became flesh; and we saw His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1, 4, 9, 14.

'The Word' here is Divine Truth, and so is 'the light', from which it is evident what 'seeing His glory' means. The Lord, as is well known, did not appear in any glory in the world, apart from when He was transfigured.

[4] 'The glory' has the same meaning elsewhere in John,

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. But they delighted in the glory of men more than in the glory of God. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:41, 43, 46.

Here also 'the Lord's glory' and 'the glory of God' stand for Divine Truth, while 'the glory of men' stands for falsity. In Isaiah,

Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. Jehovah will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen over you. The glory of Lebanon will come to you to beautify the place of My sanctuary. Your sun will no longer go down and your moon will not be withdrawn, for Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light. Isaiah 60:1-end.

This plainly refers to the Coming of the Lord, His kingdom, heaven, and the Church. Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human is described in the whole of that chapter, where it is called light, honour, and glory.

[5] In the same prophet,

They will fear the name of Jehovah from the setting of the sun, and His glory from the rising of the sun. The Redeemer will come to Zion. Isaiah 59:19-20.

Here also it refers to the Lord. 'The name of Jehovah' stands for all the truth of faith and good of love from which worship flows, 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310. In the same prophet,

I have called You in righteousness, and will give You as a covenant of the people, ¹ a light of the nations. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 42:6, 8.

This too is a reference to the Lord, in which 'a light of the nations' means Divine Truth which comes from Him; 'not giving glory to another' means that that Divine Truth comes from no one other than the Lord, who is one with Jehovah, as again in the same prophet,

For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; and My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 48:11.

[6] 'Glory' has a like meaning elsewhere in Isaiah,

Your light will break forth like the dawn; your righteousness will walk before you, the glory of Jehovah will gather you up. Isaiah 58:8.

In the same prophet,

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

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before all His elders, glory. Isaiah 24:23.

In Moses,

Jehovah said, I am the Living One, and the whole earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah. Numbers 14:20-21.

In all these places, which refer to the Lord, 'glory' means Divine Truth which emanates from Him.

[7] In Isaiah,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And above Him stood the seraphim. And one cried to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth; the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:1-3.

In David,

The heavens recount the glory of God. Psalms 19:1.

And in the same author,

... that the nations may fear the name of Jehovah, and the kings of the earth Your glory, in that Jehovah has built Zion and appeared in His glory. Psalms 102:15-16.

In Revelation,

The glory of God will give the holy Jerusalem light, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations that are saved will walk in His light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:23-25.

'The holy Jerusalem' stands for a new Church; 'the glory of God' stands for Divine Truth from the Lord there, as does 'His light' in which they will walk; and 'the kings of the earth' who 'will bring glory' stands for those who are guided by truths derived from good, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148. All this now makes clear what the meaning is of 'the glory of Jehovah' which lay over Mount Sinai. See also 8427.

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