1. And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. 2. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years;

3. And cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should not seduce the nations any more, until the thousand years were finished; and after this he must be loosed a little time. 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and who had not adored the beast, nor his image, nor had received his mark upon their forehead, and upon their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5. And the rest of the dead lived not again, until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6. Happy and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; upon these the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 7. And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8. And shall go forth to seduce the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9. And they went up upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven and consumed them. 10. And the Devil that seduced them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are; and shall be tormented day and night for ages of ages. 11. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged everyone according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

The Spiritual Sense

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

Concerning the removal of those who are meant by "the dragon,"' (verses 1-3), and then concerning the ascent of those from the lower earth, who worshiped the Lord and shunned evils as sins (verses 4-6). The judgment upon those in whose worship there was nothing of religion (verses 7-9). The damnation of the dragon (verse 10). The universal judgment upon the rest (verses 11-15).

The Contents of Each Verse Verse 1. "And I saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand," signifies the Lord's Divine operation into lower things, from His Divine power of shutting and opening, and of binding and loosing (n. 840). Verse 2. "And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan," signifies that they were withheld who are meant by the dragon, who, because they think sensually and not spiritually of matters of faith, are called "the old serpent," and because they are in evils as to life, are called the Devil, and because they are in falsities as to doctrine, are called Satan (n. 841). "And bound him a thousand years," signifies that they who are here meant by the dragon, were withdrawn and torn away from the rest in the world of spirits, that for a short time there might be no communication with them (n. 842). Verse 3. "And cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should not seduce the nations any more," signifies that the Lord entirely removed those who were in faith alone, and took away all communication between them and the rest, lest they should inspire into those who were to be taken up into heaven anything of their heresy (n. 843). "Until the thousand years were finished; and after this he must be loosed a little time," signifies, this only a little while, or for a short time, until they are taken up by the Lord into heaven who were in truths from good; after which they who are meant by "the dragon," were to be loosed for a short time, and a communication opened between them and the rest (n. 844). Verse 4. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them," signifies that the truths of the Word, according to which all are judged, were opened, and that then they were taken up from the lower earth, who had been concealed by the Lord, that they might not be seduced by the dragon and his beasts (n. 845). "And the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God," signifies that they were rejected by those who were in falsities from their own intelligence, because they worshiped the Lord, and lived according to the truths of His Word (n. 846, 847). "And who had not adored the beast, nor his image, nor had received his mark upon their forehead, and upon their hand," signifies who did not acknowledge and receive the doctrine of faith alone (n. 848). "And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," signifies who have been already for some time in conjunction with the Lord and in His kingdom (n. 849). Verse 5. "And the rest of the dead lived not again, until the thousand years were finished," signifies that besides these, now spoken of, none were taken up into heaven, till after the dragon was loosed, and that they were then proved and explored as to their quality (n. 850). "This is the first resurrection," signifies that salvation and life eternal primarily consist in worshiping the Lord and living according to His commandments in the Word, because by them conjunction is effected with the Lord and consociation with the angels of heaven (n. 851). Verse 6. "Happy and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection," signifies that they who come into heaven have the felicity of life eternal, and enlightenment, by conjunction with the Lord (n. 852). "Upon these the second death hath no power," signifies that they have not damnation (n. 853): "But they shall be priests of God and of Christ," signifies, because they are kept by the Lord in the good of love and thence in the truths of wisdom (n. 854). "And shall reign with Him a thousand years," signifies that they were already in heaven, when the rest who had not revived, that is, as yet received heavenly life, were in the world of spirits (n. 855). Verse 7. "And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison," signifies that after they who had before been concealed and guarded in the lower earth, were taken up by the Lord into heaven, and the New Heaven increased by them, all those who had confirmed themselves in falsities of faith, were to be let loose (n. 856). Ver. 8. "And shall go forth to seduce the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war," signifies that they who are here meant by the dragon, would draw to their party all those who were from the earths in the whole world of spirits, and lived there only in external natural worship and in no internal spiritual worship, and would stir them up against those who worshiped the Lord, and lived according to His commandments in the Word (n. 858, 859). "The number of whom is as the sand of the sea," signifies the multitude of such (n. 860). Verse 9. "And they went up upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city," signifies that being stirred up by the dragonists, they spurned every truth of the church, and endeavored to destroy all things of the New Church, and even its doctrine concerning the Lord and concerning life (n. 861, 862). "And fire came down from God out of heaven and consumed them," signifies that they were destroyed by the lusts of infernal love (n. 863). Verse 10. "And the Devil that seduced them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ages of ages," signifies that they who were in evils as to life, and in falsities as to doctrine, were cast into hell (n. 864). Verse 11. "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,"* signifies the universal judgment executed by the Lord upon all the former heavens that were occupied by such as were in civil and moral good, but in no spiritual good, thus who simulated Christians in externals, but in internals were devils, which heavens, with their earth, were totally dissipated, so that nothing of them appeared any more (n. 865). Verse 12. "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, signifies all who had died from the earth, and were now among those who were in the world of spirits, of whatever condition and quality, gathered together by the Lord for judgment (n. 866). "And the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life," signifies that the interiors of the minds of them all were laid open, and by the influx of light and heat from heaven, their quality was seen and perceived as to the affections which are of the love or the will, and thence as to the thoughts which are of faith or the understanding, as well the evil as the good (n. 867). "And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works," signifies that all were judged according to their internal life in externals (n. 868). Verse 13. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it," signifies the external and natural men of the church called to judgment (n. 869). "And death and hell gave up the dead which were in them," signifies the men of the church who were wicked in heart, who in themselves were devils and satans, called to judgment (n. 870). "And they were judged everyone according to their works," signifies here as before (n. 871). Verse 14. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire," signifies that the wicked in heart, who in themselves were devils and satans, and yet in externals like men of the church, were cast into hell among those who were in the love of evil and thence in the love of falsity agreeing with evil (n. 872). "This is the second death," signifies that with these there is damnation itself (n. 873). Verse 15. "And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire," signifies that they who had not lived according to the Lord's commandments in the Word, and had not believed in the Lord, were condemned (n. 874). * The original Latin omits "and no place was found for them."

THE EXPLANATION. Verse 1. And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand, signifies the Lord's operation into lower things, from His Divine power of shutting and opening, and of binding and loosing. By "an angel coming down from heaven," is meant the Lord (see n. 5, 170, 344, 465, 657, 718); also the Lord's operation (n. 415, 631, 633, 649); here into lower things, because it is said "coming down"; by having "the key of the abyss" is signified the Divine power of opening and shutting hell (see n. 62, 174); and "by having a great chain in his hand," is signified the endeavor and thence the act of binding and loosing. Hence it follows that there was not any key nor a chain in the Lord's hand; but it was so seen by John that it might be a representative of the Lord's Divine power; the opening and shutting of hell is also treated of two or three times in this chapter.