Apocalypse Revealed (Coulsons) n. 673

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673. 'Full of the wrath of the God living for ages of ages' signifies the evils and untruths about to appear and be disclosed by means of the pure and genuine truths and goods of the Word. It is said that the phials were 'full of the wrath of God' because they were full of 'plagues', by which the evils and untruths of the Church are signified (n. 657); but yet they were not full of these but were full of pure and genuine truths and goods out of the Word, by means of which the evils and untruths of the Church were disclosed. But still neither were there 'phials', and in them truths and goods, but by them is signified an influx out of heaven into the Church. Their being said to be 'full of the wrath of the Living God' is in accordance with the style of the Word in the sense of its letter, as can be established from the passages adduced above in which there is ascribed to Jehovah 'wrath' and 'growing anger'; and yet Jehovah does not have wrath and growing anger, but a man has it against Him. The reason why it is so said in the sense of the letter may be seen above (n. 525, 635, 658). From these considerations it is plain that by 'phials full of the wrath of the God living for ages of ages' is signified the dreadful evils and untruths of the Church about to appear and be disclosed by means of the goods and truths of the Word. Evils and untruths are disclosed in no other way than by means of truths and goods, for these are in the light of heaven, but untruths and evils are in the darkness of hell, and in the darkness nothing is discovered because nothing but evil and untruth appear there. But as a result of light out of heaven all things are disclosed, because they all appear in it. For the light of heaven is the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Wisdom.


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