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Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com

Apocalypse Explained

Verse 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the abundance of her luxuries. 3. "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the anger of her whoredom," signifies the adulteration of all things of the good of heaven and of the church by direful falsities of evil (n. 1102); "and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her," signifies the falsification of all things of the truth of heaven and the church (n. 1103); "and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the abundance of her luxuries," signifies instruction in those things of heaven and the church, which draw their delightfulness and desirableness from the love of having dominion by the holy things of the church as means, and also from the love of possessing the world by the same means (n. 1104).

Verse 3. For of the wine of her whoredom all nations have drunk, signifies the adulteration of all things of the good of heaven and the church by direful falsities of evil. This is evident from what has been explained above (n. 881), where there are like words. It is there said that "she made all nations to drink," but here that "all nations have drunk." (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith.) Now as to the doctrine of the Trinity that was written by Athanasius, and established by a council at Nice. This doctrine is such that when it is read it leaves a clear idea that there are three Persons, and thus that there are three unanimous Gods, but an obscure idea that God is one; and yet, as has been said above, the idea of thought of one God is what primarily opens heaven to man, and on the other hand the idea of three Gods closes heaven. Whether this Athanasian doctrine, when it has been read, leaves a clear idea that there are three Persons, and thus three unanimous Gods, and whether this unanimous Trinity gives rise to the thought that there is one God, let everyone consider from his own thought about it. For it is said in the Athanasian Faith in plain words, "There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreate, infinite, eternal, Almighty, God, Lord." Likewise is the Son, and likewise the Holy Spirit. Also, "The Father was made and created of none; The Son was born of the Father; And the Holy Spirit proceedeth from both. Thus there is one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit. And in this Trinity the whole three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal." From all this no one can think otherwise than that there are three Gods; neither could Athanasius nor the Nicene Council think otherwise; as is evident from these words inserted in the doctrine, "Like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, yet we cannot from Christian faith make mention of three Gods or three Lords." This cannot be understood otherwise than that it is allowable to acknowledge three Gods and Lords, but not to name them, or that it is allowable to think that there are three Gods and Lords, but not to say it.

And the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, signifies the falsification of all things of the truth of heaven and the church, as can be seen from the explanation of the same words above (n. 1034). (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith.) That the doctrine of the Trinity that is called the Athanasian Faith when it has been read leaves an obscure idea that God is one, and so obscure as not to remove the idea of three Gods, can be seen from this, that the doctrine makes one God out of three through a unity of essence, saying, "This is the Christian faith: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the essence." And afterwards, "So that in all things the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped." This was said to remove the idea of three Gods, but it enters the understanding in no other way than that there are three Persons, although they all have one Divine essence, that is, by Divine essence God is here meant; and yet essence, like divinity, majesty, and glory, which are also mentioned, is something predicated, and God because a Person is the subject; consequently to say that the essence is God would be like saying that something predicated is the subject. But the essence is not God, it belongs to God, as majesty and glory are not God but belong to God, just as what is predicated is not the subject, but belongs to the subject. This makes evident that the idea of three Gods as three Persons is not removed. This may be illustrated by a comparison. Suppose that there are in one kingdom three rulers of equal power, each called king; then if power and majesty are meant by king, these might, if it were so commanded, be called and declared king, although it would not be easy to call them one king. But as a person is meant when a king is mentioned, it is impossible from any command for three kings to be thought of as one king. If, therefore, they should say to you, Speak to us as freely as you think, you would certainly say, Ye kings and Your Majesties. If you answer, As I am commanded to speak so do I think, you are deceived, because either you are pretending or you are compelling yourself, and if you are compelling yourself, your thought is not left to itself, but inheres in your words. [2] That this is so was seen by Athanasius; therefore he explains the above words by the following: "Like as we are compelled by Christian verity to acknowledge every person by Himself to be God and Lord, so we cannot by Christian faith name three Gods or three Lords." This can be understood only as meaning that it is allowable to acknowledge three Gods and Lords, but not to name them; or that it is allowable to think of three Gods and Lords, but not to speak of them, because it is contrary to the Christian faith; also that it is allowable to acknowledge and think of three infinites, eternals, uncreates, and Almighties, because there are three Persons, but not to name three infinites, eternals, uncreates, and Almighties, but only one. Athanasius added the above words to the others, because no one, not even himself, could think otherwise. But everyone can speak otherwise, and ought so to speak in all things, because it is taught by the Christian religion, that is, from the Word, that there is one God and not three Gods. Moreover, the properties assigned to each Person as his special attribute, as to the Father creation, to the Son redemption, and to the Holy Spirit enlightenment, is not thus one and the same in the three Persons, and yet they all enter into the Divine essence, for creation is Divine, redemption is Divine, and enlightenment is Divine. [3] Furthermore, does any man who wishes to change the idea of three Gods into an idea of one God, think that the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the essence? Who is able to do this even by metaphysical reasoning that transcends the comprehension? The simple are wholly unable to do it, while the learned hurry it over, saying to themselves, This is my doctrine and faith about God; nor do they retain therefrom in the memory by any obscure idea, or in thought from the memory, anything except that there are three Persons and one God, and each one makes one out of three in his own way; but only when he speaks and writes, for when he thinks he can think only of three, and of one only from the unanimity of the three; and some are unable to do even this. But listen, my reader, and do not say to yourself that this is too harshly or too boldly spoken against the faith universally accepted in respect to the triune God, for you will see in what follows that each and every thing that is written in the Athanasian Faith is in agreement with the truth, if only instead of three Persons one Person in whom is the Trinity is believed in.

And the merchants of the earth have become rich from the abundance of her luxuries, signifies instruction in the things of heaven and the church, which draw their delightfulness and desirableness from the love of having dominion by the holy things of the church as means, and also from the love of possessing the world by the same means. This is evident from the signification of "merchants," as being those who acquire the knowledges of good and truth from the Word, that is, who either teach or learn them; for in the proper or natural sense he is called a merchant who buys and sells merchandise, and to buy and to sell signify to acquire and communicate, thus in the spiritual sense to learn and to teach; and "merchandise" signifies the knowledges of good and truth from the Word. (That this is the signification of "trading," see above, n. 840.) "The merchants of the earth" signify instruction in the things of the church, because to teach is to instruct, and to be taught or to learn is to be instructed, and the term instruction is applicable to both; and as the spiritual sense of the Word is abstracted from persons, "merchant" signifies instruction, and the natural sense from the spiritual signifies those who instruct and who are instructed; for the spiritual sense has respect to goods and truths abstracted from persons, while the natural sense from the spiritual has respect to the persons in whom are these goods and truths. That "the earth" signifies the church has often been confirmed above from the Word. The above is evident also from the signification of "the abundance of her luxuries," as being the things of the church that are called knowledges, and that are said to be holy, and yet derive all that they are from the love of having dominion both over heaven and over the world. Such knowledges, which they call the holy things of the church, are what are meant by "the abundance of her luxuries" which are enumerated below (verses 11-15), and by which such things are signified. They are called "the abundance of luxuries" because they are delightful, for all things that flow forth from the love of self and from the love of the world are delightful, for from his natural man or from his body everyone feels no other delight. When, therefore, these loves are ends, such means as favor them are devised; and these means are delightful because they belong to the ends. And because these loves are ends with those who are the heads and the primates in that religious persuasion that is meant by "Babylon," they devise the means that favor them, all of which are delightful (as will be shown below). From all this it can be seen that "the merchants of the earth have become rich from the abundance of her luxuries" signifies instruction in those things of the church that draw their delightfulness and desirableness from the love of having dominion by the holy things of the church as means, and from the love of possessing the world by the same means. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith) [2] Another thing that the Athanasian doctrine teaches is that there are two essences in the Lord, the Divine and the Human essence; and in this there is a clear idea that the Lord has the Divine and the Human, that is, that the Lord is God and Man, but an obscure idea that the Divine of the Lord is in His Human as the soul is in the body. The clear idea that the Lord has the Divine and the Human is drawn from these words, "The true faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the world, and Man of the substance of the mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, consisting of a reasonable soul and a human body; equal to the Father as to the Divine, and inferior to the Father as to the Human." Here the clear idea stops and goes no farther, because it becomes from what follows an obscure idea, and what pertains to an obscure idea, since it does not enter the memory from thought from light, gains no other place there than among things not of light; and as these do not appear before the understanding they are hidden, and cannot be called forth from the memory in connection with things that belong to the light. In that doctrine the point that is in an obscure idea is that the Lord's Divine is in His Human as the soul is in the body; for on this it is said, "Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ; One altogether by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and the body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ." The idea in this is indeed in itself clear, and yet it becomes obscure by what follows, "one, not by conversion of the Divine essence into the Human, but by a taking of the Human essence into the Divine; one altogether, not by confusion of essence but by unity of Person." [3] As a clear idea prevails over an obscure idea, so most people, both simple and learned, think of the Lord as they do of an ordinary man like themselves, and not at the same time of His Divine; or if they think of the Divine they separate it in their idea from the Human, and thereby weaken the unity of Person. And if they are asked where His Divine is, they answer according to their idea, In heaven with the Father. They thus say and think because they have an aversion to thinking that the Human is Divine, and is in heaven united with its Divine, not knowing that when they thus separate in thought the Lord's Divine from His Human they not only think contrary to their doctrine, which teaches that the Lord's Divine is in His Human as the soul in the body, and that there is a unity of Person, that is, that they constitute one Person, but they also charge that doctrine undeservedly with the contradiction or fallacy that the Lord's Human with its rational soul was from the mother alone, when in fact every man is rational from the soul, which is from the father. But that there is such a thought and such a separation is a result of the idea of three gods, according to which His Divine in the Human is from the Divine of the Father, who is the first Person, although it is His own Divine which descended from heaven and took on the Human. If man does not rightly perceive this it might perhaps be supposed that the Father, who is the source, is not one Divine but threefold; and yet this cannot be accepted with any faith. In a word, those who separate the Divine from His Human, and do not think that the Divine is in His Human as the soul is in the body, and that the two are one Person, may fall into strange ideas about the Lord, even into an idea like that of a man separated from his soul. Take heed, therefore, not to think of the Lord as a man like yourself, but think of the Lord as Man who is God. God. [4] Listen, my reader: You may think when you read all this that you have never separated in thought the Lord's Divine from His Human, nor in consequence His Human from His Divine; but give attention, I pray you, to your thought when you have directed it to the Lord, and see whether you have ever thought that the Lord's Divine is in His Human as the soul is in the body; and whether you have not thought instead, and even, if you please, are not now thinking, of His Human separately and of His Divine separately? And when you are thinking of His Human is it not in your thought like the human of any other man; and when you are thinking of His Divine, is it not, in your thought, with the Father? I have questioned very many about this, even primates of the church, and they have all answered that it is so; and when I have said that it is according to the doctrine in the Athanasian Faith, which is the very doctrine of their church respecting God and respecting the Lord, that the Lord's Divine is in his Human as the soul is in the body, they have replied that they did not know it; and when I recited these words of the doctrine: "Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two but one Christ; one altogether by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ," they were silent, but afterwards confessed that they had not observed these words, and were indignant that they had passed over their own doctrine with eyes so closed; and some of them abandoned their mystical union of the Divine of the Father with the Lord's Human. [5] That the Divine is in the Lord's Human as the soul is in the body the Word teaches and testifies in Matthew and in Luke. In Matthew: When Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And an angel said to Joseph in a dream, Fear not to take Mary thy bride, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus (Matt. 1:18, 20, 25). And in Luke: The angel said to Mary, Behold thou shalt conceive in the womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man? The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore that Holy One that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:31-32, 34-35). All this makes clear that the Divine was in the Lord from conception, and that the Divine was His life from the Father, which life is the soul. This will suffice for the time. More will be said on this subject in what follows, where it will be shown that even the things in the Athanasian doctrine that produce an obscure idea of the Lord are in harmony with the truth when the Trinity, that is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is thought and believed to be in the Lord as in one Person. Without this thought and belief it may be said, and in fact it is said, that Christians, differently from all other peoples and nations in the whole globe that have rationality, worship three Gods; and yet the Christian world might surpass and ought to surpass all others in the clearness of the doctrine and belief that God is one both in essence and in Person.

Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come forth out of her, my people, that ye become not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 4. "And I heard another voice from heaven saying," signifies exhortation to those who are in truths and in the good of life to beware of such (n. 1106); "Come forth out of her, my people," signifies that they should leave them and not communicate with them (n. 1107); "that ye become not partakers of her sins," signifies lest they come into their evils, which are from the love of self and the love of the world (n. 1108); "and that ye receive not of her plagues," signifies and thus come into falsities of evil, and consequently into destruction (n. 1109).

Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, signifies exhortation to those who are in truths and in the good of life to beware of such. This is evident from the signification of "a voice from heaven," as being exhortation to those who are in the truths of faith and in the goods of life to beware of such. That this is what is meant by "a voice from heaven" is evident from what follows, for it is said, "Come forth out of her, my people, that ye become not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues," with other things besides; and after this is described what the wares of Babylon are, and what their state is; which makes clear that "a voice from heaven" means exhortation. There was heard "a voice from heaven," because it means from the Lord through the Word; for everything that a man imbibes from the Word is a voice from heaven, and the Word teaches everyone what Babylon is, as is evident from the passages quoted from the Word respecting Babylon (n. 1029). [2] It is said "another voice," because the former voice was that of the angel crying out that "Babylon had fallen, and was become the habitation of demons;" so this is an exhortation to all, both to those within Babylon who are in some affection of truth and in some life of good, that they should come forth out of her and have no faith in her witchcrafts and enchantments; and also to those who are out of Babylon, that they do not permit themselves to be led away by such. For it is the character of that nation to persuade by the delights of each one's love, and thus close up the understanding, and thereby lead man into a belief in every thing they say. That the Babylonish nation is such has been made known to me by much experience; for they enter into the delights of each one's life, and thereby captivate minds; and thus they as it were spread the bait, and ensnare, until they get into one's life; and thus they lead him like one blind and powerless wherever they wish, leading him first to accept a blind faith by removing all light from the understanding in theological matters, in order that their ends may not become evident, which are that they may be lords not only over man's interiors that pertain to his mind but also over the exteriors that pertain to the body; over the interiors pertaining to the mind by dominion over all things of the church and of heaven, thus over souls, and over the exteriors pertaining to the body by dominion over their wealth. In a word, their ends are that they may themselves alone be lords and all others servants, for thus are they worshipped as gods, if not by open words, yet in silent acknowledgment; and this is their final end, which is concealed from men but is manifest to the angels in heaven. That this is their final end is clearly evident from this, that they have taken away from the Lord Himself all power to save, by transferring it to the Pope and from him to his ministers; and yet the saving of man is the Lord's Divine itself; and he who is able to do this is not a man but God. But more will be said upon this subject in what follows. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith) [3] It has been shown that the doctrine of faith that has its name from Athanasius, leaves a clear idea, when it is read, that there are three Persons, and thus that there are three unanimous Gods, and an obscure idea that God is one, so obscure that the idea of three Gods is not removed. And again, this doctrine leaves a clear idea that the Lord has the Divine and the Human, that is, that the Lord is God and Man, but an obscure idea that the Divine and the Human of the Lord are one Person, and that His Divine is in His Human as the soul is in the body. It has been also said that all things in that doctrine from beginning to end, both such as are clear and such as are obscure, nevertheless agree and coincide with the truth, if only instead of saying that God is one in essence and three in Person, it is believed, as the truth really is, that God is one both in essence and in Person. [4] There is a Trinity in God and there is also a unity. That there is a Trinity is evident from the passages in the Word where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned; and that there is a unity, from the passages in the Word where it is said that God is one. The unity in which there is the Trinity, or the one God in whom there is a trine, does not exist in the Divine that is called the Father, nor in the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit, but in the Lord alone. In the Lord alone there is a trine, namely, the Divine which is called Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, and the Divine proceeding which is the Holy Spirit; and this trine is one because it is of one Person, and may be called triune. In what follows the agreement with this of all things of the Athanasian doctrine will be seen, First, respecting the Trinity; Secondly, respecting the unity of Person in the Lord; Thirdly, that from the Divine providence it has come to pass that the doctrine was so written that while it disagrees with the truth it nevertheless agrees with it. Afterwards it will be established in general, that the trine is in the Lord; and next in particular, that the Divine that is called the Father is the Lord, that the Divine that is called the Son is the Lord, and that the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit is the Lord.

Come forth out of her, my people, signifies that they should leave them and not communicate with them. This is evident from the signification of "coming forth out of Babylon," as being to leave those who are meant by "Babylon," also not to communicate with them. Also from the signification of "my people," as being those who are in truths, and through truths in the good of life. (That "people" signifies those who are in truths from good may be seen, n. 175, 331, 625.) These are the subjects of the exhortation that is meant by "the voice from heaven." They were exhorted to leave such, and not to communicate with them, because interaction with such is dangerous, especially in the spiritual world, where they send out emissaries, as they do in the natural world, and these persuade others in various ways and entice them by promises that they may accede to their religion; for as a man acts in the world so he acts after his departure out of the world, for the ruling love with everyone remains, and the love of such is to bring all the world over to their religious persuasion, and this for no other end than that they may extend the boundaries of their empire for the sake of the infernal delight of the love of self and the infernal delight of the love of the world. It is for the sake of these delights that the devil, as it is said, walks about and leads astray, as can be seen from what is said in the Gospels about the Lord's temptations by the devil, where the love of self in which he is, is described by his wishing to be adored, and his love of the world by his showing from a mountain all the kingdoms of the world as his own. As everyone's love continues the same after death, so is it with the Babylonish nation when it has come into the spiritual world; then those who have exercised dominion from the delight of those loves, acquire arts unknown in the natural world, and by these they fascinate men's spirits and draw them over to their side against their will. And now since the Last Judgment has been accomplished upon these, they are strictly forbidden to send emissaries into societies in which the Reformed are, or to the Gentiles; and when any are sent they are sought out and punished. As the state of such after the Last Judgment, especially their state in the spiritual world, is here treated of, what is said here and in the following parts of this chapter about Babylon must be understood as said chiefly on their account. For as regards Babylon in the natural world or on our earth, those meant by Babylon there are not in the same state as those who are in the spiritual world, and yet the exhortation is also for them, that they may take heed to themselves. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith) [2] Now in regard to the agreement of all things of the Athanasian doctrine with this truth, that God is one both in essence and Person, in whom is a trine, to establish this agreement and make it clear I will proceed in the following order. The Athanasian doctrine first teaches thus: "The Catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the essence." When in place of three Persons one Person in whom is the trine is understood, this is in itself a truth, and in a clear idea is thus seen: The Christian faith is this: We worship one God in whom is a trine, and a trine in one God; and the God in whom is the trine is one Person, and the trine in God is one essence; thus there is one God in a Trinity, and a Trinity in the unity; and neither are the Persons confounded nor is the essence divided. That the Persons are not confounded and the essence is not divided will appear more clearly from what follows. The Athanasian doctrine further teaches: "For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; but the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is one and the same, and the glory equal." When in place of three Persons one Person, in whom is the trine, is understood, this also in itself is a truth, and in a clear idea is thus seen: The trine in the Lord as in one Person is the Divine that is called the Father, the Divine Human that is called the Son, and the Divine proceeding that is called the Holy Spirit; but the Godhead or Divine essence of the three is one, the glory equal. Again, "Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit." These words are to be understood thus: Such as is the Divine that is called the Father, such is the Divine that is called the Son, and such is the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit. [3] And further, "The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal, and yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal. Also there are not three infinites, but one infinite; neither are there three uncreates, but one uncreate. As the Father is Almighty the Son is Almighty and the Holy Spirit Almighty; and yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty." When in place of three Persons one Person in whom is a trine is understood, this also in itself is a truth, and in a clear idea is thus seen: As the Divine in the Lord that is called the Father is uncreate, infinite, Almighty, so the Divine Human that is called the Son is uncreate, infinite, Almighty, and the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit is uncreate, infinite, and Almighty; but these three are one; because the Lord is one God, both in essence and in Person, in whom is a trine. Again, in the Athanasian doctrine this follows: "as the Father is God so the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord." Here again, when in place of three persons one person in whom is a trine is understood, this in a clear idea is thus seen: the Lord from his Divine that is called the Father, from His Divine Human that is called the Son, and from His Divine proceeding that is called the Holy Spirit, is one God and one Lord; since the three Divines called by the names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are in the Lord, one in essence and in Person. [4] Still again: "For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three gods or three lords." Elsewhere thus: "Like as we are bound by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person to be God and Lord, so we cannot in Christian faith make mention of three gods or three lords." This can be understood in no other way than that by Christian truth we cannot help acknowledging and thinking three gods and three lords, yet it is not permitted by the Christian faith and religion to speak of and name three gods or three lords. And this is what is done, for most people think of three gods who are of one mind, and consequently call them a unanimous Trinity, and yet they are bound to say one God. But with the idea that there are not three Persons but one Person, in place of these words, which ought to be expunged from the Athanasian doctrine, this might be said: "When we acknowledge a trine in the Lord, then it is from truth, and thus from the Christian faith and religion, that we acknowledge both with the lips and the heart, one God and one Lord." For if it were permissible to acknowledge and think of three it would be permissible also to believe in three, for believing or belief belongs to the thought and acknowledgment and to the speech therefrom, and not to the speech separately. [5] Afterwards this follows: "the Father was made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits." This is wholly in agreement with the truth if by the Father the Divine of the Lord that is called the Father is meant, and if by the Son His Divine Human is meant, and if by the Holy Spirit His Divine proceeding is meant; for from the Divine that is called the Father the Divine Human that is called the Son was begotten, and from both the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit proceeds. But the Divine Human begotten of the Father will be spoken of particularly hereafter. All this makes clear that the Athanasian doctrine agrees with the truth that God is one both in essence and in Person, if only in place of three Persons one Person, in whom is a trine that is called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is understood. In the following article a like agreement will be established respecting the unity of Person in the Lord.

