839. I looked forth into the world of spirits, and saw an army upon red and black horses. They that sat upon them appeared like apes, with their faces and breasts turned towards the loins and tails of the horses, and with the backs of their heads and their backs towards the necks and heads of the horses; and the reins hung around the necks of the riders. And they cried out, "Let us fight against them that ride upon the white horses." And they pulled the reins with both hands, and thus pulled back the horses from the fight; and this continually. Then two angels descended from heaven, and drew near to me, and said, "What do you see?" And I related that I saw this ludicrous company of horsemen, and asked what it was, and who they were. [2] And the angels answered, "They are from the place which is called Armageddon (Rev. 16:16), where they have been gathered together to the number of some thousands, to fight against those who are of the Lord's New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem. They spoke in that place concerning the church and religion; and yet there was not anything of the church with them, because there was not any spiritual truth; nor anything of religion, because there was not any spiritual good. They spoke there on both subjects with the mouth and with the lips, but for the reason that by means of them they might have dominion. They learned in their youth to confirm faith alone, the Trinity of God, and the duality of Christ; and when they were promoted to more eminent offices in the church, they retained those things for some time; but as they then began to think no more about God and heaven, but about themselves and the world, and thus not about eternal happiness and felicity, but about temporal eminence and opulence, they rejected the doctrinals acquired in their youth from the interiors of the rational mind, which communicate with heaven, and hence are in the light of heaven, into the exteriors of the rational mind, which communicate with the world, and hence are only in the light of the world; and at length they thrust them down into the sensual natural; whence the doctrinals of the church have become with them things of the mouth only, and are no longer of the thought from reason, and still less of the affection from love; and because they have made themselves such, they do not admit any genuine truth which is of the church, nor any genuine good which is of religion. The interiors of their minds have become comparatively like bottles filled with iron filings mixed with powdered sulphur, into which if water be poured, there first arises a heat, and afterwards a flame, by which the bottles are burst. In like manner, when they hear anything about living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, and this enters through the ears, they are violently heated and inflamed, and reject it as a thing that would burst their heads. [3] "These are they who appeared to you like apes riding, with the body turned round, upon red and black horses, with the reins around their necks; since they who do not love the truth and the good of the church from the Word, will not look at the forward parts of any horse, but at his hinder parts; for 'a horse' signifies the understanding of the Word; 'a red horse' the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good, and 'a black horse' the understanding of the Word destroyed as to truth. The reason why they cried out to fight against those riding upon the white horses is that 'a white horse' signifies the understanding of the Word as to truth and good. They were seen to pull back the horses by their necks, because they feared the combat, lest the truth of the Word should come to many, and so into the light. This is the interpretation." [4] The angels said further, "We are from the society in heaven which is called Michael, and were commanded by the Lord to descend into the place called Armageddon, whence the company of horsemen was seen by you to burst forth. By 'Armageddon,' with us in heaven, is signified the state and purpose of fighting from falsified truths, arising from the love of command and supereminence; and because we perceive with you the desire of knowing about the combat there, we will tell about it. After our descent from heaven, we approached the place called Armageddon, and saw there some thousands gathered together. Nevertheless we did not enter into that assembly; but there were two houses on the southern side of that place, where there were boys with their masters. We went in thither, and they received us kindly. We were delighted with their company. Their faces were all handsome, from the life in their eyes, and from the zeal in their discourse. The life in their eyes was from the perception of truth, and the zeal in their discourse from the affection of truth; on which account also caps had been given them from heaven, the borders of which were ornamented with bands of golden threads interwoven with pearls; and garments were also given, variegated with white and blue colors. We asked them whether they looked into the neighboring place, which is called Armageddon. They said that they did so through a window under the roof of the house, and that they saw there a congregation, but under various figures, now as tall men, and now not as men, but as statues and carved idols, and an assembly around them bending the knees. They also appeared to us under various forms; now as men, now as leopards, now as goats; the