Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 99

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99. And that thou canst not bear them that are evil. That this signifies that they reject evils, is evident from the signification of not being able to bear, as being to reject, for what a man cannot bear, he rejects. The reason why those who are evil signify evils, is, that the angels think abstractedly from persons, and hence, when, in the sense of the letter of the Word, the evil are spoken of, they think of evils; for by the evil are meant man who are evil, thus persons. The reason why such is the thought of the angels is, that they are in heavenly wisdom, and that wisdom has extension into the whole heaven; therefore if their thought should have reference to persons, that extension would perish, and with it also their wisdom. In this, what is spiritual differs from what is natural. This is now the reason why by the evil are signified evils. (Concerning the wisdom of angels, as having extension into the whole heaven, through their thinking apart from space, from time, and from what is material, see the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 169, 191-199, 265-275; and that they think apart from persons may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 8343, 8985, 9007.)


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