That ye become not partakers of her sins, signifies lest ye come into their evils which are from the love of self and from the love of the world. This is evident from the signification of "becoming partakers," as being in reference to sins to come into them, and thus to become guilty of them. Also from the signification of "sins," as being here the evils that spring from the love of self and the love of the world. Such evils are here meant because the Babylonish nation is in those loves, and consequently in the evils that arise from them. That that nation is in such evils is evident, for those of that nation extend their dominion not only over all things of the church but also over heaven; nor are they content with that; they have extended their dominion over the Lord Himself, for they have transferred to themselves His power over the souls of men to save them, which power is the Lord's very Divine power, since it was for this end that the Lord came into the world and glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, that He might thereby save men. They have evidently extended their dominion over the Lord Himself, for having transferred to themselves His Divine power, which is the power to save men, they believe that the Lord will do what they wish, and not that they are to do what the Lord wishes; thus their will rules and the Lord's will serves; in a word, they have drawn down the Lord from His throne, and set themselves upon it, saying in their hearts, like Lucifer: And thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven, I will ascend above the heights of the cloud, I will become like the Most High (Isa. 14:13-14). That "Lucifer" here means Babylon may be seen above (n. 1029), but the modern Babylon has made herself not merely like the Most High, but even higher. Now as those who are meant by "Babylon" are in the loves of self and of the world above all others in the whole globe, and as all evils spring from these two loves, and the worst evils are from such a love of ruling, there is here an exhortation that they go out or depart from them "lest they become partakers of her sins." (That all evils spring from these two loves, namely, love of self and love of the world, may be seen in New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine n. 65-83; and that these loves reign in hell, Heaven and Hell n. 551-565.) (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith) [2] Now as to the agreement of the Athanasian doctrine with this truth, that the Lord's Human is Divine from the Divine that was in Him from conception. That the Lord's Human is Divine appears as if it were not in the Athanasian doctrine, and yet it is, as is evident from these words in the doctrine: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; Who although he be God and Man, yet He is not two but one Christ; One altogether by unity of Person" (others, because they are one Person). For as the reasonable soul and body are one man, so God and Man is one Christ." Now as the soul and body are one man, and thus one Person, and such as the soul is such is the body, it follows that as His soul from the Father was Divine, His body also, which is His Human, is Divine. He took, indeed, a body or a human from the mother, but this He put off in the world and put on a Human from the Father, and this is the Divine Human. It is said in the doctrine, "Equal to the Father as touching the Divine, and inferior to the Father as touching the Human." This, too, agrees with the truth when the human from the mother is meant, as it is here. Again, in the doctrine it is said, "God and Man is one Christ, one not by conversion of the Divine essence into the Human, but by the taking of the Human essence into the Divine. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person." This, too, agrees with the truth, since the soul does not change itself into body, nor so mingle itself with body as to become body, but it takes a body to itself. Thus soul and body, although the two are distinct, are still one man, and in respect to the Lord, one Christ, that is, one Man who is God. More will be said on the Lord's Divine Human in what follows.

And that ye receive not her plagues, signifies and thus come into the falsities of evil, and consequently into destruction. This is evident from the signification of "plagues," as being such things as destroy man's spiritual life (see above, n. 584), here falsities from evil, because these destroy that life. The appearance is that the evils themselves destroy man's spiritual life, but they do not destroy it of themselves, but by means of falsities, and for the reason that evils without falsities do not enter the thought; for evils belong wholly to the will, and anything that belongs to the will and not at the same time to the thought cannot destroy, because it is without reason, and then man does not know that it is an evil. But when man confirms evils by the thought they do destroy, for they then are man's. Confirmations of evils by the thought are falsities. "Plagues" here signify falsities, because "sins," which are mentioned just before, mean evils of the love of self and of the world, and in the Word wherever evil is treated of falsity is also treated of. Now as evils destroy spiritual life by means of falsities, and "plagues" signify falsities from evil, so "plagues" signify destruction. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith) [2] It was from the Divine providence that each and every thing of the Athanasian doctrine respecting the Trinity and respecting the Lord is a truth and is harmonious, when in place of three Persons one Person in whom is the Trinity is understood, and it is believed that the Lord is that Person. For at that time, if the Trinity of Persons had not been accepted, they would have become either Arians or Socinians, and consequently the Lord would have been acknowledged as a mere man and not as God; and by this the Christian church would have been destroyed, and heaven would have been closed to the man of the church; for no one is conjoined with heaven, and after death admitted into heaven, unless in the idea of his thought he sees God as Man, and at the same time believes God to be one both in essence and in Person, for it is by this that the Gentiles are saved; also unless he acknowledges the Lord, His Divine and His Human, for by this a man of the Christian church is saved, provided he lives at the same time as a Christian. [3] It was by Divine permission that the doctrine respecting God and the Lord, which is the primary of all doctrines, was so conceived by Athanasius; for it was foreseen by the Lord that in no other way would the Roman Catholics have acknowledged the Divine of the Lord, and for the same reason even to this day they separate His Divine from His Human. Neither would the Reformed have seen the Divine in the Human of the Lord, for those who are in faith separated from charity do not see this. Nevertheless both of them acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in a Trinity of Persons. And yet this doctrine that is called the Athanasian Faith was by the Lord's Divine providence so written that all things in it are truths, provided that in place of three Persons one Person in whom is a trine is recognized, and it is believed that the Lord is that Person. Moreover, it was from providence that they are called Persons, for a person is a man, and a Divine Person is God who is Man. This has been revealed at this day for the sake of the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem.

Verse 5. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her injustices. 5. "For her sins have reached even unto heaven," signifies for their evils have closed up heaven (n. 1111); "and God hath remembered her injustices" signifies that falsities from evils have separated them from the Lord (n. 1112).

Verse 5. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, signifies for their evils have closed up heaven. This is evident from the signification of "sins," as being the evils springing forth from the loves of self and of the world (as above, n. 1108); also from the signification of "reaching even unto heaven," as being to close up heaven, for evils close up heaven, and especially the evils from such a love of self as reigns with them; for their love of self is the love of ruling over the world, over the Word and the church, over heaven, and over the Lord Himself. "To reach even unto heaven" signifies to close up heaven, because evils when they reach to heaven close it up, for the angels because of the evils that are with those who are beneath heaven, come into a state either of sadness, or grief, or horror, or irritation; not that angels see those who are in evils, and thus know that the evils have this effect; but when falsities from evil reach unto heaven they produce this result, for in the heavens all are in goods from love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbor, and evils from the love of self and the love of the world are direct opposites of these goods, and when one opposite acts against another, as here, that is, diabolical evil against celestial good, those who are in celestial good are either made sad, or are grieved, or horrified, or provoked, and when this takes place they turn themselves away, and thus heaven becomes closed. Nevertheless, the Lord provides that those who are in evils, especially those who are in the evils that are the worst of all, be removed afar off from heaven, that the angels may not be infested by them. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian faith and respecting the Lord) [2] That there is in the Lord a trine, the Divine itself that is called the Father, the Divine Human that is called the Son, and the Divine proceeding that is called the Holy Spirit, can be seen from the Word, from the Divine essence, and from heaven. From the Word: Where the Lord Himself teaches that the Father and He are one, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him and from the Father; also where the Lord teaches that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and that the Spirit of Truth, which is the Holy Spirit, does not speak from Himself but from the Lord; and again, from passages in the Old Word where the Lord is called "Jehovah," "Son of God," and "the Holy One of Israel." [3] From the Divine Essence: That one Divine by itself is not possible, but there must be a trine. This trine is being [esse], manifesting [existere], and proceeding [procedere], for being must necessarily be manifested, and when it is manifested it must proceed that it may produce. And this trine is one in essence and one in Person, and is God. This may be illustrated by a comparison. An angel of heaven is trinal and thus one; the being [esse] of an angel is what is called his soul, his manifesting [existere] is what is called his body, and the proceeding [procedere] from both is what is called the sphere of his life, without which an angel has neither existence nor being. By this trine an angel is an image of God, and is called a "son of God," and also an "heir," and even a "god;" nevertheless, an angel is not life from himself, but is a recipient of life; God alone is life from Himself. [4] From Heaven: The Divine trine, which is one in essence and in Person, is such in heaven. The Divine called the Father, and the Divine Human called the Son, appear in heaven before the angels as a sun, and the Divine that proceeds therefrom appears as light united to heat; the light is Divine truth, and the heat is Divine good. Thus the Divine called the Father is the Divine being [esse], the Divine Human called the Son is the Divine manifesting [existere] from that being [esse], and the Divine called the Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding [procedere] from the Divine manifesting [existere] and from the Divine being [esse]. This trine is the Lord in heaven; His Divine love is what appears there as a sun.

And God hath remembered her injustices, signifies that falsities from evils have separated them from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "remembering," in reference to God as being to separate Him from themselves (of which presently); also from the signification of "injustices," as being falsities from evil, for "the just" is truth from good, consequently "the unjust" is falsity from evil. "The just" is truth from good because civil justice is nothing else than civil truth, which is of the law, and civil equity is the good that is also of the law, since as the law wills justice so it wills equity; for as all truth must be from good so all justice must be from equity; and as all truth must be of good so all justice must be of equity, and conversely. The two cannot be separated, for if they are separated equity is no longer equity, nor is so-called justice justice; as good and truth cannot be separated, for if they are separated good is not good, nor is truth truth. This has been said to make clear that "injustices" here signify falsities from evil. [2] "God hath remembered her injustices" signifies that falsities of evil have separated them from the Lord, because what precedes, that "her sins have reached even unto heaven," signifies that their evils had closed up heaven, for when heaven is closed to man the Lord is separated; and that being the meaning of the first part of the verse, this must be the meaning of what follows. It must be understood, however, that the Lord does not separate Himself from such, but that they separate themselves from the Lord; for the Lord regards everyone from the face and not from the back of the head; and for this reason the angels of heaven have the Lord continually before their face, and this whichever way they turn, but evil spirits turn the face away from the Lord and turn to Him the back part of the head, and thus they separate themselves from Him. The falsities from evils that are with them are what do this. (That the angels of heaven thus turn to the Lord, and that the spirits of hell thus turn away from Him, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 17, 123, 142-145, 151, 251, 272, 548, 552, 561.) (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] It has been said that one Divine by itself is not possible, but that there must be a trine, and that this trine is one God in essence and in Person. It may now be asked, What trine God had before the Lord took on the Human and made it Divine in the world? God was then likewise Man, and had the Divine, the Divine Human, and the Divine proceeding, that is, the Divine being [esse], the Divine manifesting [existere], and the Divine proceeding [procedere], for as has been said, God without a trine is not possible. But the Divine Human was not then Divine even to ultimates. Ultimates are meant by "flesh and bones," and even these were made Divine by the Lord when He was in the world. This was what was added, and this is the Divine Human that God now has. This, too, may be illustrated by this comparison. Every angel is a man, having a soul, having a body, and having a proceeding; and yet this does not make him a complete man, for he does not have flesh and bones as a man in the world has. [4] That the Lord made His Human Divine even to its ultimates, which are called "flesh and bones," He made clear to the disciples, who when they saw Him believed that they saw a spirit, saying: See My hands and My feet that it is I Myself; feel Me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have (Luke 24:39). From this it follows that now God is Man more than an angel is. Comparison has been made with an angel and with a man; yet it must be understood that God has life in Himself, while an angel does not have life in himself, for he is a recipient of life. That the Lord as to both the Divine and the Divine Human, is life in Himself He teaches in John: As the Father hath life in Himself so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26). Here by "Father" the Lord means the Divine in Himself; for He says elsewhere that the Father is in Him, and that the Father and He are one.

