wine, concerning which see John vi. 51-58. Flesh also signifies good in many other parts of the Word; as in these passages: "I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh,” Ezek. xi. 19, xxxvi. 26. "My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land," Psalm Ixiii. 1. "My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God," Psalm lxxxiv. 3. "My flesh also shall rest in hope," Psalm xvi. 9. “When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh," Isaiah

lviii. 7.

833. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army," signifies, that all the interiorly wicked, who have made profession of faith alone, with their leading men and their adherents, will impugn the divine truths of the Lord in his Word, and infest those who will be of the Lord's New Church. That by beasts are signified they whose religion is grounded upon faith alone, may be seen above, n. 567, 576, 577, 594, 598, 601; that it means only those who are interiorly wicked, and profess that religion, will be seen below. By the kings of the earth are signified those who are more deeply immersed than others in the falsities of that religion, consequently the leading men therein; for by the kings of the earth are signified those who are in the truths of the church derived from the Word, and, in an opposite sense, those who are in falsities, n. 20, 483, 704, 720, 737, 740, here those who are in falses; by their armies are signified all among them, who in like manner are in falsities, n. 447. To make war, signifies, to impugn, because by war in the Word is signified spiritual war, which is that of falsity against truth, and of truth against falsity, n. 500, 586, 707; by him who sat on the horse, is meant the Lord as to the Word, n. 820, 821; and since they cannot fight against the Lord himself, but against his divine truths which are in the Word, and thus also fight against the Lord, the Lord being the Word, therefore this is meant by making war against him that sat on the horse. That by an army are

signified they who are in divine truths, and thus abstractedly divine truths themselves, consequently they who are of the Lord's new heaven and new church, from the circumstance of there being divine truths among them, may be seen above, n. 826.

834. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, that wrought signs before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image," signifies, all those who professed faith alone, and were interiorly evil, as well the laity and common people as the clergy and the learned, who by ratiocinations and attestations that faith alone is the sole medium of salvation, have induced others to receive that faith, and to live according to it. By the beast is here meant the beast out of the sea, mentioned Apoc. xiii. 1-10; and by the false prophet is meant the beast out of the earth, mentioned in the same chapter, verses 11, 12; that by the beast out of the sea are meant the laity and common people, who are in the religion of faith alone, and that by the beast out of the earth are meant the clergy and the learned who are in that religion, may be seen in the explanations of that chapter. That the false prophet here is the beast out of the earth, mentioned in that chapter, from verse 11-18, appears manifestly, from its being here said of the false prophet, that it was he who wrought signs before the other beast, with which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image; for the like things are said of the beast out of the earth, chap. xiii., namely, That he wrought great signs or wonders before the beast out of the sea, and seduced them that dwell on the earth, to worship his image, and receive his mark on the right hand and on the forehead, verses 12— 17; from which it is evident, that by the false prophet are here signified the clergy and the learned, who have confirmed themselves in the religion of faith alone, and seduced the laity and common people; they are called the false prophet, because by a prophet are signified those who teach and preach falses, by perverting the truths of the Word, n. 8, 701; that by the signs wrought by that

beast are signified ratiocinations and attestations that faith alone is the sole medium of salvation, may be seen above, ǹ. 598, 599, 704; by receiving the mark of the beast and worshiping his image, is signified to acknowledge and receive that faith, n. 634, 637, 679.

835. "These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone," signifies, that all these, as they were, were cast into hell, where are the loves of falsity, and at the same time the lusts of evil. Alive, signifies, as they were; by these two, namely the beast and the false prophet, are signified all those who have made profession of faith alone, and are interiorly evil, both laity and clergy, as above, n. 834; by a lake of fire burning with brimstone, is signified hell, where they are who are in the loves of falsity, and, at the same time, in the lusts of evil; by a lake are signified falses in abundance, as will be seen presently; by fire is signified love, in this case the love of their falsity; that fire signifies love in both senses, good and evil, may be seen, n. 468, 494, 599, here the love of what is falsity, because it is called a lake of fire; by brimstone is signified the lust of evil, and thence of falsity, n. 452. The like is said of the dragon, and of these two, in the following words of the next chapter: "The devil," that is, the dragon, "who deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, for ever and ever," xx. 10. It must be observed, that the hell, where such as these are, appears at a distance as a fiery lake with a green flame like that of brimstone; but they who are therein do not see this, for they are there shut up in their houses of correction, where they have vehement altercations with one another; sometimes there appear knives in their hands, which they use in a threatening manner rather than appear to yield or give way; it is their love of falsity, together with their Justs of evil, which causes the appearance of such a lake; this appearance is from correspondence. That by a lake is signified where there is truth in abundance, and, in an opposite sense, where falsity abounds, may appear from the Word; that it signifies where there is truth in abund

