1. And a great sign was seen in heaven; a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 2. And being with child she cried out in travail, and was in torment to bring forth. 3. And another sign in heaven was seen; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. 4. And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to earth; and the dragon stood before the woman [who was] about to bring forth, that after she had brought forth he might devour her offspring. 5. And she brought forth a male child (filius masculus), who is going to lead all nations to pasture with an iron rod; and her offspring was caught up to God and His throne. 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place made ready by God, that they may nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7. And a war was waged in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. 8. And they did not prevail, and their place was no longer found in heaven. 9. And the great dragon was cast out; that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, leading the entire world astray, was cast out into the land, and his angels were cast out with him. 10. And I heard a great voice saying in heaven, Now have the salvation and power become effective, and the kingdom of our God and the sovereignty of His Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been cast out, accusing them before our God day and night. 11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their own soul even unto death. 12. For this rejoice, O heavens, and you inhabitants therein. Woe to those inhabiting the land and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has very little time. 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast out into the land, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the son. 14. And to the woman were given the two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her own place, wherein she might be nourished a the [and times] and half a time, away from the face of the serpent. 15. And the serpent cast forth after the woman out of his mouth water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. 16. And the land helped the woman, and the land opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon cast forth out of his mouth. 17. And the dragon was in a rage against the woman, and went away to wage war with the remnant of her seed, keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ. 18*. And I stood upon the sand of the sea. * AV Chap. xiii 1.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE

THE CONTENT OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER

It treats here of the New Church and its doctrine. By 'the woman' here is understood the New Church, and by 'the offspring' that she brought forth, its doctrine. It also treats of those in the present Church who because of doctrine believe in a Trinity of persons, in a duality of the person of Christ, and in justification by faith alone. These are understood by 'the dragon'. Afterwards it treats of their persecution of the New Church on account of its doctrine, and its protection by the Lord until from a few it increases among many.

