1072. (v. 14) These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. That this signifies that they shall have a contest with those meant by the whore about the sanctity of the Word, and the Lord's power to save men; and that the Lord will rescue those who are willing to be led of him by means of the Word, and not by the woman, the whore - this is evident from the signification of fighting with the Lamb, as denoting to have contention about the sanctity of the Word, and about the power of the Lord to save men. For those who contend about these things fight with the Lord, but not against the Lord; for the Lord is the Word, and the Lord is salvation - and from the signification of, and the Lamb shall overcome them, as denoting that He shall rescue those who are willing to be instructed and led of Him by the Word. That these are they whom the Lord conquers, is evident from what follows in this verse, that those who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. These are all in the kingdoms subject to the papal dominion who only call the Pope the Head of the Church, and not in such a sense a vicar as to put him in the place of the Lord in the world, with the power of opening and shutting heaven at will, because this power is Divine, which cannot be transferred to any man; also, that it is not allowable for the Pope to change the holy things of the Word, and issue new edicts that do not agree therewith. These are those here meant.
Continuation concerning the Word:-
[2] That the Word is holy and Divine from inmost to outmost, is not evident to the man who leads himself, but to the man whom the Lord leads. For the man who leads himself sees only the external of the Word, and judges of it from its style; but the man whom the Lord leads judges of the external of the Word from the holiness which is in it. The Word is like a garden, which may be called a heavenly paradise, in which are dainties and delicacies of every kind; dainties from the fruits, and delicacies from the flowers; in the midst of which are trees of life, and near them fountains of living water. But round about are trees of the forest, and near them rivers. The man who leads himself judges of that paradise, which is the Word, from its circumference, where are the trees of the forest; but the man whom the Lord leads judges of it from the midst thereof, where are the trees of life. The man whom the Lord leads is actually in the midst of it and looks to the Lord; but the man who leads himself actually sits down in the circumference and looks outwards on the world.
[3] The Word is also like a fruit in which, inwardly, there is nutritious pulp, and in the midst of it seed-cases, in which is a prolific principle which germinates in good earth. The Word also is like a very beautiful infant wrapped up in swaddling clothes, all except the face, the infant being itself in the inmost heaven, the swaddling clothes in the lower heavens, and the general covering thereof on the earth. Because the Word is such, it is holy and Divine from inmost to outmost.
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