359. And he went forth conquering, and to conquer. That this signifies the removal of evils and thence of falsities at the end of life, and afterwards to eternity, is manifest from the signification of conquering in the Word, as denoting to conquer spiritually, which is, to subjugate evils and falsities: but because these are conquered only as they are removed by the Lord, hence by conquering is signified the removal of evils and falsities. (That evils and falsities are removed and not obliterated, or that man is withheld from them, and kept in good and truth by the Lord, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 166: and in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 865, 868, 887, 894, 929, 1581, 2116, 2406, 4564, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014, 9333-9338, 9446-9448, 9451, 10,057, 10,060.) It is said, He went forth conquering, and to conquer, and by, He went forth conquering, is signified the removal of evils and of the falsities thence to the end of life: and by to conquer, is signified, and afterwards to eternity; for he who combats against evils and falsities, and conquers them in the world even to the end of life, conquers them to eternity: for according to the character of a man at the end of his life in consequence of his past life, such he remains to eternity. The reason why to conquer signifies to conquer spiritually is, because the Word in its inmost is spiritual, or in its inmost treats of spiritual things, and not of earthly things: the earthly things which are in the sense of the letter, serve only its spiritual sense for a basis, in which spiritual things terminate and in which they are. The same is signified by conquering in the following passages:
[2] In the Revelation:
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (ii. 7). "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" (ii. 11). "He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations" (ii. 26). "I will make him that overcometh a pillar in the temple of God" (iii. 12). "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" (iii. 21). "They overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony" (xii. 11). "He that overcometh shall be master of all things; and I will be his God, and be shall be my son" (xxi. 7).
And in John:
Jesus [said] to the disciples, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but trust confidently, I have overcome the world (xvi. 33).
By the Lord's overcoming the world, is meant that He subjugated all the hells; for the world here signifies all evils and falsities, which are from hell (as also in John viii. 23: xii. 31; xiv. 17, 19, 30; xv. 18, 19: xvi. 8, 11: xvii. 9, 14, 16).
[3] The same is signified by conquering, where it is said of the Lord, in Isaiah:
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, sprinkled as to his garments from Bozrah? I have trodden the wine-press alone: and of the people not a man was with me: therefore have I trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; whence their victory is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have polluted all my raiment. But I have made their victory to descend into the earth" (lxiii. 1, 3, 6).
The Lord is here treated of, and His combats against the hells, and the subjugation of them. He Himself as to His Divine Human is here meant by "Edom, sprinkled as to his garments from Bozrah," and by His garments is signified the Word in the letter, for garments signify truths investing; and when said of the Lord, they signify Divine truths, consequently, the Word, for all Divine truths are therein (see above, n. 195). The Word in the sense of the letter is here also meant by garments, because therein are truths investing, for the sense of the letter serves for a garment to the spiritual sense: and because the Word, as to that sense, was torn asunder by the Jewish people, and thereby the Divine truth adulterated, it is said, "sprinkled as to his garments from Bozrah, their victory is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have polluted all my raiment." The garments from Bozrah signify the ultimate of the Word, which is the sense of its letter; their victory upon my garments, signifies the wrong interpretation and application of the truth by those who wrest the sense of the letter to favour their own loves, and the principles thence conceived, as was done by the Jews, and is also done at this day by many. This is meant by their victory upon my garments. That the Lord alone fought, is signified by, I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was not a man with me. The wine-press signifies combat from Divine truths against falsities, because in the wine-presses the wine is pressed out from the grapes; and by wine is signified Divine truth; hence to tread it alone, and of the people not a man was with me, signifies, alone, without the aid of any one. That the Lord subjugated the hells, is signified by, 1 have trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath. It is said, I have trodden and I have trampled, because of the wine-press, and they signify that he destroyed: it is said anger and wrath, because they were destroyed, and they are attributed in the sense of the letter to the Lord, when, notwithstanding, there is nothing of anger and wrath in Him, but in those who are against Him; from the appearance it is so said here and in many places elsewhere. That they were subjugated, and condemned to hell, is signified by, 1. have made their victory to descend into the earth, into the earth denoting into damnation, thus into hell. That by the earth is also signified damnation, may be seen above (n. 304 at the end).
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