THE CONTENTS OF EACH OF THE VERSES 1. And a great sign was seen in heaven signifies revelation by the Lord concerning His New Church in the heavens and on earth (in terris), and concerning the difficult reception of and the opposition to its doctrine. A woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet signifies the Lord's New Church in the heavens, which is the New Heaven, and the Lord's New Church about to be on earth, which is the New Jerusalem. And upon [her] head a crown of twelve stars signifies its wisdom and intelligence derived from cognitions of Divine Good and Divine Truth out of the Word. 2. And being with child she cried out in travail, and was in torment to bring forth signifies the nascent doctrine of the New Church, and the difficult reception thereof on account of resistance by those who are understood by 'the dragon'. 3. And another sign in heaven was seen signifies a revelation by the Lord concerning those who are against the New Church and its doctrine. And behold a great red dragon signifies those in the Church of the Reformed who make God three and the Lord two, and who separate charity from faith, and make faith saving and not charity at the same time. Having seven heads signifies insanity resulting from the truths of the Word falsified and profaned. And ten horns signifies much power. And upon his heads seven diadems signifies all the truths of the Word falsified and profaned. 4. And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to earth signifies that by means of falsifications of the truths (veritas) of the Word they have alienated all the spiritual cognitions of good and truth from the Church, and by applications to untruths they have quite destroyed it. And the dragon stood before the woman about to bring forth, that after she had brought forth he might devour her offspring signifies that those who are understood by 'the dragon' are doing their utmost to extinguish the doctrine of the New Church at its first appearance. 5. And she brought forth a male child (filius masculus) signifies the doctrine of the New Church. Who is going to lead all nations to pasture with an iron rod signifies which, by means of truths derived from the sense of the letter of the Word and at the same the by means of rational things derived from natural light, will convince all who are willing to be convinced who are in dead worship derived from faith separated from charity. And her offspring was caught up to God and His throne signifies the protection of the doctrine by the Lord, and its being guarded by means of angels of heaven. 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness signifies the Church at first among a few. Where she has a place made ready by God, that they may nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days signifies the state of that Church then, that meanwhile provision may be made with many until it increases to its full stature. 7. And a war was waged in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels signifies the untruths of the former Church fighting against the truths of the New Church. 8. And they did not prevail, and their place was no longer found in heaven signifies that they had been convicted of being in untruths and evils but still persisted in them, and that therefore they were forcibly separated from conjunction with heaven and cast down. 9. And the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan signifies those turned away from the Lord to themselves and from heaven to the world, and consequently being in the evils of lusts and in untruths. Leading the entire world astray signifies that they pervert all things of the Church. Was cast out into the land, and his angels [were cast out] with him signifies that [they are cast] into the world of spirits, which is intermediate between heaven and hell, from which world there is a direct conjunction with the men of the earth. 10. And I heard a great voice saying in heaven, Now have the salvation and power become effective, and the kingdom of our God and the sovereignty of His Christ signifies the joy of the angels of heaven that now the Lord Only reigns in heaven and in the Church, and that they are saved who believe in Him. Because the accuser of our brothers has been cast out, accusing them before our God day and night signifies that those who have taken a position against the doctrine of the New Church have been removed by means of the last judgment. 11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony signifies victory by the Divine Truth of the Word and by the acknowledgment of the Lord. And they did not love their own soul even unto death signifies those who have not loved themselves more than the Lord. 12. For this rejoice, O heavens, and you inhabitants therein signifies the new state of heaven, that they are in the Lord and the Lord in them. Woe to those inhabiting the land and the sea, because the devil has come down to you having great wrath signifies a lamentation over those in the Church who are in untruths of faith, and consequently are in evils of life, because they are in conjunction with the dragonists. Knowing that he has very little time signifies because [the dragon] knows that the New Heaven has been formed, and that thus a New Church on earth is imminent, and that then he with his like will be cast into hell. 13. When the dragon saw that he was cast out into the land, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the son signifies that after being cast down the dragonists in the world of spirits at once began to attack the New Church on account of its doctrine. 14. And to the woman were given the two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her own place signifies Divine circumspection on behalf of that Church, and protection while it is still among a few. Wherein she might be nourished a the and times and half a the away from the face of the serpent signifies that, on account of the craftiness of those leading astray, provision that it may come among many is made with circumspection until it increases to its full stature. 15. And the serpent cast forth after the woman out of his mouth water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river signifies reasonings derived from plentiful untruths for the purpose of destroying the Church. 16. And the land helped the woman, and the land opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon cast forth out of his mouth signifies that these plentiful reasonings fall to nothing as a result of the spiritual truths rationally understood which the Michaels of whom the New Church [consists] bring forward. 17. And the dragon was in a rage against the woman, and went away to wage war with the remnant of her seed, keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ signifies the hatred kindled in those who believe themselves to be wise by virtue of confirmations in favour of a mystical union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord and in favour of justification by faith alone, against those who acknowledge the Only Lord as the God of heaven and earth and that the Decalogue is the law of life, while they [the dragonists] are attacking novitiates with the intention of leading them astray. 18. And I stood upon the sand of the sea signifies his state now spiritual natural.

THE EXPOSITION

[verse 1] 'And a great sign was seen in heaven' signifies a revelation by the Lord concerning His New Church in the heavens and on earth (in terris), and concerning the difficult reception of and opposition to its doctrine. By the 'sign' out of heaven here is understood revelation concerning things to come, and by 'a great sign seen in heaven' is understood revelation concerning the New Church, for the woman encompassed with the sun, of whom it treats in this chapter, signifies that Church. The 'male' that she brought forth signifies its doctrine. Her being 'in torment' until she should bring forth signifies the difficult reception thereof. That the dragon wished to devour the male, and that afterwards he wished to persecute the woman, signifies the opposition to it. These are the things that are understood by a great sign seen in heaven'. In the Word a 'sign' is said of things to come, and then there is a revelation; and it is said of the truth (veritas), and then there is a testification; and it is also said of the quality of a state or a thing, and then there is a manifestation. A 'sign' is said of things to come, and then there is a revelation, in the following places:-

They shall tell us what shall happen, that we may know the latter end of them, or make us hear things to come, show signs into the future Isa. xli 22, 23.

The disciples said to Jesus, What is the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? Matt. xxiv 3; Mark xiii 4; Luke xxi 7.

There shall he signs out of heaven, and signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars Luke xxi 11, 25.

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man Matt. xxiv 30.

To King Hezekiah it was said, This is the sign unto thee that Jehovah is going to do this word, the shadow shall he brought hack on the steps of Ahaz. Afterwards Hezekiah said, What is the sign that I am about to go up into the house of Jehovah? Isa. xxxviii 7, 8, 22;

and elsewhere. That a 'sign' is said of the truth (veritas), and that then there is a testification, and also it is said of the quality of the state, and that then there is a manifestation, is plain from other places in the Word.