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2-24-1932

THE APOCALYPSE.

CHAPTER IX.

1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace: and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

3. And there came out of the sinoke locusts upon the earth : and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men, who had not the seal of God in their foreheads.

5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. 6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle: and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

9. And they had breast-plates, as it were breast-plates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10. And they had tails like unto scorpions; and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11. And they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit; whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon.

VOL. II.

1

ing from heaven into the church as existing with such persons, and effecting exploration and manifestation: "And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit," signifies, the opening of their hell: "And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace," signifies, the falses of the concupiscences of the natural man springing forth from their evil loves: "And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit," signifies, that thereby the light of truth was turned into thick darkness: "And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth, signifies, that from them were derived falses to the extreme or lowest degrees, such as prevail with those who have become sensual, and see and judge of all things by the senses and their fallacies: "And unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power," signifies, the power of persuading that their falses are truths: "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads," signifies, the divine providence of the Lord, that they should not be able to take away any truth and good of faith, nor any affection and perception of them, from any others than such as are not in charity and thence not in faith: "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months," signifies, that neither from these should they be able to take away the faculty of understanding and willing truth and good, but that they should only be able to bring on stupor for a short time: "And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man," signifies, that this is from their persuasive power: "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them," signifies, that it is their desire that, in matters of faith, the understanding should be shut up and the will closed, by which means spiritual light and life are extinguished, and that yet this cannot be done: "And the shapes of the locusts," signifies, the form and appearance of those who have confirmed in themselves faith separated from charity: "Were like unto horses prepared unto battle," signifies, that because they can reason, they appear to themselves to combat from the understanding of truth from the Word: "And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold," signifies, that they appeared to themselves as conquerors: "And their faces were as the faces of men," signifies, that they appeared to themselves to be wise: "And they had hair as the hair of women," signifies, that they appeared to themselves to be in the affection of truth: "And their teeth were as the teeth of lions," signifies, that sensual things, which are the ultimates of the life of the natural man, appeared with them to have power over all things: "And they had breast-plates, as it were breast-plates of iron," signifies, that argumentations from fallacies, by which they fight and prevail, appeared to them so powerful that they could not be refuted: "And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle," signifies, their reasonings as if they were from truths of doctrine from the Word fully understood, for which they must ardently fight: "And they had tails like unto scorpions," signifies, the truths of the Word falsified, by means of which they induce stupor: "And there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men five months," signifies, subtile falsifications of the Word, by which for a short time they darken and fascinate the understanding, and thus deceive and captivate: "And they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon," signifies, that they are in the satanic hell who are in falses from concupiscences, and by a total falsification of the Word have destroyed the church: "One woe is past; behold, there come two woes more hereafter," signifies, further lamentations over the state of the church.

"And the sixth angel sounded," signifies, the exploration and manifestation of their state of life in the reformed church who are not so wise, and yet place the all of religion in faith, and think of it alone, and live as they like: "And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet," signifies, a command from the Lord out of the spiritual heaven to those who were to explore and make manifest: "Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates," signifies, that external restraints should be removed from them, that the interiors of their minds might appear: "And the four angels were loosed," signifies, that when external restraints were removed, the interiors of their minds appeared: "Who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men," signifies, that they were perpetually in the effort to take away spiritual light and life from men of the church: "And the number of the armies of horsemen were two myriads of myriads," signifies, reasonings concerning faith alone, with which the interiors of their minds were filled, from the great abundance of the mere falses of evil: "And I heard the number of them," signifies, that the quality of them was perceived: "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them,” signifies, that it was then discovered that the reasonings of the interiors of their minds concerning faith alone were imaginary and visionary, and that they y themselves were infatuated with them: "Having breast-plates of fire, and of jacinth, and of brimstone," signifies, their imaginary and visionary argumentations from infernal love and self-derived intelligence, and from the concupiscences thence proceeding: "And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions," signifies, fantasies concerning faith alone, as if it were in power: "And out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone," signifies, that in their thoughts and discourses, viewed interiorly, there is nothing, and from them there proceeds nothing, but the love of self and of the world,

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