Verse 6. Render unto her even as she hath rendered unto you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup that she hath mingled mingle to her double. 6. "Render unto her even as she hath rendered unto you," signifies infernal punishment corresponding to their evil deeds (n. 1114); "and double unto her double according to her works," signifies as much retribution as they have profaned good (n. 1115); "in the cup that she hath mingled mingle to her double," signifies as much retribution as they have profaned truth (n. 1116).

Verse 6. Render unto her even as she hath rendered unto you, signifies infernal punishment corresponding to their evil deeds. This is evident from their signification of "rendering to one even as he hath rendered (or done)," as being to make retribution according to the law of retaliation, thus to render punishment corresponding to evil deeds. But as this was said to those who according to the exhortation have gone forth out of Babylon, that is, have left that religious persuasion, and are on their guard against it, and as such are in charity, and consequently are not revengeful and therefore do not punish others, so these words signify infernal punishment corresponding to evil deeds. These expressions, that such "would render unto her," also "would double unto her double according to her works," and "would mingle to her double in the cup that she hath mingled," are in accord with the style of the Word in the sense of its letter, which is according to appearances, that is, that they would avenge the injustices done to themselves; as also in the same sense it is attributed to the Lord Himself that He is angry, that He punishes, and thus that He acts from revenge; and yet anger and revenge are not possible in the Lord, and consequently not in those who are led by the Lord and live from Him. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] Some in the Christian world have formed to themselves an idea of God resembling their idea of the universe, others like the idea of nature in her inmosts, others like the idea of a cloud in some ethereal space, others like the idea of a beam of light, and others no idea at all, and few an idea of God as Man; and yet God is Man. There are several reasons why Christians have formed such ideas of God. The first is that they believe from their doctrine in three Divine Persons distinct from each other; in the Father as the invisible God, and in the Lord, but not God as to His Human. The second reason is that they believe God to be a Spirit, and they conceive of a spirit as wind or as air or ether, and yet every spirit is a man. The third reason is that Christians, in consequence of their faith alone without life, have become worldly, and from the love of self have become corporeal, and the worldly and corporeal man does not see God except from space, thus as the whole inmost in the universe or in nature, consequently as extended. But God must not be regarded from space, for in the spiritual world there is no space; space there is an appearance from something like it. [3] In this way does every sensual man see God, because he has little thought above his speech; and the thought that pertains to speech says to itself, "What the eye sees and the hand touches, that I know to be," and everything else it sets aside as mere words. These are the reasons why there is no idea of God as Man in the Christian world. That there is no such idea, yea that there is a repugnance to it, will be seen if you will examine yourself, and think of the Divine Human; and yet the Lord's Human is Divine. But these ideas of God are not so much the ideas of the simple as of the intelligent, for many of the intelligent are blinded by the pride of self intelligence, and are in consequence infatuated by what they know, according to the Lord's words in Matthew (11:25; 13:13-15). But let it be known that all who see God as Man see Him from the Lord, and all others see Him from self; and those who see from self do not see.

And double unto her double according to her works, signifies as much retribution as they have profaned good. This is evident from the signification of "doubling double," as being to make much retribution, or to render much punishment (of which presently); also from the signification of "works," as being profanations of good, for the works of such are profanations; therefore "doubling double" signifies as much retribution as they have profaned good. "Doubling double" has this signification because "two" does not signify two, nor does any number signify the quantity of the thing, but its quality, and two signifies the quality of a thing as to union, and is predicated of good and of evil (see above, n. 532, 984); and here "double" is predicated of the retribution of evil on account of the profanation of good; from which it is clear that "double" here does not mean double, but much of evil. [2] That "double" is predicated of retribution and of remuneration, and signifies much, is evident from these passages in the Word. In Jeremiah: Let my persecutors be ashamed, bring upon them the day of evil, and break them with a double breaking (Jer. 17:18). "To bring upon them the day of evil and to break them with a double breaking" signifies much retribution of evil on account of persecution. In Zechariah: Return to the stronghold, ye prisoner of hope, and this day do I declare that I will render double unto thee (Zech. 9:12). "To render double," signifies to give much reward. [3] In Isaiah: Comfort ye, My people, and speak unto the heart of Jerusalem that her warfare is accomplished and that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received from the hand double for all her sins (Isa. 40:1-2). This is said of the Lord's coming and of a new church to be established by Him. That new church is meant by "Jerusalem," unto whose heart they should speak; the "warfare" that is accomplished signifies combats against evils; the "iniquity" that is pardoned signifies evil removed by the Lord; "they received double for all sins" signifies to endure much in combat or temptation. In the same: Ye shall be called priests of Jehovah, ministers of our God; it shall be said unto you, Ye shall eat the riches of the nations, and in their glory shall ye glory. For your shame double, and for reproach they shall sing in their portion; therefore in their land they shall possess double, the joy of eternity shall be unto them (Isa. 61:6-7). Here, too, "double" signifies not double but much, and is predicated of retribution. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [4] But I will relate what cannot but seem wonderful. In the thought of his spirit every man sees God as Man, even he who in the thought of his body sees Him like a cloud, a mist, air, or ether, and even he who has denied that God is Man. A man is in the idea of his spirit when he thinks abstractly, and in the idea of his body when he does not think abstractly. That every man in the idea of his spirit sees God as Man has been made evident to me by men after death, who are then in the ideas of the spirit; for after death a man becomes a spirit, and then it is impossible for him to think of God otherwise than as Man. An experiment was made whether they could think otherwise, and for this purpose they were let down into the state in which they had been in the world, and then they thought about God. The thought of some was that of the universe, others that of nature in her inmost, others that of a cloud in midair, others that of a beam of light, and others thought in other ways; but the moment they came out of that state into a state of the spirit they thought of God as Man. At this they were surprised, and declared that it was something implanted in every spirit. But evil spirits who have denied God in the world deny Him also after death, and yet in place of God they worship some spirit, who gains power over the rest by diabolical arts. [5] It has been said that to think of God as Man has been implanted in every spirit. That this comes through an influx of the Lord into the interiors of their thoughts is evident from the fact that the angels of all the heavens acknowledge the Lord alone. They acknowledge His Divine which is called the Father, they see His Divine Human, and they are in the Divine proceeding, for the whole angelic heaven is the Lord's Divine proceeding. An angel is not an angel from what is his own, but from the Divine that he receives from the Lord. From this they are in the Lord; consequently when they think of God they can think of no other than the Lord in whom they are and from whom they think. Add to this that the whole angelic heaven in its complex before the Lord is as one Man, which maybe called the Greatest Man; consequently the angels in heaven are in the Man that is the Lord's Divine proceeding, as has been said; and since their thoughts have direction there according to the form of heaven, they are unable when they think of God to think of any other than the Lord. In a word, all the angels of the three heavens think of God as Man, and are unable to think otherwise. If they wished to think otherwise thought would cease, and they would fall from heaven. This, then, is why to every spirit and to every man, when he is in the idea of his spirit, it is instinctive to think of God as Man.

In the cup that she hath mingled mingle to her double, signifies as much retribution as they have profaned truth. This is evident from the signification of "cup," as being truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, for "cup" has a similar signification as "wine" (see above, n. 887, 1045). Also from the signification of "to mingle," as being to profane, for he who mingles falsity with truth or truth with falsity profanes (of which presently). Also from the signification of "double," as being much, and as said of retribution (see just above, n. 1115). "To mingle" signifies to profane, because it is predicated of the wine that is in the cup, which signifies truth, and in the contrary sense falsity; and when truth and falsity are mingled profanation takes place (see above, n. 1053-1063). "To mingle" has this signification in David: There is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, and He hath mingled it with wine, He hath filled it with the mixture, and hath poured it out therefrom; but the dregs of it all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink (Ps. 75:8). "The cup in the hand of Jehovah," and the "wine," signify the Divine truth; "to mingle" and "mixture" signify profanation, for the mingling of falsity with truth is meant; "He hath poured it out therefrom, but the dregs of it all the wicked of the earth shall suck out and drink," signifies the punishment of profanation; all of which makes clear that "mingling the cup" has the same meaning here as in Revelation. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] In consequence of this intuition the most ancient people worshiped God visible under the Human form more than their posterity did. Moreover, the Word bears witness that they saw God as Man; as that Adam heard the voice of Jehovah walking in the garden; and Moses spoke with Jehovah mouth to mouth; and Abraham saw Jehovah in the midst of three angels, that Lot spoke with two of them. Jehovah also appeared as man to Hagar, to Gideon, to Joshua, to Daniel as "the Ancient of days" and as "the Son of man"; likewise to John as "the Son of man in the midst of seven lampstands"; also to other prophets. That it was the Lord who was seen by these He Himself teaches where He says: That Abraham exulted to see his day, and that he saw and rejoiced (John 8:56); Also that He was before Abraham was (John 8:58), And that He was before the world was (John 17:5, 24). [3] It was not the Father but the Son that was seen, because the Divine being [esse], which is the Father, cannot be seen except by means of the Divine manifesting [existere], which is the Divine Human. That the Divine being [esse], which is called the Father, was not seen, the Lord teaches in John: The Father who hath sent Me, He hath borne witness of Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form (John 5:37). Not that anyone hath seen the Father save He that is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46). No one hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath manifested Him (John 1:18). From this it is clear that the Divine being [esse], which is the Father, was not seen by the ancients, nor could it be seen; nevertheless it was seen by means of the Divine manifesting [existere], which is the Son. [4] Since a being is in its manifesting as a soul is in its body, so he who sees the Divine manifesting [existere] or the Son sees also the Divine being [esse] or the Father, as the Lord confirms in these words: Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you and hast thou not known Me, Philip? He who hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father (John 14:8, 9)? These words show that the Lord is the Divine manifesting [existere] in which is the Divine being [esse], thus the God-man who was seen by the ancients. From what has been cited it follows also that the Word is to be understood according to the sense of the letter in saying that God has a face, that He has eyes and ears, and that He has hands and feet.

Verse 7. How much she hath glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for in her heart she saith, I sit a queen, and a widow I am not, and mourning I shall not see. 7. "How much she hath glorified herself and lived luxuriously," signifies how much of glory and consequent pleasure they have acquired for themselves from their dominion over heaven and over the world (n. 1118); "so much torment and mourning give her," signifies so much of infernal punishment and desolation (n. 1119); "for in her heart she saith, I sit a queen," signifies pride and boasting that heaven and the church are under their dominion (n. 1120); "and a widow I am not," signifies that they are not without defense (n. 1121); "and mourning I shall not see," signifies that they will never be in desolation and will not perish (n. 1122).

