signifies, hearing the Lord and doing his precepts: with white robes, and palms in their hands,” signifies cation and conjunction with the superior heavens, and from divine truths: "And cried with a loud voice, say tion to our God that sitteth upon the throne and unto signifies, an acknowledgment from the heart that the L Saviour: "And all the angels stood round about the about the elders, and the four animals," signifies, all versal heaven: "And fell before the throne on their worshiped God," signifies, the humiliation of their from humiliation, adoration of the Lord: "Saying, An fies, divine verity and confirmation therefrom: "Bl glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,” signifies, the di ual things of the Lord: "And honor, and power, a signifies, the divine celestial things of the Lord: "E God for ever and ever,” signifies, these things in the from the Lord to eternity: "Amen,” signifies, the con "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, Wha that are arrayed in white robes? and whence came th I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest," signifies, a desire c and the will of interrogating, and the answer and in "And he said unto me, These are they that come on tribulation," signifies, that they are those who have bee tations, and have fought against evils and falses: washed their robes,” signifies, who have cleansed thei principles from the evils of falsity: "And made ther the blood of the Lamb," signifies, and purified them falses of evil by truths, and thus have been reformed by "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serv and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the th dwell among them," signifies, that they are in the prese Lord, and constantly and faithfully live according to which they receive from him in his church: "They sha no more, neither thirst any more," signifies, that herea shall be no deficiency of goods and truths with them: shall the sun light on them, nor any heat," signifies, that they shall have no lusts to evil nor to the false of evil: Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed the fies, that the Lord alone will teach them: "And shall unto living fountains of waters," signifies, and lead the truths of the Word to conjunction with himself: "And wipe away all tears from their eyes,” signifies, that the longer be in-combats against evils and their falses, and t sorrow, but in goods and truths, and thence in joys cele the Lord.

66

ir hands," signifies, commun Derior heavens, and confesar th a loud voice, saying, S e throne and unto the Land The heart that the Lord round about the throw.ad mals," signifies, all in t e throne on their faces Diliation of their bean, E.

THE EXPLANATION.

342. "AND after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth," signifies, the universal heaven now in the effort to execute the last judg. ment on those who were in the world of spirits. Many things now follow concerning the state of the spiritual world previous to the last judginent, which no one could know but by revelation from the Lord. And since it has been granted me to see in what manner the last judgment was performed, and also the changes which preceded it, and the arrangements which ensued; I am thereby enabled to explain the signification of all the particulars contained in this and the following chapters. By the four angels is here signified the universal heaven; by the four corners of the earth is signified the universal world of spirits, which is in the midst between heaven and hell; for the last judgment was executed on those who were in the world of spirits, but not on any one in heaven, nor on any one in hell. The reason why the angels signify heaven, is, because an angel, in the supreme sense, means the Lord as to the Divine Humanity, n. 344; and as heaven is heaven from the Lord, by the angels is also signified heaven. The four angels here signify the universal heaven, because they were seen standing on the four corners of the earth, and by the four corners are signified the four quarters. The reason why the above words signify the effort of the universal heaven to execute a last judgment, is, because the Lord, when the judgment was at hand, caused the heavens to draw near over the world of spirits, and by this approach of the heavens, such a change of state in the interiors of the minds of those who were below, was effected, that they saw nothing but terrors before their eyes. That corners signify quarters, and thence four corners all quarters, may appear from the following passages: : "Ye shall measure from without the city, the corner towards the east, the corner towards the south, the corner towards the west, and the corner towards the north," Numb. xxxv. 5. "Thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle for the south side [cor for the north side [corner]," Exod. xxvi. 18, "And a court for the south side [corner,] for side [corner,] for the west side [corner,] and fo side [corner]," Exod. xxii. 9, 11, 12, 13. quarters are also called the four corners frequ Ezekiel, as in chap. xlvii. 18, 19, 20, and xlv cause corners signify quarters, therefore they s things, as all things relating to heaven or hell, o and truth, as is plain from these passages: Satan out to "deceive the nations which are in the four of the earth," Apoc. xx. 8. "I have cut off the their corners are desolate," Zeph. iii. 6. "Is gathered together as one man, and the corners C people stood up," Judges xx. 1, 2., "A scep rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Numb. xxiv. 17. "A day of the trumpet and and against the high corners," Zeph. i. 16. scatter them into corners," Deut. xxxii. 26. corner signifies the ultimate which sustains things s as a foundation does a house, and thus also all thi pears from these passages: "Behold, I lay in Zi foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner Isaiah xxviii. 16. "And they shall not take of th for a corner," Jerem. li. 26. "And Judah shal corner stone," Zech.x. 4. "The stone which the ers refused is become the head of the corner," cxviii. 22, Matt. xxi. 42, Mark xii. 10, Luke xx.