"For in

ance, may be seen in the following passages: the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched ground shall become a lake,” Isaiah xxxv. 6, 7. "I will make the wilderness a lake of water, and the dry land springs of waters," Isaiah xli. 18, Psalm cvii. 33, 35. "I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the lakes," Isaiah xlii. 15. The God of Jacob, who" turned the rock into a lake of water, the flint into a fountain of waters," Psalm cxiv. 7, 8. "All that make a trade of lakes for the fishes," Isaiah xix. 10. In an opposite sense, from these passages: "I will cut off from Babylon the name and remnant; I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and lakes of water," Isaiah xiv. 22, 23. Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire," Apoc. xx. 15. Their part is "in the lake of fire, which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death," Apoc. xxi. 8.

836. "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which proceeds out of his mouth," signifies, that all they of various heresies among the Reformed, who have not lived according to the commandments of the Lord in the Word, which they knew, being judged according to the Word, perish. By the remnant are meant all belonging to various heresies among the Reformed, who have not lived according to the commandments of the Lord in the Word, which they knew, which are the commandments of the decalogue, consequently all who do not shun evils as sins; for they who do not so shun them are in all kinds of evil, for they are beset with them from their birth, and thence from their infancy to their lives' end, and they increase daily, if they be not removed by actual repentance; of these it is said, that they were slain with the sword of him who sat upon the horse; by being slain is here signified, as frequently before, to be spiritually slain, which is to perish as to the soul; by the sword of him who sat upon the horse, which proceeded out of his mouth, are signified the truths of the Word fighting against the falses of evil; for by a sword as expressed by the several terms, gladius, machæra, and romphæa, is signified truth fighting against falsity,

and falsity fighting against truth, n. 52, but a sword (as expressed by gladius) is on the thigh, whence it means combat from love; machæra is a sword in the hand, whence it means combat from power; and romphæa has relation to the mouth, whence it means combat from doctrine; wherefore a sword (romphæa) proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord means combat from the Word against falses, n. 108,117, 827, for the Word proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord. The reason why combat with the Reformed, and not with the Babylonians, is here treated of, is, because the Reformed read the Word, and acknowledge the truths therein to be divine truths; not so the Babylonians; these do, indeed, acknowledge the Word, but yet they do not read it, and every one regards the dictates of the pope in the first place, and as far above it, wherefore combat cannot be waged with them from the Word; they also place themselves above it, and not under it; but still they are judged from the Word, and from the dictates of the popes, so far as these accord with the Word.

837. "And all the fowls were filled with their flesh," signifies, that the infernal genii feed, as it were, upon their concupiscences of evil, which constitute their selfhood. By fowls are signified the falses which are from hell, and inasmuch as the infernal genii are principled in these falses, being one with man in the falses which pertain to his love, therefore these are here signified by fowls: the man also who is in such falses, becomes such a genius after death; that by the useless and mischievous fowls, especially the unclean and rapacious, which feed upon dead carcasses, are signified falsities which are of the love, may be seen above, n. 757; by flesh are here signified the evils of concupiscences, which constitutes man's selfhood, n. 748; by being filled with their flesh, signifies, to be nourished with them as it were, and to draw them in with delight, for the infernal genii, who are in similar concupiscences of evil, greedily inhale and snuff up into their nostrils, and thence live from, the concupiscences which exhale from such men's thoughts and respiration, for which reason also they live and cohabit together.