Verse 7. How much she hath glorified herself and lived luxuriously, signifies how much of glory and consequent pleasure they have acquired for themselves from their dominion over heaven and over the world. This is evident from the signification of "glorifying herself," as being to acquire glory, also from the signification of "living luxuriously," as being to take pleasure; that it means from their dominion over heaven and over the world is evident, for this is the source of their glory and pleasure. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] It is because the idea of God as Man is implanted in everyone that many peoples and nations have worshiped gods who either were men or appeared to them as men, as Greece, Italy, and certain kingdoms under their rule worshipped Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Mercury, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Venus and her boy, and others, and ascribed to them the government of the universe. They distributed divinity among so many persons, because from intuition they saw God as Man, and therefore viewed all the attributes, properties, and qualities of God as persons, and thence also the virtues, affections, inclinations, and knowledges as persons. It was also from intuition that the inhabitants of the countries round about Canaan, as well as those of the regions within it, worshiped Baalim, Ashtaroth, Beelzebub, Chemosh, Milcom, Molech, and others, some of whom had lived as men. [3] Again, it is from intuition that in Christian Gentilism at this day there are those who worship saints as gods, bending the knee before their idols, kissing them, baring the head before them in the ways where they are set up, and worshiping at their graves; and even doing the same to the Pope, whose shoes and even his footsteps they press with their lips, and would salute him as a god if religion allowed it. These and other practices are from an intuition, that is, a desire to worship a visible god, and not an airy something which is nothing but smoke to them. But the idea of God as Man that flows in from heaven is so perverted with many that either a man of the world or an idol is worshiped in place of God, comparatively as the bright light of the sun is turned into colors not beautiful, and its summer heat into foul stenches, according to the objects upon which they fall. But it is for reasons stated above that the idea of God becomes an idea of a little cloud, or of a mist, or of the inmost of nature, ideas that exist among Christians, but rarely among other nations who enjoy any light of reason, as the Africans and some others.

So much torment and mourning give her, signifies so much of infernal punishment and desolation. This is evident from the signification of "torment," as being infernal punishment; also from the signification of "mourning," as being desolation, which is from their no longer having anything of truth or good, but mere falsity and evil. It is said that "as much torment and mourning should be given as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously," because all torment or infernal punishment corresponds exactly to the evils in which such persons are. Those, therefore, who have glorified themselves much and have taken delight in the love of having dominion over heaven and over the church, and for the sake of that glory and consequent delight have perverted the goods of heaven and the church which belong to the Word, have their lot in a hell more grievous in respect to torment; while those who have glorified and delighted themselves less in such things have their lot in a milder hell; and those who have not glorified themselves at all, and thus have not perverted the goods and truths of heaven and the church, which are from the Word, but have simply rendered obedience to them either ignorantly or from persuasion, do not have their lot in hell; and such people as have no part in dominion, especially those who look to the Lord and have some affection of truth, have their lot in the heavens, where they are taught by the angels. From all this it can be seen that here, where Babylon is treated of, only those are meant who exercise dominion from the delight of the love of it for the sake of self. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] That God is Man and that the Lord is that Man is made evident by all things that are in the heavens and that are beneath the heavens. In the heavens all things that proceed from the Lord in greatest and in least things are either in the human form or have reference to the human form; the whole heaven is in the human form; every society of heaven is in the human form; every angel is in the human form; and also every spirit beneath the heavens; and it has been revealed to me that all things both least and greatest that proceed immediately from the Lord are in that form, for that which proceeds from God is an image of Him. This is why it is said of the man Adam and Eve: That they were created into the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27). [3] And for the same reason the angels in the heavens, because they are recipients of the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, are men of wonderful beauty, while the spirits in the hells, because they do not receive the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, are devils, and in the light of heaven they do not appear as men but as monsters. And on this account it is known in the spiritual world from one's human form how much he derives from the Lord. From all this it can be seen that the Lord is the only Man, and that everyone is a man according to his reception of Divine good and Divine truth from the Lord. In a word, he who sees God as Man sees God because he sees the Lord. And the Lord says: He that seeth the Son and believeth in Him hath eternal life (John 6:40). To see the Son is to see Him in spirit, for this is said also to those who did not see him in the world.

For in her heart she saith, I sit a queen, signifies pride and boasting that heaven and the church are under their dominion. This is evident from the signification of "to say in their heart," as being boasting from pride, for "to say" signifies boasting, and "heart" signifies the love of self, thus also pride. Also from the signification of "sitting a queen," as being that heaven and the church are under their dominion. This is meant by "sitting a queen," because when the Lord is called "King" then "queen" means heaven and the church; just as when the Lord is called "Bridegroom and Husband" heaven and the church are meant by "bride and wife." It is said heaven, but the church in heaven is meant, that is, the church with the angels of heaven, which makes one with the church that is with men on earth; for there are governments in the heavens as on the earth, and consequently there are economical, civil, and ecclesiastical affairs as on the earth, though in a more perfect degree; therefore the church in the heavens is meant by "bride and wife," and when the Lord is referred to as King, then the church, which is the King's wife, is meant by "queen." [2] "Queen" means the church in David: Kings' daughters are among thy precious ones, at thy right hand doth stand the queen in the best gold of Ophir (Ps. 45:9). This Psalm treats of the Lord and His Kingdom; and "kings' daughters" among the precious ones signify the affections of truth, which are said to be "among the precious ones" because "precious" is predicated in the Word of truths; "the queen who stands at the right hand in gold of Ophir," signifies the church from the reception of good from the Lord; for all things with man that belong to his right side have reference to good from which is truth, and those belonging to the left side have reference to truth from good, and this is why it is said that "the queen stands at the right hand." Also "the gold of Ophir" signifies good. That things on the right side with man have reference to good, and those on the left side to truth, may be seen above (n. 600); and that "gold" signifies the good of love (n. 242). Moreover, woman is born to be affection which belongs to love, and man [vir] is born to be understanding; thus the woman is born to be good, for every good is of affection which belongs to love, and man [vir] is born to be truth, for every truth is of the understanding. Since, then, good belongs to the right side of man, and truth to his left, it follows that it is according to Divine order for the wife to be on the right. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] It has been said that the Lord is the only Man, and that all are men according to their reception of Divine good and Divine truth from Him. The Lord is the only Man because He is life itself; while all others are recipients of life because they are men from Him. Between the Man who is life and the man who is a recipient of life there is a difference like that between the uncreate and the created, or between the infinite and the finite, a difference that admits of no ratio, for there is no possible ratio between the infinite and the finite, thus there is none between God as Man and any other as a man, whether angel or spirit or a man in the world. [4] That the Lord is Life He Himself teaches in John: The Word was with God, and the God was Word; in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh (John 1:1, 4, 14). In the same: As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26). In the same: As the living Father hath sent Me, and I also live through the Father (John 6:57). In the same: I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). In the same: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). As the Lord is life, so elsewhere in the Word He is called "the Bread of life," "the Light of life," and "the Tree of life," also "the Living God," and "He that liveth." [5] As He is life, and every man is a recipient of life from Him, He also teaches that He gives life and makes alive, as in John: As the Father makes alive, the Son also makes alive (John 5:21). In the same: I am the bread of God that cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world (John 6:33). In the same: Because I live ye shall live also (John 14:19). Also in many passages, that He gives life to those who believe in Him. And for this reason God is called "the fountain of life" (Psalm 36:9), and elsewhere, "Creator," "Maker," "Former," also "Potter," and we "the clay, and the work of His hands." As God is life, it follows that in Him we live, move, and have our being.

And a widow I am not, signifies that such are not without defense. This is evident from the signification of "a widow," as being one who is in the affection of good, and from that affection desires truth. Here a "widow" signifies 1121-1 defense, thus "not a widow" means not without defense, because good with its affection does not defend itself, but is defended by truth and the understanding of it, "man" [vir], who defends it, signifying the understanding of truth, thus truth. For the marriage of man [vir] and woman is a complete likeness of the marriage of truth and good; since a man is born to be the understanding of truth, consequently that predominates in him, and woman is born to be the affection of good, consequently that predominates in her; and as good and truth mutually love each other and will to be conjoined, so do the understanding of truth and the affection or will of good. Moreover, the conjugial love of husband and wife derives its origin from the spiritual marriage of truth and good (see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 366-386). [2] "Widow" has the same signification here as in Isaiah: Hear this, thou luxurious one, sitting securely, saying in thy heart, I and none like me besides. I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know bereavement. But these two evils shall come to thee in a moment, bereavement and widowhood (Isa. 14:8-9). This, too, is said of Babylon, and it has the same signification as these words in Revelation, "A widow I am not, and mourning I shall not see, for this reason in one day shall her plagues come to thee, death, and mourning, and famine." Elsewhere in the Word "widows" signify those, both women and males, who are in good and not in truth and yet desire truth, thus those who are without defense against falsity and evil, but who are defended by the Lord. The term is used also in the contrary sense, as in Isaiah 9:17; 10:1, 2; Jer. 15:7-9; 22:3; 49:10-11; Lam. 5:3; Ezek. 22:6-7; David, Psalm 68:9; Psalm 146:9; Exod. 22:21-24; Deut. 10:18; 27:19; Matt. 23:14; Luke 20:47; and elsewhere. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] Life regarded in itself, which is God, cannot create another that shall be the only life; for the life that is God is uncreate, continuous, and inseparable; and from this it is that God is one. But the life that is God can create forms out of substances that are not life, in which it can be, and give to them the appearance of living. Such forms are men; and since they are receptacles of life they could not when first created be anything else than images and likenesses of God; images from the reception of truth and likenesses from the reception of good; for life and its recipient are fitted to each other as the active and passive, but do not mingle. For this reason human forms, which are recipients of life, live, not from themselves, but from God who alone is life; consequently, as is well known, every good of love and every truth of faith is from God, and nothing of these is from man; for if man had the least portion of life as his own he would be able to will and do good from himself, and to understand and believe truth from himself, and thus to claim merit; and yet if he so believes, the form recipient of life closes itself above and becomes perverted, and intelligence perishes. Good and its love and truth and its faith are the life that is God, for God is good itself and truth itself; and therefore in these God dwells in man. And from all this it follows, that man of himself is nothing, and is something only so far as he receives from the Lord, and at the same time acknowledges that it is not his own but is the Lord's; then the Lord gives him to be something; yet not from himself but from the Lord.

And mourning I shall not see, signifies that they will never be in desolation and will not perish. This is evident from the signification of "not to see mourning" (when predicated of a "widow," which signifies defense) as being to be desolated and perish. "Mourning" here has reference to dominion and to its having no end. Moreover, such things the Babylonians say in their hearts, because they have fortified themselves by every art. This they have done by having ingratiated and by continually ingratiating themselves by means of the delights of earthly and worldly loves, especially with the chief men of the earth, and thereby catching souls and interiorly conjoining themselves to them; they have fortified themselves also by exciting terror by means of the horrors of purgatory if they do not manifest a blind faith; also by the judgment of the inquisition whenever anyone speaks against their dominion; moreover by confessions, which they extort, and by which they search out secret things; and further by the multiplication of monasteries, which have increased into armies, from which they send out emissaries in every direction as so many guards both at the walls and gates. These defenses pertain, however, to those who are on earth, and not to those who are in the spiritual world; where no one has any longer the refuge they had before the Last Judgment. For when they come thither after death they are immediately separated, and those who have exercised dominion from the love of self are cast into hell, and the others are sent away into societies. Thus Babylon at this day has been desolated and has perished. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] The appearance to man is that he lives from himself, but this is a fallacy; if it were not a fallacy man would be able to love God from himself, and be wise from himself. The appearance is that life is in man, because it flows in from the Lord into his inmosts, which are far removed from the sight of his thought, and thus from perception; also for the reason that the principal cause which is life and the instrumental cause which is a recipient of life act together as one cause, and this is felt in the instrumental cause which is the recipient, that is, in man, as if it were in him. It is exactly the same as our feeling that the light, which is the cause of sight, is in the eye, and that sound, which is the cause of hearing, is in the ear, and that the volatile particles in the air that cause smell are in the nose, that the soluble particles of food that cause taste are on the tongue; when the truth is that the eyes, the ears, the nose, and the tongue, are recipient organized substances, that is, instrumental causes, while light, sound, the volatile particles in the air, and the soluble particles on the tongue, are the principal causes, and these act together as one cause; that which acts is called the principal, and that which suffers itself to be acted upon is called the instrumental. He who examines the subject more deeply can see that man, as to each and every thing pertaining to him, is an organ of life, and that what produces sensation and perception flows in from without, and that the life itself is what causes man to feel and to perceive as if from himself. Another reason why life appears to be in man is that the Divine love is such that it desires its own to be man's, and yet it teaches that it is not man's. And the Lord wills that man should think and will and in consequence speak and act as if from himself, and yet should acknowledge that this is not done from himself. Otherwise man could not be reformed (see above, n. 971, 973).

Verse 8. For this reason in one day shall her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned up in fire, for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 8. "For this reason in one day shall her plagues come," signifies that being such they have reached their last state, and then comes destruction (n. 1124); "death and mourning and famine," signifies when there is no longer any good or any truth, but only evil and falsity (n. 1125); "and she shall be burned up in fire," signifies that since these things are from a diabolical love they must perish (n. 1126); "for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her," signifies through the Last Judgment (n. 1127).

Verse 8. For this reason in one day shall her plagues come, signifies that being such it is their last state, and then comes destruction. This is evident from the signification of "for this reason," as being such, namely, that they are in glory and delight from domination over heaven and the church, and trust in their own and not in the Divine power and protection. Also from the signification of "in that day," as being their last state, "day" signifying state, here the last, because it is added that then there is "death, mourning, and famine." Also from the signification of "plagues," as being such things as destroy spiritual life, thus destruction (see n. 584). The last state, here signified by the "day" in which their plagues shall come, signifies the state when there is no longer any good and truth left with them; and as their spiritual life is then wholly destroyed, destruction, that is, the Last Judgment, then comes upon them. It comes then and not before, because then there can be no longer any connection or conjunction of heaven with them, and when there is no connection or conjunction a separation takes place, and separation is the Last Judgment. When this takes place the evil are cast into hell, and the good are drawn away from them and raised up into heaven; for as soon as the connection of anyone with heaven is broken he at once falls into hell. It is only the connection with heaven, thus with the Lord, that withholds from hell. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] If it is said and thought that life itself is God, or that God is life itself, and with this there is no idea of what life is, then beyond these expressions there is no understanding of what God is. In the thought of man there are two ideas, one abstract, which is spiritual, and one not abstract, which is natural. The abstract idea, which is spiritual, about the life which is God is that it is love itself and that it is wisdom itself, and that love is of wisdom and that wisdom is of love. But the idea that is not abstract which is natural about the life which is God is that His love is like fire and His wisdom like light, and that together they are like a sunbeam. This natural idea is acquired from correspondence, for fire corresponds to love and light corresponds to wisdom, and therefore in the Word "fire" signifies love and "light" signifies wisdom. And when one preaches from the Word he also prays that heavenly fire (which means the Divine love) may warm all hearts, and that heavenly light (which means the Divine wisdom) may enlighten all minds. The Divine love, which in the Divine wisdom is the life itself which is God, is not in its essence thinkable, for it is infinite and thus transcends comprehension, but in its appearance it is thinkable. Before the eyes of angels the Lord appears as a sun, and from that sun proceed heat and light. The sun is the Divine love, the heat is the Divine love proceeding, which is called the Divine good, and the light is the Divine wisdom proceeding, which is called the Divine truth. And yet the life that is God must not be thought of as a fire or heat or light, unless there goes with it the thought at the same time of love and of wisdom, that is, that the Divine love is like fire, and the Divine wisdom is like light, and the Divine love and the Divine wisdom together are like a sunbeam. For God is a perfect Man, in face like Man and in body like Man, with no difference as to form but only as to essence; His essence is that He is love itself and wisdom itself, thus life itself.

Death and mourning and famine, signifies when there is no longer any good nor any truth, but only evil and falsity. This is evident from the signification of "death," as being when there is no good, for then man is spiritually dead. (That "death" signifies in the Word spiritual death may be seen n. 78, 387, 694.) Also from the signification of "mourning," as being when there is no longer any truth, thus when the church is desolated (see above, n. 1119). Also from the signification of "famine," as being when there is nothing but evil and falsity, for "famine" signifies in the Word a lack of truth and good, and still a desire for them. Those who have such a lack and desire are meant by "those who hunger" and the "famished." "Famine" signifies also a lack of truth and good when there is no desire for them, thus the loss of them. Such is the famine of those who are solely in falsities and evils (see above, n. 386). (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] An idea of the life that is God cannot be had unless an idea of the degrees by which life descends from its inmosts to its ultimates is gained. There is an inmost degree of life and there is an ultimate degree of life and there are intermediate degrees of life; the distinction between these is like the difference between things prior and things posterior, for a posterior degree exists from a prior one, and so on. Again, the difference is like the difference between things less and more general, for what is of a prior degree is less general, and what is of a posterior one is more general. Such degrees of life are in every man from creation; and they are opened according to the reception of life from the Lord. In some the degree next to the ultimate is being opened, in some the middle, and in some the inmost. Men in whom the inmost degree is being opened become after death angels of the inmost or third heaven, those in whom the middle degree is being opened become after death angels of the middle or second heaven, while those in whom the degree next to the ultimate is being opened become after death angels of the lowest heaven. These degrees are called degrees of man's life, but they are degrees of his wisdom and love, because they are opened according to the reception of wisdom and love, thus of life from the Lord. There are such degrees of life also in all the organs and viscera and members of the body, and by influx they act as one with the degrees of life in the brains. The skins, the cartilages, and the bones make their ultimate degree. [3] There are such degrees in man because there are such degrees in the life that proceeds from the Lord, but in the Lord these are life, while in man they are recipients of life. But it is to be known that in the Lord there are still higher degrees, and that all, both the highest and the lowest, are life; for the Lord teaches both that He is the life and that He has flesh and bones. (But on these degrees, and on continuous degrees, see the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 33, 34, 38, 39, 208, 209, 211, 435, where they are more fully described. A knowledge of these should be drawn from that work for use in what follows.)

And she shall be burned up in the fire, signifies that since this is from diabolical love such must perish. This is evident from the signification of "fire," as being love in both senses, celestial love and diabolical love (see n. 68, 496, 504, 916), but here diabolical love, because it is the love of having dominion both over heaven and over the world. This is called diabolical love because it is from the deepest hells, where the devils are who desire to have dominion over all things of heaven, and who believe in their hearts that they are gods, and that there is no God besides them. Also from the signification of "to be burned up," as meaning to perish by that love. To be burned up with fire is the penalty of profaning holy things by the love of having dominion over them, as may be seen above (n. 1083). (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] Because God is life, it follows that He is uncreated. He is uncreated because life can create but cannot be created, for to be created is to have existence from another, and if life had existence from another there would be another being even as to life, and that life would be life in itself. If this First were not life in itself it would be either from another or from itself; and you cannot say life from itself because from itself involves an origin, and that origin would be from nothing, and from nothing, nothing can originate. This First, which has being [esse] in itself and from which all things have been created, is God, who is called Jehovah because He is Being in Himself. This, especially if it is illustrated by things created, reason can see. Now as there can be no Being unless it exists, so being and existing [esse et existere] in God are one; for when there is being there is existing, and when there is existing there is being. This, therefore, is the life itself which is God and which is Man.

For strong is the Lord God who judgeth them, signifies through the Last Judgment. This is evident from the signification of "strong is the Lord God who judgeth her," as being the Last Judgment upon them. That the Last Judgment is meant by these words follows from what goes before, for it is said that "in one day her plagues shall come, death, mourning, and famine, and she shall be burned up in fire," which signifies that when they reach their last state, which is when there is no longer any good nor any truth but only evil and falsity from their diabolical love, they will then perish by the Last Judgment. That they did perish by the Last Judgment can he seen in the small work on The Last Judgment and on Babylon Destroyed. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] That all things are from the life itself which is God and is Man, can be illustrated by man who was created, in that he is man as to his ultimates, as to his intermediates, and as to his inmosts; for a man who in the world has been merely corporeal and consequently stupid as to his life, appears nevertheless after the rejection of the material body as a man in the spiritual world. A man who as to his life in the world has been merely sensual or natural, thus who has known little about heaven although much about the world, nevertheless after death appears as a man. A man who as to his life in the world has been rational, and has thought rightly from natural light, when after death he becomes a spirit appears as a man. A man who as to his life in the world has been spiritual, when after death he becomes an angel appears as a man, perfect in the measure of his reception of life from the Lord. A man in whom the third degree of life has been opened, thus who as to his life in the world has been a celestial man, when after death he becomes an angel appears as a man in all perfection. [3] The life itself that is in him is the man, whether it be sensual or natural, or rational, or spiritual, or celestial, for so the degrees of life are called. Man in whom these degrees exist is only a recipient. As it is in the least types so it is in the greatest. The whole angelic heaven in every complex is a man. Each heaven by itself, the first, the second, and the third, is a man. Each society in the heavens, greater or less, is a man. Even the church on the earth in general is a man; likewise all assemblages that are called churches are by themselves men. It is said the church, but it is meant all in whom the church is in the complex; thus does the church on the earth appear to the angels of heaven. It so appears because the life that is from the Lord is Man. Life from the Lord is love and wisdom; consequently such as the reception of love and wisdom from the Lord is, such is the man. This shows in the first place that all things have been created from the life that is God and that is Man.

Verse 9. And the kings of the earth shall weep for her and wail over her, who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. 9. "The kings of the earth shall weep for her and wail over her," signifies the mourning and grief of heart of those who have exercised that authority (n. 1129); "who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her," signifies who have been in falsities and in evils of falsities from delight regarding that authority (n. 1130); "when they shall see the smoke of her burning," signifies because of hell and of their damnation (n. 1131).

Verse 9. And the kings of the earth shall weep for her and wail over her, signifies mourning and grief of heart of those who have exercised that authority. This is evident from the signification of "to weep and wail," as being mourning and grief of heart (of which presently); also from the signification of "kings of the earth," as being those who are in truths from good, and in the contrary sense who are in falsities from evil (see n. 29, 31, 625, 1034, 1063), here those who have exercised that authority and are therefore called "kings of the earth," the "earth" meaning the church. It is evident from what follows that such are signified by "kings of the earth," for it is said "who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her," which signifies who have been in falsities and evils from delight respecting that authority. Those who are in truths from good, who are also signified by "kings of the earth," cannot "weep for her and wail over her." [2] The expressions "to weep" and "to wail" are used, because "to weep" signifies mourning because of falsities, and "to wail" mourning because of evils, and because both have been lost; thus "to weep" has reference to the falsity that they have called truth, and "to wail" has reference to the evil that they have called good. This is why "mourning and wailing" are mentioned together in the Word. As in Jeremiah: O daughter of My people, make thee mourning for an only begotten, a wailing of bitterness, for the waster shall suddenly come upon us (Jer. 6:26). Here "mourning" is named because of truth destroyed, and wailing on account of good destroyed; the "waster" signifies the loss of these, and thus the end of the church. In Micah: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and a mourning like the daughters of the owl (Micah 1:8). Because "wailing" has reference to good, and in the contrary sense to evil, it is said, "I will make a wailing like dragons," "dragons" being those who are in the lusts of evil; and because "mourning" has reference to falsity it is said, "I will make a mourning like the daughters of the owl," "daughters of the owl" being those who are in falsities and their pleasantness, "owls" signify falsities, because they see in darkness and not in the light. In Zechariah: They shall wail over him according to the wailing over a first begotten, 1129-1 and they shall mourn over him according to the mourning over a first begotten (Zech. 12:10). Here, too, "wailing" is predicated of the loss of good, and "mourning" of the loss of truth. In Jeremiah: Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go away to wail (Jer. 16:5); where the meaning is the same. Both expressions are used on account of the marriage of good and truth, or on account of the marriage not of good and truth, which is in every particular of the Word. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] That all things are from the life itself which is God, and which is wisdom and love, can also be made clear by reference to things created when they are viewed from order. For it is from order that the angelic heavens, consisting of thousands and thousands of societies, act as one through love to the Lord and through love towards the neighbor, and that they are kept in order through Divine truths which are the laws of order. Also it is from order that the hells beneath the heavens, which are also divided into thousands and thousands of congregations, are kept in order by means of judgments and punishments, so that they are unable to do the least harm to the heavens, although they are hatreds and insanities. It is also from order that between the heavens and the hells there is an equilibrium, in which is man in the world, and in which he is led to heaven if led by the Lord, and to hell if led by himself; for it is the law of order that man must do whatever he does from freedom according to reason. [4] Since so many myriads of myriads of men from the creation of the world have poured into the spiritual world and are unceasingly pouring in like streams, and each individual has a different disposition and love, they could by no means have been associated together as a one unless God who is life itself had been one, and unless this life had been wisdom itself and love itself, and thus order itself. Thus much about heaven. But in the world the Divine in order appears to be from the sun, moon, stars, and planets. The sun in appearance makes the years, days, and hours, also the seasons of the year, which are spring, summer, autumn, and winter, also the divisions of the day, which are morning, noon, evening, and night; and it vivifies all things of the earth according to the reception of its heat in light and of its light in heat; and according to reception it opens, arranges, and prepares bodies and matters, which are in the earth and upon the earth, to receive influx from the spiritual world. Thus in the spring time, by the union of heat and light at that season the flying things of heaven and the animals of earth return into the love of prolification, and into a knowledge of all things pertaining to that love; and the things of the vegetable kingdom return into the efforts and activities of producing leaves, flowers and fruits, and seeds in them for perpetuating their kind to eternity, and for multiplying it to infinity. [5] It is also from order that the earth produces vegetables, and that vegetables nourish animals, and that both are useful to man for food, raiment, and for pleasure; and as man is the one in whom is God, so all things thus return to God from whom they are. All this makes clear that created things follow in such order that one is for the sake of another, and that they are perpetual ends which are uses, and that the ends which are uses are constantly so directed as to return to God from whom they are. All this now shows that all things have been created from life itself, which is wisdom itself, and also shows that the created universe is full of God.

Who hath committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her, signifies who have been in falsities and in the evils of falsities from delight respecting that authority. This is evident from the signification of "to commit whoredom," as being to falsify truths (see n. 141, 161, 805, 983); thus also to love falsities, for he who is in the love of evil is also in the love of falsity, since by falsity evil is confirmed. Also from the signification of "living luxuriously," as being to have delight from dominion or from that authority, thus to love evils. "To commit whoredom" is predicated of falsities, and "to live luxuriously" of evils, and both of delight in these. [2] As "committing whoredom" signifies the falsifying of truths, and "living luxuriously" signifies loving evils and thus also falsities, it shall now be told whence it is that the Babylonish nation has falsified the Word and weakened its Divine holiness. It has been known in the whole Christian world that the Word is Divine, and consequently that all things contained in the Word are Divine truths. Now as the Babylonians have claimed for themselves and have actually assumed dominion over all things of the church and also over heaven, and as they thus let themselves into all evils that spring up from the love of self, it was necessary for them to confirm those evils by means of the Word, and this could be done only by falsifying it, for the Word can in no wise confirm evil; consequently when a man confirms evil by means of the Word he falsifies its truths. This was done by the Babylonians; but as they still saw truths in the Word that they could not falsify, as for instance, all that is said in it about Babylon, so by their craft they weakened the Divine holiness of the Word, and forbade the reading of it by the people; and their leaders and presbyters, who are called monks, also refrained from reading it, saying that the decrees of the Pope were just as holy as the contents of the Word, and that all things of the church must be adapted to its state, and consequently must be changed as its state requires, and that such adaptation and changes must be made from the inspiration of the Pope. All this makes clear how it is that the truths of the Word have been falsified and rejected by them, and in place of these such things as pander to their love of ruling and wholly favor it, and which are in themselves falsities, have been accepted, and have been endorsed by their Pope. From all this the particular signification of "the whoredoms of its kings" with Babylon the harlot can be seen. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] As God is uncreate He is also eternal; for the life itself which is God is life in itself, not from itself, nor from nothing; thus it is without origin; and what is without origin is from eternity and is eternal. But an idea of anything without origin is impossible to the natural man; so, too, is the idea of God from eternity; but it is possible to the spiritual man. The thought of the natural man cannot be separated and abstracted from the idea of time; this idea clings to him from nature, in which he is. Nor can his thought be separated and abstracted from the idea of origin, since origin means to him a beginning in time. The appearance in the sun's progression has impressed this idea on the natural man. But the thought of the spiritual man is abstracted from the idea of time, because it is raised above nature, and in place of that idea there is the idea of state of life, and in place of duration of time is an idea of the state of thought from affection, which constitutes life. For in the angelic heaven the sun does not rise or set or make years and days, as the sun in the world does; and for this reason the angels of heaven, because they are in spiritual ideas, think apart from time; consequently their idea of God from eternity does not take anything from origin, that is, from a beginning, but from state that it is eternal, and that everything therefore that is God and that proceeds from God is eternal, in other words, is Divine in itself. That this is so has been granted to perceive by an elevation above the natural idea into a spiritual idea. From all this it is now clear that God, who is uncreate, is also eternal, also that it is impossible to think that nature is from eternity, or that it is from itself in time; but it is possible to think that God is from eternity, and that nature with time is from God.

When they shall see the smoke of her burning, signifies because of hell and of their damnation. This is evident from the signification of "the smoke of burning," as being hell and damnation (of which presently); therefore, "when they shall see it" signifies because of these, for it is said, "they shall weep for her and wail over her when they shall see the smoke of burning," which signifies mourning and grief of heart because of these, that is, because of hell and of their damnation. "The smoke of burning" signifies hell and damnation, because "smoke" signifies infernal falsity, and "fire," that is, "burning," signifies infernal evil. From this correspondence of infernal falsity and infernal evil with the fire of burning, a smoke mingled with fire, like smoke from a furnace or from conflagrations, appears over the hells of such. (That "smoke" signifies infernal falsity, may be seen n. 494, 539, 889; and that "fire" signifies infernal evil, which is such as their love is, may be seen n. 68, 496, 504, 916.) (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] As God is eternal He is also infinite, and as there is a natural idea and a spiritual idea of the eternal, so there is of the infinite. The natural idea of the eternal is from time, but the spiritual idea of it is not from time. And the natural idea of the infinite is from space, but the spiritual idea of it is not from space. For as life is not nature, so the two properties of nature, which are time and space, are not properties of life, for they were created with nature by the life which is God. The natural idea of the infinite God, which is from space, is that He fills the universe from end to end; but from this idea of the infinite there springs the thought that the inmost of nature is God, and thus that He is something extended, and yet everything extended belongs to matter. [3] As, therefore, the natural idea has nothing in common with the idea of life, of wisdom, and of love, which is God, so the infinite must be viewed from the spiritual idea, in which there is nothing of time and nothing of space, because there is in it nothing of nature. According to the spiritual idea the Divine love is infinite and the Divine wisdom is infinite, and since the Divine love and the Divine wisdom are the life which is God the Divine life is also infinite; from which it follows that God is infinite. That the Divine wisdom is infinite can be seen from the wisdom of the angels of the third heaven. As these excel all others in wisdom, they perceive that there is no ratio between their wisdom and the Lord's Divine wisdom, because there is no ratio between the infinite and the finite. Moreover, they say that the first degree of wisdom is to see and acknowledge that this is so. The same is true of the Divine love. Furthermore, angels like men are recipient forms of life, thus they are recipients of wisdom and love from the Lord; and these forms are from substances that are without life, thus are in themselves dead, and between what is dead and what is living there is no ratio. [4] But how that finite receives the infinite can be illustrated by the light and heat of the sun of the world. The light itself and the heat itself from that sun are not material, and yet they affect material substances, the light by modifying them, and the heat by changing their states. The Lord's Divine wisdom is likewise light, and the Lord's Divine love is heat, but they are spiritual heat and light, because they proceed from the Lord as a sun, which is Divine love united to Divine wisdom; but the light and heat from the sun of the world are natural, because that sun is fire and not love.

Verse 10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. 10. "Standing afar off for the fear of her torment," signifies when they are in externals from a dread of infernal punishment (n. 1133); "saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babylon," signifies lamentation over that doctrine and over that religion (n. 1134); "that mighty city" signifies which had fortified itself by so many wicked devices (n. 1135); "for in one hour is thy judgment come" signifies their total destruction through the Last Judgment (n. 1136).

Verse 10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, signifies when they are in externals from a dread of infernal punishment. This is evident from the signification of "standing afar off," as meaning to be in externals (of which presently); also from the signification of "fear of torment," as being dread on account of infernal punishments, for "torment" signifies such punishments. "Standing afar off" signifies to be in externals because man is in himself when he is in internals, for there his love, and thus his very life, has its seat. The internals of man are the things that belong to his spirit, and are meant in the Word by "things near;" and therefore his externals, as being remote from internals, are meant by things "afar off," and here by "standing afar off." Moreover, every evil man when he is in externals is unlike what he is in internals. Not only does he then speak and act differently, he also thinks and wills differently, for his thought and will then are that he may appear as a civil, moral, and even as a spiritual man, and this either because of the law and its penalties or for the sake of reputation and consequent honor and gain, thus from fear of losing these. That the man is then "afar off" from himself is evident from the fact that when he returns from externals into his internals, as he does when alone, he thinks and wills in a wholly different way, and when he is with companions like himself he talks in a different way. This shows that "standing afar off" signifies in the spiritual sense to be in externals. [2] The chief reason why an evil man introduces himself or comes from internals into externals is fear; for fear closes up his internals when he sees the punishments and torments of his companions, and when his internals are closed up he comes into externals, and remains in them as long as the punishment is kept before his mind. And yet his internal is not made better by punishments, but remains wholly as before; therefore as soon as the fear of punishment recedes he returns into his evils, which are interiorly with him, and which belong to his spirit, and thus to his life. This may be illustrated by examples from the spiritual world. An evil spirit there is compelled by punishments not to speak or do evil; and in such a state he remains as long as he is in the place where the punishment is kept before his mind; but as soon as the fear of the punishment recedes he is evil as before. It is the same in the world. So long as thieves, robbers, and other criminals are in a city where all are held in restraint by the law and its penalties they do not steal or rob; but as soon as they come into forests, or into places where they have no fear of the penalties of the law, or when they can pervert the law by crafty devices and thus escape the penalties, they come into their internals and commit crimes. [3] All this makes clear that externals are remote from internals, and stand as it were afar off; and this is why in the Word "afar off" signifies the external or what is remote from the internal, as in the following passages. In Isaiah: Hear, ye that are afar off, what I have done, and ye that are near know My power (Isa. 33:13). "Those that are afar off" here mean the nations, because they are remote from internal truths, and "those that are near" mean those who are of the church and who are in truths from the Word. In the same: Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth (Isa. 43:6). Here, too, "sons and daughters" mean the nations; and because these are remote from truths and goods, which are the internals of the church, they are called "sons from afar, and daughters from the end of the earth," "sons" meaning those who are in truths, and "daughters" those who are in goods, "the end of the earth" signifying the ultimates of the church. [4] In the same: Listen, O isles, unto Me, and ye peoples from afar. Lo, these shall come to thee from afar, and lo, these from the north and from the west (Isa. 49:1, 12). "Isles" and "peoples from afar," and "from the north and from the west," mean in like manner the nations with whom the church was to be established. The meaning is the same in Jeremiah: Declare it in the isles afar off (Jer. 31:10). In Zechariah: They that are afar off shall come, and shall build the temple of Jehovah (Zech. 6:15). Here, too, "those afar off" mean the nations, and the "temple" that they shall build is the church. In Jeremiah: Am I God that is near, and not God afar off? (Jer. 23:23). This signifies that the Lord is God both to those who are within the church and to those who are outside of it, also to those who are in internal truths and to those who are in external truths. In David: O God, the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of the sea, of those that are afar off (Ps. 65:5). "The ends of the earth and of the sea, of those that are afar off," signify the ultimates of the church. In the contrary sense "afar off" signifies evil, because evil is in the external man; for all who are in evils and falsities therefrom are external men. Such are meant by "nations and peoples from afar" and "from the end of the earth" in the following passages. In Isaiah: The nations from afar and from the end of the earth (Isa. 5:26). Peoples coming from a land afar off, from the end of the earth 1133-1 (Isa. 13:5). In Jeremiah: Nations coming from a land afar off against Jerusalem (Jer. 4:16). In the same: Upon the house of Israel will I be a nation from afar (Jer. 5:15). Because "Babylon" signifies evil of every kind and the profanation of good it is called: A land afar off (Isa. 39:3). That "those afar off" signify those who are in the externals of the church can be seen also from those who are in externals and those who are in internals in the spiritual world; the latter are in the south and the former in the north, thus they are separated according to the degree of the reception of truth and good. That "near" means what is internal may be seen above (n. 16). (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [5] Since God is infinite He is also omnipotent, for omnipotence is infinite power. God's omnipotence shines forth from the universe, which is the visible heaven and the habitable globe; these, with all things that are in the visible heavens and on the habitable globe, are the great works of the omnipotent Creator. The creation of these and their maintenance testify that they are from the Divine omnipotence, while their order and mutual regard to ends from first to last testify that they are from the Divine wisdom. God's omnipotence shines forth also from the heaven that is above or within our visible heaven, and from the globe there that is inhabited by angels, as ours is by men. There are wonderful testimonies there to the Divine omnipotence; and as these have been seen by me and revealed to me, I am permitted to mention them. All men that have died from the first creation of the world are there; and these after death continue to be men in form, but are spirits in essence. [6] Spirits are affections that are of love, and thus also thoughts. The spirits of heaven are affections of the love of good, and the spirits of hell affections of the love of evil. Good affections, which are angels, dwell on a globe that is called heaven, and evil affections, which are spirits of hell, dwell at a great depth beneath them. The globe is one, but is divided into expanses as it were, one below another. There are six expanses; in the highest the angels of the third heaven dwell, and beneath them the angels of the second heaven, and beneath these the angels of the first heaven, below these dwell the spirits of the first hell, beneath these the spirits of the second hell, and beneath these the spirits of the third hell. All things are arranged in such order that the evil affections, which are spirits of hell, are held in bonds by the good affections, which are angels of heaven; the spirits of the lowest hell by the angels of the highest heaven, the spirits of the middle hell by the angels of the middle heaven, and the spirits of the first hell by the angels of the first heaven. By such opposition the affections are held in equilibrium as in the scales of a balance. [7] Such heavens and hells are innumerable, divided into assemblies and societies according to the genera and species of all affections; and these affections in their order and connection are in accord with the nearer and more remote affinities of the societies. This is true both of the heavens and of the hells. This order and this connection of affections are known to the Lord alone, and the arrangement of so many different affections, as many as there have been men from the first creation and will be hereafter, is a work of infinite wisdom, and at the same time of infinite power. That the Divine power is infinite, or that it is omnipotence, is there clearly evident from the fact that neither the angels of heaven nor the devils of hell have any power whatever from themselves. If they had any at all heaven would fall to pieces, hell would become a chaos, and with these every man would perish.

Saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, signifies lamentation over that doctrine and over that religion. This is evident from the signification of "woe, woe," as being lamentation, especially over destruction and devastation (see n. 531); also from the signification of "city," as being doctrine (see n. 223); also from the signification of "Babylon," as being that religious persuasion which, because of the falsification and profanation of the truth and good of the church, is called "a harlot" and "the mother of whoredoms and of the abominations of the earth." This makes clear that "Woe, woe, that great city Babylon," signifies lamentation over that religious persuasion. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [2] God has all power, and men and angels have none at all, because God alone is life, and men and angels are only recipients of life, and life is that which acts, and the recipient of life that which is acted upon. Everyone can see that a recipient of life cannot act at all from itself, and that its action must be from the life that is God. Nevertheless, it can act as if from itself, for this can be granted to it; that it has been granted to it has been said above. If man does not live from himself it follows that he does not think and will from himself, neither does he speak and act from himself, but from God who alone is life. That this is so appears as a paradox, for man has no other feeling than that these things are in himself, and thus are done by himself; and yet when he speaks from faith he acknowledges that everything good and true is from God, and that everything evil and false is from the devil, although everything that a man thinks, wills, speaks or acts, has reference to what is good and true or to what is evil and false. For this reason when a man does good he says within himself, or his teacher says to him, that he was led by God, and when he does evil that he was led by the devil. Also every man who preaches, prays that his thought, his discourse, and his tongue, may be led by the spirit of God, and sometimes he adds after preaching that he has spoken from the Spirit; and some even have a perception of this in themselves. Moreover, I can myself testify before the world that all things of my thought and will have entered by influx, the goods and truths through heaven from the Lord, and the evils and falsities from hell. It has been granted me for a long time to perceive this. [3] Angels of the higher heavens feel this manifestly; and the wisest of them do not wish to think and will even as if from themselves. On the other hand, infernal genii and spirits utterly deny this, and are angry when told that it is so. Yet to many the truth has been made evident by living proof; but afterwards they were indignant. Since, however, this seems to many to be a paradox, it is important that it should be seen from some idea of the understanding how this takes place, that it may be acknowledged that it does take place. The essence of the matter is as follows. From the Lord's Divine love, which appears in the angelic heaven as a sun, light and heat proceed. This light is the life of His Divine wisdom, and this heat is the life of His Divine love. This spiritual heat which is love, and this spiritual light which is wisdom flow into subjects that are recipient of life, as natural heat and natural light from the sun of the world flow into subjects not recipient of life. And although light simply modifies the substances into which it flows, and heat simply changes their state, yet it follows that if these were living subjects, they would feel these changes in themselves, and would suppose them to be from themselves; and yet they recede with the sun and return with the sun. It is because the life of the Lord's Divine wisdom is light that the Lord in many passages of the Word is called light, and it is said in John: The Word was with God, and God was the Word. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:1-4.) From all this it is now clear that God has infinite power because He is the all in all. But how an evil person can think, will, speak and do evil, when God alone is life, will be told in what follows.

That mighty city, signifies which had fortified itself by so many wicked devices. This is evident from the signification of "mighty," as being in reference to its doctrine and religious persuasion, which are signified by "the city of Babylon," that they are fortified by devices that they may not be assailed and overthrown. What those devices are, and how wicked they are, may be seen above (n. 1112). It follows, nevertheless, that these devices were of no avail at the day of the Last Judgment, when all who were such perished, for it is said, "For in one hour is thy judgment come," and that not only the kings of the earth, but also the merchants of the earth, and the pilots of the ships "should weep for her and wail over her." [2] Elsewhere in the Word those are called "mighty" who are in evils and falsities therefrom, and have fortified themselves by means of devices against the goods and truths of the church, thus those with whom the church is devastated, and who devastate the church with others. As in Joel: The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of thick darkness; a people great and mighty, such as there hath not been for an age. Like heroes they run, like men of war they climb over the wall (Joel 2:1-2, 7); where also the Last Judgment is treated of, which is signified by "the day of Jehovah, a day of darkness and of thick darkness." Those who are in falsities of evil and have fortified their falsities against truths by reasoning and by falsifications of the Word, are signified by "a people great and mighty;" that they reason from falsities against truths, and thus assail truths, is signified by "like heroes they run, like men of war they climb over the wall." And so in other places. (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord) [3] As the Divine omnipotence is such that man is not able to think and will, and thus to speak and act, of himself, but is able to do so only from the life which is God, it may be asked why every man is not saved. But he who concludes from this that everyone is saved, or that he is not to be blamed if he is not, is ignorant of the laws of Divine order respecting man's reformation, regeneration, and consequent salvation. The laws of that order are called laws of the Divine providence. These the natural mind cannot know unless it is enlightened. And as man does not know them, and consequently forms conclusions respecting the Divine providence from what happens in the world, by which he falls in