its doctrine concerning the Lord and concerning life. To go up on the breadth of the earth, signifies to spurn or hold in contempt every truth of the church, for by going up is signified to climb over and pass by, thus to spurn; and by the breadth of the earth is signified the truth of the church, as will be seen presently; to compass the camp of the saints about, signifies, to besiege and to desire to destroy all things of the New Church, as will be shown in the next article; and by the beloved city is signified the doctrine of the New Church; that by a city is signified the doctrine of the church, may be seen above, n. 194, 501, 502, 712, which is called the beloved, because it treats of the Lord and of life, for it is the doctrine of the New Jerusalem which is here meant. That this is the signification of these words, no one can perceive except by the spiritual sense, for it could never enter into any one's thought, that by the breadth of the earth is signified the truth of the church, and that by the camp of the saints are signified all things appertaining to the New Church, both its truths and goods, and that by a city is signified its doctrine; wherefore lest the mind should remain in doubt, it is necessary to demonstrate what the breadth of the earth and camp of the saints signify in a spiritual sense, from which it may be seen that the above is the meaning of these words. The reason why the breadth of the earth signifies the truth of the church, is, because in the spiritual world there are four quarters, east, west, south, and north, and the east and west constitute its length or longitude, and the south and north its breadth or latitude; and because they dwell in the east and west who are in the good of love, and thence by east and west is signified good, therefore the same is meant by length; and because they dwell in the south and north who are in the truths of wisdom, and thence by south and north is signified truth, therefore the same is meant by breadth; but on this subject see the treatise on Heaven and Hell, n. 141-153. That by breadth or latitude is signified truth may appear from the following passages in the Word: "And hast not shut me up (O Jehovah) into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a broad

place," Psalm xxxi. 8. "I called upon Jehovah in my distress, Jehovah answered me, and set me in a broad place," Psalm cxviii. 5. "Jehovah brought me forth also into a broad place, he delivered me," Psalm xviii. 19. "For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land," Habak. i. 6. Ashur "shall pass through Judah, he shall overflow and go over, and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land," Isaiah viii. 8. Jehovah shall "feed them as a lamb in a broad place," Hosea iv. 16, not to mention other passages, as Psalm iv. 1, Psalm lxvi. 12, Deut. xxxiii. 20. Nor is any thing else meant by the breadth of the city New Jerusalem, Apoc. xxi. 16; for when by the New Jerusalem is meant the New Church, by the breadth and length of it, cannot be signified breadth and length, but its truth and good, for these are the things which constitute a church; as in Zechariah also: "Then said I (unto the angel), Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof and what is the length thereof," ii. 2. The same is to be understood by the breadth and length of the new temple, and of the new earth, in Ezekiel xl. xli. xlii. xliii. xliv. xlv. xlvi. xlvii. Also by the length and breadth of the altar of burnt-offering, of the tabernacle, of the table of show-bread, of the altar of incense, and of the ark therein; and also by the length and breadth of the temple at Jerusalem, and of many other things, which are described by measurement.

862. It was observed that their compassing about the camp of the saints and the beloved city, signifies, that they would endeavor to destroy all things relating to the New Church, both its truths and its goods, and even its doctrine concerning the Lord and concerning life, as is mentioned in the preceding article; the reason why these are signified, is, because by the camp of the saints are signified all the truths and goods of the church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem. That a camp, in the spiritual sense, signifies all things of the church which have relation to its good and truth, may appear from the