latter with horns bent downwards, with which they dug up the ground. We interpreted those metamorphoses, whom they represented and what they signified. [5] "But to the point: They that were gathered together, when they heard that we had entered into those houses, said among themselves, 'What are they doing with those boys? Let us send some from our assembly to cast them out.' And they sent, and when they came, they said to us, 'Why have you entered into those houses? Whence are you? We command you by authority to depart.' "But we answered, 'You cannot command that by authority. You are, indeed, in your own eyes, like Anakim, and they who are here like dwarfs. But still you have no power and right here, unless perchance by cunning from your three places of diversion here, which, however, will not avail. Wherefore take back word to your companions, that we were sent hither from heaven, to ascertain whether there is any religion with you, or not; and if not, that you should be cast out of this place. Wherefore propose to them this, in which is the very essential of the church, and thence of religion, how they understand these words in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done as in heaven so also upon the earth."' On hearing this, they said at first, 'What is this?' and then that they would propose it. And they went away, and told these things to their companions, who answered, 'What is this proposition and its nature?' Yet they understood the arcanum, that they wished to know, whether those things confirm the way to God the Father according to our faith; wherefore they said, 'The words are clear, that one must pray to God the Father; and because Christ is our Savior, that we must pray to God the Father for the Son's sake.' And they soon concluded in indignation, that they would go to us, and declare it orally; saying also, that they would pull our ears. They also went out of that place, and entered a grove near the two houses in which these boys were with their masters; where was a level place elevated like a gymnasium. And they took hold of each other's hands, and entered into the gymnasium, where we were, and were waiting for them. "There were there sods cut from the ground like hillocks; upon them then they reclined; for they said among themselves, 'Let us not stand before them, but sit.' And then one of them, who could make himself appear like an angel of light, on whom it had been enjoined by the rest to speak with us, said, 'You have proposed to us to open our mind concerning the first words in the Lord's Prayer, how we understand them. I say to you, therefore, that we understand them thus; that we must pray to God the Father; and because Christ is our Savior, and we are saved by His merit, that we must pray to God the Father from faith in His merit.' [6] "But we then said to them, 'We are from the society of heaven which is called Michael, and we were sent to visit and inquire, whether you that are gathered together in this place have any religion or not; and we cannot know this otherwise than by questioning concerning God; for the idea of God enters into the whole of religion, and by it conjunction is effected, and by conjunction salvation. We in heaven read that prayer daily, like men on earth; and we do not then think of God the Father, because He is invisible; but we think of Him in His Divine Human, because in this He is visible; and in this He is called by you Christ, but by us the Lord; and thus to us the Lord is the Father in heaven. The Lord also taught that He and the Father are one; that the Father is in Him and He in the Father; and that he who seeth Him seeth the Father; also that no one cometh to the Father but by Him; and likewise that it is the will of the Father, that they should believe in the Son; and that he that believeth not in the Son, cannot see life; yea, that the anger of God abideth upon him. From which it is manifest, that the Father is approached through Him and in Him. And because it is so, He also taught that all authority is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. It is said in that prayer, "hallowed be Thy name, and Thy kingdom come"; and we have demonstrated from the Word that His Divine Human is the Father's name; and that the Father's kingdom is then come, when the Lord is immediately approached; and not at all when God the Father is approached immediately; wherefore also the Lord said to the disciples, that they should preach the kingdom of God; and this is the kingdom of God.' [7] "Moreover we instructed them from the Word, that the Lord came into the world, that He might glorify His Human, for the end that the angels of heaven and the men of the church might be united to God the Father through Him and in Him; for He taught that they who believe in Him are in Him, and He in them; which is as the church teaches, that they are in the body of Christ. Finally we informed them, that at this day a New Church is being established by the Lord, which is meant by 'the New Jerusalem' in Revelation; in which will be the worship of the Lord alone, as it is in heaven; and that thus everything which is contained in the Lord's Prayer from beginning to end will be fulfilled. All the things which we have said above we confirmed from the Word in the Evangelists, and from the Word in the Prophets, in such abundance that they were tired of hearing. [8] "First. We confirmed that 'our Father in the heavens' is the Lord Jesus Christ, from these passages: