401. 'And all the green grass was burnt' signifies thus every living thing of faith. By 'to be burnt' is signified to perish, as just above (n. 400). By 'green grass' in the Word is signified that good and truth of the Church or of faith which in the natural man is born first. A similar thing is signified also by 'the herb of the field'; and because faith is alive by virtue of good and truth, therefore by 'all the green grass was burnt' is signified that every living thing of faith perished; and every living thing of faith perishes whenever there is not any affection of good and perception of truth, of which just above. That this is signified by 'grass' is also the result of correspondence; and therefore those who separate faith from charity, not only in doctrine but also in life, in the spiritual world live in a wilderness where there is not even grass. As a 'fruit tree' signifies a man as to affections of good and perceptions of truth, so 'green grass' signifies a man as to that of the Church which first with him is conceived and also born, and 'grass not green' signifies the same thing utterly lost. In general all the things that are in gardens, 'forests, fields and plains', signify a man as to something of the Church, or what is the same, something of the Church with him. This is because they correspond. That 'grass' [corresponds in this way] can be established from these passages:-
The voice said, Cry, and he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and the grass withers, and the flower falls, because the wind has blown upon it; truly the people is grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, and the Word of our God shall stand for ever Isa. xl 5-8.
The inhabitants were made herb of the field, herb of grass, grass of the roofs, and meadow land scorched before the crop Isa. xxxvii 27; 2 Kings xix 26.
I will pour out My blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall sprout forth in the midst of the grass Isa. xliv 3, 4;
and elsewhere (as Isa. li 12; Ps. xxxvii 2; Ps. ciii 15; Ps. cxxix 6; Deut. xxxii 2). That by 'verdant' or 'green' is signified what is living or alive is plain in Jer. xi 16; xvii 8; Ezek. xvii 24; xx 47 [H.B. xxi 3]; Hosea xiv 8 [H.B. 9]; Ps. xxxvii 35; Ps. lii 8 [H.B. 10]; Ps. xcii so [H.B. 11]. Something similar to what is here said in the Apocalypse came to pass in Egypt, namely that:-
By reason of mingled hail and fire every tree and every herb of the field was burnt up Exod. ix 23-35 Ps. lxxviii 47-49; Ps. cv 32, 33.
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