343. "Holding the four winds of the earth, th wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the s on any tree," signifies, a withholding and restrain the Lord of a nearer and thence more powerful into inferior things, where the good were in conju with the wicked. It is to be noted that the last juc takes place when the wicked are multiplied, belo heavens in the world of spirits, to such a degree, th angels in the heavens cannot subsist in their state o and wisdom; for in this case they have no suppo foundation to rest upon; and as this is occasioned L increase of the wicked below, therefore the Lord, in

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Exod. xxvi. 18, 20,

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to preserve their state, flows in with his divinity more and more strongly, and this continues till they can no longer be preserved by any influx, without a separation of the wicked, that are below, from the good, which is effected by the letting down and drawing near of the heavens, and thence by a stronger influx, until it at length becomes insupportable to the wicked, upon which they flee away, and cast themselves into hell. This is also what is signified in the foregoing chapter by these words: "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Apoc. vi. 16. But to proceed to the explanation. By the four winds is signified the influx of the heavens; by the earth, the sea, and every tree, are signified all inferior principles and the things that are therein; by the earth and sea, all inferior principles: and by every tree, all things therein That wind signifies influx, properly the influx of truth into the understanding, may appear from the following passages: "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live," Ezek. xxxvii. 9, 10. There were seen four chariots, at which there were four horses, " these are the four winds of the heavens," Zech. vi. 1, 5. “Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, but thou canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth," John iii. 7, 8. The Maker of the earth " hath established the world by his wisdom, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures," Jerem. x. 12, 13, li. 15, 16, Psalm cxxxv. 7. Jehovah "causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He showeth his Word unto Jacob, his statutes and judgments unto Israel," Psalm cxlvii. 17, 18, 19. "Stormy wind fulfilling his Word," Psalm cxlviii. 8. Jehovah "maketh his angels winds," Psalm civ. 3, 4. Jehovah "did fly upon the wings of the wind," Psalm xviii. 10, 11, Psalm civ. 3. The wings of the wind are divine truths which flow in: therefore the Lord is called "The breath of our nostrils," Lament. iv. 20; and it is written, that he breathed into the nostrils of Adam the soul of lives, Gen. i that "He breathed on his disciples, and said, F the Holy Ghost," John xx. 21, 22. The H (or Spirit) is the divine truth proceeding from whose influx into the disciples was represented, signified, by his breathing upon them. That respiration signify the influx of divine truth int derstanding, is from the correspondence of the l the understanding, on which subject see The Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and th Wisdom, n. 371-429. As, therefore, a ne stronger divine influx through the heavens truths among the wicked, therefore wind sig dispersion of truth among them, and thence t junction with hell, and destruction; as may be s these passages: "And upon Elam will I bring winds from the four quarters of heaven, and w them," Jerem. xlix. 36. "Thou shalt fan th the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlu scatter them," Isaiah xli. 16. "The breath of like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it,” Isa 33. The contrivers of iniquity perish "by the God, and by the breath of his nostrils are th sumed," Job iv. 8. "The foundations of the wo discovered at thy rebuke, O Jehovah, at the bla. breath of thy nostrils," Psalm xviii. 15. “I sa vision, and behold, the four winds of the heave upon the great sea. And four great beasts ca Dan. vii. 2, 3, and following verses. "Behold, wind of Jehovah is gone forth in fury, it s grievously upon the head of the wicked," Jerer 19, xxx. 23. "So persecute them with thy sto make them afraid with thy tempest," Psalm lxx "The way of Jehovah is in the whirlwind a storm," Nahum i. 3, besides other places, as Jere 32, Ezek. xiii. 13, Hosea viii. 7, Amos i. 14, Z 14, Psalm xi. 6, Psalm 1. 3, Psalm lv. 8, Psal where it is thus written: "For he commande raiseth the stormy wind. He maketh the stor calm, so that the waves thereof are still," verse