following passages: "The sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining; and Jehovah shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great, for he is strong that executeth his Word, Joel ii. 10, 11. "And I will encamp about mine house," Zech. ix. 8. "For God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee, because God hath despised them," Psalm liii. 6. "The angel of Jehovah encampeth about them that fear him, and delivereth them," Psalm xxxiv. 8. The angels of God met Jacob, and Jacob said, "This is God's camp, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim," (the two camps) Gen. xxxii. 2, 3, besides other places, as Isaiah xxix. 3, Ezek. i. 24, Psalın xxvii. 3. That by armies in the Word are signified the truths and goods of the church, also the falses and evils thereof, may be seen, n. 447, 826, 833; the same is also signified by camps. Since by the sons of Israel, and their twelve tribes, is signified the church as to all its truths and goods, n. 349, 350, they were therefore called the army of Jehovah, Exod. vii. 4, xii. 41, 51, and when they halted and were assembled, they were called the camp, as in Levit. iv. 12, viii. 17, xii. 46, xiv. 8, xvi. 26, 28, xxiv. 14, 23, Numb. i. ii. iii. iv. 5, seq. v. 2— 26, ix. 17 to the end, x. 1-11, 29, xi. 31, 32, xii. 14, 15, xix. 19-25, xxxiii. 2-56, Deut. xxiii. 10-15, Amos iv. 10. From these considerations, then, it is plain, that by their encompassing the camp of the saints, and the beloved city, is signified that they would endeavor to destroy all the truths and goods of the New Church meant by the New Jerusalem, and also its doctrine concerning the Lord and concerning life. The like is signified by this passage in Luke: "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," xxi. 20, 24; speaking of the consummation of the age, which is the last time of the church; by Jerusalem is here also signified the church. That Gog and Magog, that is, they who are in external worship separated from internal worship, will then invade the church, and endea

vor to destroy it, is also said in Ezek. xxxviii. 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, xxxix. 2; and that then there will be a New Church from the Lord, verse 16 to the end.

863. "And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," signifies, that they were destroyed by the concupiscences of infernal love. By fire coming down out of heaven and devouring them, are signified the concupiscences of evils, or of infernal love, as above, n. 494, 748, because they who are in external worship separated from internal worship, are in all sorts of evils and concupiscences, by reason that in them evils are not removed by any actual repentance, n. 859. It is said that fire came down from God out of heaven; this was the case in ancient times, when all things belonging to the church were represented before their eyes, consequently when churches were representative; but at this day, when representations have ceased, it is spoken of in like manner, and the signification is the same as formerly, when the thing was represented. That fire came down out of heaven upon those who profaned things holy, may be seen above, n. 494, 748. The same is said of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel: "I will rain upon him (Gog), and upon his lands, and upon many people that are with him, great hailstones, fire and brimstone," xxxviii. 21. I will send a fire on Magog," xxxix. 6.

"And

864. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever," signifies, that they who were in evils as to life and in falses as to doctrine, were cast into hell, where they will unceasingly and for ever be interiorly infested by the love of their falsity, and by the lusts of their evils. By the devil that deceived them is meant the dragon, as is evident from what goes before, and by the dragon are meant in general those who are in evils as to life, and in falses as to doctrine, n. 841; he is called the devil that deceived them, that it might be known that it was the dragon, because he was the deceiver, as appears from verses 2, 3, 7, 8, of this chapter; by the lake of fire into which he was cast, is signified hell, where are the

loves of what is false and the lusts of what is evil, n. 835; by the beast and the false prophet are signified they who are in faith alone, both as to life and doctrine, both the unlearned and the learned; by the beast, the unlearned, and by the false prophet, the learned, n. 834; by being tormented day and night is signified to be interiorly infested unceasingly, and by for ever and ever, is signified to all eternity; and whereas it is said that they were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, by which is signified, where the loves of falsity and the lusts of evil are, n. 835; these are what they will be infested by interiorly; for every one in hell is tormented by his love and its concupiscences, for the life of every one there is made up of them, and it is the life which is tormented, wherefore there are degrees of torment there according to the degrees of the love of evil and thence of falsity.

865. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them," signifies, the universal judgment executed by the Lord, upon all the former heavens that were occupied by such as were in civil and moral good but in no spiritual good, thus who resembled christians in externals, but in internals were devils; which heavens, with their earth, were totally dissolved, so that nothing could be seen of them any more. Before these things are explained in their order according to the letter, something must be premised concerning the universal judgment here treated of. From the time of the Lord's being in the world, when he executed the last judgment in person, it was permitted that they who were in civil and moral good, though in no spiritual good, whence in externals they appeared like christians, but in internals were devils, should continue longer than the rest in the world of spirits, which is in the midst between. heaven and hell; and at length they were allowed to make there for themselves fixed habitations, and also by the abuse of correspondences, and by phantasies, to form to themselves as it were heavens, which also they did form in great abundance; but when these were multiplied to such a degree as to intercept the spiritual light and