829. And He treadeth the wine-press of the wine of the fury and anger of God Almighty, signifies that the Lord endured alone all the evils of the church, and all the violence offered to the Word, thus to Himself. By "the wine of the fury and anger of God" are signified the goods and truths of the church, which are from the Word, profaned and adulterated, thus the evils and falsities of the church (n. 316, 632, 635, 758). By "treading the wine-press" of that wine is signified to endure them, to fight against them, and to condemn them, and thus to liberate the angels in the heavens and the men on earth from infestation by them. For the Lord came into the world to subjugate the hells, which had then increased so that they began to infest the angels; and He subjugated them by combats against them, and thus by temptations; for spiritual temptations are nothing else than combats against the hells. And because every man is in consort with spirits as to his affections and thence thoughts, an evil man with spirits from hell and a good man with angels from heaven, therefore when the Lord subjugated the hells, He not only liberated the angels of heaven from infestation, but also the men of the earth. [2] This therefore is what is signified by these words in Isaiah:
He hath borne our diseases, and He hath carried our pains; also He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; and by His wound healing is given to us; Jehovah hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all; He sustained exaction; He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people was He stricken; and He hath laid guilt upon His soul (Isa. 53:4-10). These things are concerning the Lord, and concerning His temptations by the hells, and at length by the Jews, by whom He was crucified. The Lord's combats are also described in Isa. 63:1-10; where are these words also:
Thy garments are as of him that treadeth in the wine-press; I have trodden the wine-press alone (Isa. 63:2-3). By this is signified that He alone endured the evils and falsities of the church, and all the violence offered to the Word, thus to Himself. It is said, the violence offered to the Word, and thus to Himself, because the Lord is the Word; and violence is offered to the Word and to the Lord Himself by the Roman Catholic religious persuasion, also by the religious persuasion with the Reformed concerning faith alone. The Lord endured the evils and falsities of both, when He executed the Last Judgment, by which He again subjugated the hells; and unless they had been subjugated again, no flesh could have been saved; as He says in Matt. 24:21, 22.
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