and goods of the church have been banished by means of this faith alone, it follows that falsities and evils therefrom have taken their place, and as a consequence the church is devastated. Yea, by means of this truth that man of himself can do no good that is good, all the truths and goods of the church are cast aside, as if this made it permissible for man to refrain from doing them, because if they are not good they are rather damnable than saving. And it is wonderful that through a single truth wrongly understood all the truths and goods of the church in the whole complex should have been cast aside. This is what is signified in the spiritual sense by "the number of the beast, six hundred sixty-six." CHAPTER XIV. 1. And I saw, and behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty-four thousand having the name of His Father written upon their foreheads. 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard a voice of harpers harping with their harps. 3. And they were singing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four animals and the elders: and no one was able to learn the song save the hundred forty-four thousand, those bought from the earth. 4. These are they that were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were bought from among men, firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are spotless before the throne of God. 6. And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people, 7. Saying with a great voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come; and adore Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters. 8. And another angel followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon that great city, for she hath given all nations to drink of the wine of the anger of her whoredom. 9. And a third angel followed them, saying with a great voice, If any one have adored the beast and his image, and have received his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10. Even he shall drink of the wine of the anger of God, mixed with unmixed wine in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb; 11. And the smoke of their torment shall go up unto the ages of the ages; and they shall have no rest day and night that adore the beast and his image, and if anyone have received the mark of his name. 12. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me, Write, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works do follow with them. 14. And I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sitting like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.† 15. And another angel went out from the temple, crying. out with a great voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Send Thy sickle and reap, for the hour for thee to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried up. 16. And He that sat upon the cloud cast His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17. And another angel went out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle; 18. And another angel went out from the altar, having authority over the fire; and he cried with a great cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripened. * [AUTHOR'S NOTE :-] Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. 19. And the angel cast his sickle into the earth and gathered the vineyard of the earth and cast it into the great wine-press of the anger of God. 20. And the wine-press was trodden without the city; and there went out blood from the wine-press even unto the bridles of the horses, for a thousand six hundred stadia. EXPOSITION. 848. Verse 1. And I saw, and behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty-four thousand having the name of His Father written upon their foreheads. 1. "And I saw," signifies a manifestation respecting the future separation of the good from the evil before the Last Judgment (n. 849); "and behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion," signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church. for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment (n. 850); "and with Him a hundred forty-four thousand," signifies according to truths in the whole complex (n. 851); "having the name of His Father written upon their foreheads," signifies these according to the acknowledgment of His Divine, from love (n. 852). 849. Ver. 1. And I saw, signifies a manifestation respecting the future separation of the good from the evil before the Last Judgment. This is evident from the signification of "I saw," as being the things seen by John, which now follow; these, regarded in the spiritual sense, treat of the calling together and assembling of the faithful, and their separation from the evil before the Last Judgment; and this is meant by the Lord by these words in Matthew: They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory; and He shall send His angels and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (xxiv. 30, 31). That chapter treats also of the Last Judgment, which is there meant by "the consummation of the age and the coming of the Lord." The gathering together of the good and their separa tion from the evil is there described by those words, as well as in this chapter (verses 14, 16), where the Son of man is described as sitting upon a white cloud with a sickle in His hand reaping the earth. [2] Similar things in this chapter are meant also by these words of the Lord in Matthew:— The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tares. And the servants came and said, Wilt thou then that going we gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye gather up the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn (xiii. 24–30). Here the separation of the good from the evil, which was to take place at the time of the Last Judgment, is foretold by the Lord, and is meant by "Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect the tares to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." The "tares" mean the evil, who will then be cast into hell, and the "wheat" means the good, who having been separated from the evil will be raised up into heaven. Similar things are meant in this chapter where it is said: The hour for thee to reap is come; for the harvest is dried up. And he that sat upon the cloud cast in his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped (verses 15, 16, and what follows). Why the good were not separated from the evil previous to the time of the Last Judgment, and the good raised up to heaven and the evil cast into hell, can be seen in the work on The Last Judgment, and also above (n. 391a, 392a, 394, 397, 411a, 413a, 418a, 419a, 426, 4891⁄2, 493, 497, 668, 669, 670, 674, 675a, 676, 754). 850a. And behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment. This is evident from the signification of "Lamb," as being the Lord as to the Divine Human (see above, n. 297, 314, 343, 460, 482); also from the signification of "standing," as meaning to be present and to be conjoined (of which presently); also from the signification of "the Mount Zion," as being heaven and the church, where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, as can be seen from the passages in the Word where "Mount Zion" is mentioned. But first something shall be said about the Lord's presence in heaven and in the church, for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment. The presence of the Lord is perpetual in the whole heaven and in the whole church; for heaven is not heaven from what is the angels' own (proprium) in it, nor is the church a church from what is men's own (proprium) in it, but from the Divine of the Lord with them. For an angel's own (proprium) cannot make heaven, nor a man's own (proprium) the church, since the own (proprium), both of angels and of men, is not good. Consequently it is the Divine that goes forth from the Lord, as received by them, that makes heaven and the church in particular with each one, and thus makes heaven and the church in general in all in whom heaven and the church exist. Thence it is evident that the presence of the Lord is perpetual with all who are in heaven and in the church; but it is a presence that is peaceful, tranquil, preserving, and sustaining, by which all things in the heavens and on the earth are held constantly in their order and connection, or are reduced to that order; so, too, in the hells. But the presence that is meant here by "standing upon the Mount Zion" is the unusually active presence of the Lord, for the purpose of effecting an inflow of His Divine through the heavens into the lower parts, that the good there may be separated from the evil, and the evil be cast down from their places where they had formed for themselves a semblance of heavens. But this presence and conjunction of the Lord with the heavens and His consequent influx into the lower parts to effect the judgment has been treated of above (n. 413a, 418a, 419a, 426, 4891⁄2, 493, 702, 704). It is this presence that is signified elsewhere by "standing," when attributed to the Lord (as in Isaiah iii. 13). From all this it can be seen that "behold a Lamb standing on the Mount Zion" signifies the presence of the Lord in heaven and in the church, for separating the good from the evil and for executing judgment. [2] "Mount Zion" signifies heaven and the church where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth, for the reason that Zion was a city built by David, and in which he afterwards dwelt, and was therefore called "the city of David,” |