1022. To give unto her the cup of the wrath of his anger. That this signifies its devastation by the dire falsities of evil, is evident from the signification of a cup, as denoting falsity from hell, which is the falsity of evil (concerning which see n. 960); and as it appears as if God were angry and wrathful on account thereof, it is called the cup of the wrath of the anger of God, wrath on account of falsity, and anger on account of evil. Therefore by giving her that cup is signified to devastate; for the falsity of evil from hell devastates all the good and truth of the church. That the church meant by Babylon is thus devastated will be seen in the two following chapters.
Concerning the Tenth Precept, "Thou shalt not covet (or desire) thy neighbour's wife, his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass."
[2] These lusts extend to what are man's own, since the wife, the man-servant, the maid-servant, the ox, and the ass are in his house. And by those things in a man's house, in the spiritual internal sense, are meant what are his own; that is to say, by the wife is meant the affection of spiritual truth and good; by the man-servant and maid-servant, the affection of rational truth and good serving the spiritual, and by the ox and the ass, the affection of natural good and truth. These affections are signified by such things in the Word. But whereas to covet and desire those affections is to will and to covet the subjection of the man to one's own power and authority, therefore it follows, that by the lusts of those things are meant those of the love of self, that is, of the love of ruling; for thereby a man makes the things belonging to his neighbour his own. [3] From those things it is evident that the lust of the ninth precept is that of the love of the world; and that the lusts of this precept are those of the love of self. For, as said before, all lusts pertain to love; for it is the love which covets. And as there are two evil loves to which all lusts have reference, namely, the love of the world and the love of self, it follows that the lust of the ninth precept has reference to the love of the world, and that the lusts of this precept have reference to the love of self, particularly to the love of ruling. That from these two loves all evils and the falsities therefrom take their rise may be seen above (n. 159, 171, 394, 506, 517, 650, 950, 951, 973, 982, 1010, 1016); and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem (n. 65-83).
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