THE SPIRITUAL SENSE

THE CONTENT OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER

Concerning an examination and making manifest [to show] the state of life of those in the Church of the Reformed, who are called learned and wise on account of the confirmation of faith separated from charity, and of justification and salvation by it alone; it treats of these from verse 1 to verse 12.

Concerning an examination and making manifest [to show the state of life] of those there who are not learned and wise in that manner, and are in faith alone, and live as they please; it treats of these from verse 13 to verse 19.

Lastly, concerning those there who know nothing but that faith is the all sufficient means of a man's salvation, and not anything besides (vers. 20, 21).

THE CONTENTS OF EACH OF THE VERSES

1. The fifth angel sounded signifies an examination and making manifest [to show] the state of life of those in the Church of the Reformed who are called learned and wise on account of the confirmation of faith separated from charity, and of justification and salvation by it alone. And I saw a star fallen out of heaven upon the land signifies spiritual Divine Truth inflowing out of heaven into the Church with those, examining and making manifest. And to him was given the key of the pit of the deep signifies their hell open. 2. And he opened the pit of the deep, and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace signifies the untruths of the lusts of the natural man pouring forth out of their evil loves. And the sun was darkened and the air by reason of the smoke of the pit signifies that as a consequence the light of truth became thick-darkness. 3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the land signifies that out of those lusts there were untruths in the outermost parts, such as those have who have become sensual and see and judge all things from the senses and the fallacies thereof. And to them was given power as the scorpions of the land have power signifies the power of persuading that their untruths are truths. 4. And it was said to them that they should not hurt the grass of the land, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only those men who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads signifies the Lord's Divine Providence, that they are not able to take away any truth and good of faith, nor the affection and perception thereof from any others than those who are not in charity and consequently not in faith. 5. And to them it was given that they should not kill those, but that they should torment them five months signifies that neither are they able to take away from these the faculty of understanding and of willing what is true and good, but that they are only able for a short time to induce stupefaction. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man signifies that this results from their persuasiveness. 6. And in those days shall men seek death, and not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them signifies that they are desirous that in matters of faith the understanding be closed up and the will blocked, by which means spiritual light and life are extinguished, and that nevertheless this cannot be done. 7. And the likenesses of the locusts signifies the appearances and images of those who have confirmed in themselves faith separated from charity. Were like horses prepared for war signifies that because they are able to reason they appeared to themselves as if fighting by virtue of an understanding of truth out of the Word. And upon their heads as it were crowns like gold signifies that they appeared to themselves as if conquerors. And their faces were as the faces of men signifies that they appeared to themselves as if wise. 8. And they had hair as the hair of women signifies that they appeared to themselves as if in the affection of truth. And their teeth were as [those] of a lion signifies that the sensual things which are the ultimates of the life of the natural man appeared to them to be in power over all things. 9. And they had breastplates as iron breastplates signifies the arguments derived from fallacies by means of which they fight and have strength appeared to them so strong that they could not be disproved. And the sound of their wings was as the sound of the chariots of many horses rushing to war signifies their reasonings as if they were derived from the truths of a doctrine out of the Word fully understood, for which they must fight ardently. 10. And they had tails like scorpions signifies the falsified truths of the Word by means of which they induce stupefaction. And there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt the men five months signifies the clever falsifications of the Word by means of which for a short time they darken and bewitch the understanding, and thus deceive and captivate. 11. And they had over them a king, the angel of the deep, whose Hebrew name is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon signifies that they are in the satanic hell who are in untruths derived from lusts, and they have destroyed the Church by the total falsification of the Word. 12. And one woe is past, behold there come two more woes hereafter signifies further lamentations over the state of the Church. 13. And the sixth angel sounded signifies an examination and making manifest [to show] the state of life in the case of those in the Church of the Reformed who are not wise in that manner, and yet place everything of religion in faith, and think of it alone, and live as they please. 14. And I heard one voice out of the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet signifies a command from the Lord out of the spiritual heaven to those who were examining and making manifest. Release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates signifies that external bonds should be taken away from them so that the interiors of their minds might appear. 15. And the four angels were released signifies that with external bonds taken away the interiors of their minds appeared. Prepared in an hour in a day and a month and a year, that they might slay a third part of the men signifies those in a perpetual endeavour to take away spiritual light and life from the men of the Church. 16. And the number of the armies of horsemen two myriads of myriads signifies the reasonings concerning faith alone with which the interiors of their mind were crammed full derived from sheer untruths of evil in abundance. And I heard the number of them signifies the quality thereof perceived. 17. And thus I saw the horses in a vision, and those sitting upon them signifies the discovery then that the reasonings of the interiors of their mind about faith alone were imaginary and visionary, and that they themselves were insane because of them. Having breastplates fiery, blue (hyacinthus) and sulphurous signifies their imaginary and visionary arguments derived from infernal love and self-intelligence and from the resultant lusts. And the heads of the horses as the heads of lions signifies the phantasies about faith alone as though it were powerful. And out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and sulphur signifies that in their thoughts and discussions interiorly regarded there is nothing, and there proceeds out of them nothing but the love of self and the world, the pride of self-intelligence, and the lust of evil and untruth derived from those two. 18. As a result of (ex) these three things a third part of the men was slain, by reason of the fire and the smoke and the sulphur issuing out of their mouths signifies that it is as a result of those things that the men of the Church perish. 19. And their power was in their mouth signifies that they have strength only by discourse confirming faith. For their tails were like serpents having heads, and with these (in his) they do hurt signifies the reason, that they are sensual and inverted, speaking true things by mouth but rendering them false because of the principle that makes the head of their religion, and thus they deceive. 20. And the rest of the men who were not slain in these plagues signifies those in the Church of the Reformed who are not in this manner spiritually dead as a result of visionary reasonings and the love of self, the pride of self-intelligence and the consequent lusts, like those before mentioned, and yet make faith alone the head of their religion. Yet repented not from the works of their hands signifies that neither did they flee from the things of their proprium, which are evils of every kind, as from sins. That they should not adore demons signifies that thus they are in the evils of their own lusts, and make one with their like in hell. And idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood signifies that thus they are in a worship derived from nothing but untruths. Which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk signifies in which there is nothing of spiritual and truly rational life. 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their enchantments, nor of their whoredoms, nor of their thefts signifies that the heresy concerning faith alone induces on their hearts such a dullness, fickleness and hardness that they think nothing of the precepts of the Decalogue, nor indeed of any sin that there should be a fleeing from it because it is on the side of the devil and against God.

THE EXPOSITION

[verse 1] 'And the fifth angel sounded' signifies an examination and making manifest [to show] the state of life of those in the Church of the Reformed who are called learned and wise on account of the confirmation of faith separated from charity, and of justification and salvation by it alone. That it treats of these in the things now following as far as verse 12* is established from the details understood in the spiritual sense. That by 'to sound' is signified to examine and make manifest the state of the Church and consequently the state of life in the case of those for whom religion is faith alone may be seen above (n. 397). * The Original has usque ad Vers. 13, that is, up to but not including verse 13.