1045. Having in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations and the uncleanness of whoredoms, signifies having doctrine from profaned goods and truths. This is evident from the signification of a "cup," as being falsity from hell, for a "cup" has a similar signification as "wine," and "wine" signifies truth from heaven, and in the contrary sense falsity from hell (See n. 887, 960, 1022). And as a "cup" signifies truth or falsity, and the doctrine of every church is either of truth or of falsity, for all truth or falsity of the church is contained in doctrine, so a "cup" also signifies doctrine, and "a golden cup" the doctrine of falsity from evil.

[2] As in Jeremiah:

Babylon is a golden cup in the hand of Jehovah, making the whole earth drunken (Jeremiah 51:7).

It is called "a golden cup" for the same reason that the woman is said to be "arrayed in purple and scarlet, and inwrought with gold, precious stones and pearls," that is, from the appearance in externals; and yet in internals it is like a cup "full of abominations and uncleanness." For it is like what the Lord says of the externals and internals with the Scribes and Pharisees:

Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, who cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. And ye make yourselves like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of bones of the dead and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:25-27).

The above is evident also from the signification of "abominations," as being the profanations of good (of which presently); also from the signification of "the uncleanness of whoredom," as being the profanation of truth. For "whoredom" signifies falsification of truth (See above), therefore its "uncleanness" signifies profanation.

[3] In regard to the profanations that are signified by "abominations," they are perversions of the holy things of the church, thus conversions of its goods into evils, and of its truths into falsities. They are called "abominations" because the angels abominate them; for so far as they have been holy things of the church, derived from goods and truths from the Word, they ascend into heaven; but so far as they have been applied to evils, and thus profaned, they carry with them what is infernal, which lies hidden within; and consequently they are perceived as things dead, in which there was once a living soul; and this is why heaven abominates and detests them.

[4] That this is the meaning of "abominations" in the Word is evident from the account of the abominations of Jerusalem in Ezekiel:

As that she took of the garments of her adorning which were given to her, and made for herself high places of various colors, and committed whoredom upon them;

That of the gold and silver given to her, she made herself images of a male, and committed whoredom with them;

That the oil, incense, bread, fine flour, and honey, that were given to her, she gave for an odor of rest;

That they sacrificed their sons and daughters;

That she committed whoredom first in Egypt, and afterwards with the sons of Assyria, and finally with the Chaldeans; besides other things that are there called abominations. (Ezekiel 16:2-63).

All these things signify profanations of the Word, of the church, and of worship. So in other passages where abominations are either recounted or mentioned (as Jeremiah 7:9, 10; 16:18; 32:35; Ezekiel 5:11; 7:19, 20; 8:6-18; 11:21; 14:6; 20:7, 8; Deuteronomy 7:25, 26; 12:31; 18:9, 10; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Daniel 9:27; 11:31).

29. And the Prince of the kings of the earth, signifies from whom is all the truth from good in the church. This is evident from the signification of "Prince of kings," as meaning from whom is all truth; a "prince" denoting what is primary, and "kings" truths; and, because it refers to the Lord, who is here called "Prince of kings," it means from whom is all truth (that "prince" means what is primary, see Arcana Coelestia 1482, 2089, 5044; and that "kings" are truths, see in the explanation of the following verse, where it is said, "and hath made us kings and priests," n. 31; also from the signification of the "earth," as meaning the church (of which in what follows). One who knows not the internal sense of the Word must needs believe that the kings of the whole earth are here meant; whereas kings are not meant, nor earth; but by "kings" are meant all who are in truths from good; and by the "earth" is meant the church. (That by the "earth" is signified the church is shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, from which these particulars may be seen: That by the "earth" is signified the kingdom of the Lord and the church, n. 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643. The chief reason of which is, that by the "earth" is meant the land of Canaan; and the church was there from most ancient times, n. 567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516, 9325, 9327; also that, in the spiritual sense, by the "earth" is meant the nation who dwell thereon, and their worship, n . 1262. That the "new heaven the new earth" signify the church in the heavens on earth 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373. That by the creation of heaven and earth, in the first chapters of Genesis, in the internal sense, is described the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, see n. 8891, 9942, 10545. That to "create" is to establish and regenerate, see n. Arcana Coelestia 10373. That "ground," too, signifies the church; "ground" from the reception of seeds, which are truths, but "earth" from the nations therein, and their worship, see n. 566, 1068, 10570. Moreover, "earth," as it signifies the church, signifies also the religious principle, consequently also such as is idolatrous; as the land of Egypt, the land of the Philistines, the land of Chaldea, and of Babel, and many others. That "earth" signifies the church is also briefly shown in the small work on The Last Judgment 3, 4.)