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503. And there followed hail and fire mingled with blood.- That this signifies infernal falsity and evil destroying, intermingled with the truths and goods of the Word to which violence was done, is evident from the signification of hail, as denoting infernal falsity destroying, concerning which more will be said presently; and from the signification of fire, as denoting infernal evil destroying, concerning which also we shall speak presently; and from the signification of blood, as denoting the Divine Truth, in the present case, the Divine Truth to which violence was done, consequently, Divine Truth falsified, for it is said, "hail and fire mingled with blood."
[2] That blood signifies Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and the opposite sense its destruction by the falsities of evil, and thus violence done to it may be seen above (n. 329). That hail and fire signify infernal falsities and evil destroying, is also a result of appearances in the spiritual world. When the Divine Truth flows down there out of heaven, and flows into the sphere where those are who are in falsities from evil and who desire to destroy the truths and goods of the church, then as it were a raining down of hail and fire appears to those who stand afar off; as it were a raining down of hail, as a result of their falsities, and of fire, as a result of their evils. The reason of this appearance is, that the Divine Truth, when it flows into the sphere where evils and falsities are, is changed into what is similar to that sphere. For all influx is changed in the recipient subject according to the quality thereof, just as the light of the sun when it flows into dark objects, and the heat of the sun when it flows into putrid things. The case is similar with the Divine Truth, which is the light of heaven, and with the Divine Good, which is the heat of heaven, when they flow into evil subjects, which are those spirits who are in falsities from evil. This is the reason of that appearance. It is from this fact that hail and fire have such significations in the Word; for the sense of the letter of the Word as to the greater part of it is from appearances in the spiritual world.
[3] That hail signifies infernal falsity destroying the truth of the church, is clear from other places in the Word, where the destruction of truth is described by hail as in Egypt, when Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go, concerning which it is thus written:
Moses told Pharaoh that it should rain a very grievous hail, such as had not been in Egypt. "And the hail shall be upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven; and Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and the fire walked to the earth; and Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and at the same fire walking in the midst of the hail, very grievous. And the hail smote all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail. And the flax and barley were smitten; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax a stalk. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were hidden" (Arcana Coelestia 7553-7619).
[4] The signification also of hail and hot thunderbolts, mentioned in David, is similar:
"He destroyed their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with great hailstones. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to burning coals. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, the sending of evil angels" (Psalm 78:47-59).
Because hail signifies falsity destroying the truths of the church, it is therefore said, "He destroyed their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with great hailstones;" for vine signifies the spiritual truth of the church, and a sycamore its natural truth; and because burning coals, or fire, signify the love of evil, and its eagerness to destroy the goods of the church, it is therefore said, "he gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to burning coals." Cattle and flocks signify evil affections or inordinate desires which arise from evil love, and burning coals, or fire, the lust and burning desire to destroy; by the sending of evil angels, is signified the falsity of evil from hell.
[5] So again:
"He gave them hail for rain; flaming fire in their land, and he smote their vine, and their fig tree; and brake the tree of their border" (Psalm 105:32, 33).
These things are also said concerning the hail of Egypt, which signifies infernal falsity destroying the truths of the church. The vine and the fig tree have here a similar signification to the vine and sycamores mentioned above, the vine signifying spiritual truth, and the fig tree, natural truth, each pertaining to the church, and tree signifies the perceptions and cognitions of truth and good.
[6] The signification of hail mentioned in Joshua, when he fought against the five kings of the Amorites, is similar, of which it is said:
"And it came to pass," as the kings "fled before Israel, while they were in the going down to Bethhoron, that Jehovah cast down great stones of hail from heaven upon them unto Azekah; and they were more that died from the hailstones than they whom the sons of Israel slew with the sword" (10:11).
Because the historical parts of the Word are representative, and contain an internal sense, equally as the prophetical parts, therefore this is the case also in regard to what is related of the five kings of the Amorites, and of the battle of the sons of Israel with them. For the nations that were driven out of the land of Canaan signified the evil who were to be cast out of the kingdom of the Lord, and the sons of Israel signify those to whom it is granted to possess the kingdom. The land of Canaan signified heaven and the church, and therefore the kingdom of the Lord; hence the five kings of the Amorites signified those who are in falsities of evil, and desire to destroy the truths of the good of the church. It was for this reason, that they were slain by hailstones from heaven, that is to say, they perished and were destroyed by their own falsities of evil; for the evil themselves perish by their own evils and falsities, by means of which they desire to destroy the truths and goods of the church.
[7] Again, in David:
"At the brightness before him his clouds passed, with hailstones and coals of fire. Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his darts and scattered them and many lightnings and discomfited them" (Psalm 18:12-14).
In these passages, hailstones and fire signify the same things as the hail and fire here in the Apocalypse, that is, falsities and evils destroying the truths and goods of the church.
It is said that such things are from Jehovah, because the Divine Truth descending out of heaven is changed into infernal falsities with the evil, as stated above. Out of this change various appearances arise, such as the flowing down of hail and fire; still these things do not proceed out of heaven from the Lord, but from those who are in falsities of evil, who turn the influx of Divine Truth and Good into the falsity of evil. It has also been granted me to perceive those changes, when the Divine Truth has flowed down out of heaven into some hell. During its course it was successively changed into the falsity of evil, according to the quality of that evil in those [who were there]; just as the heat of the sun, when it falls upon dunghills, and the light of the sun, when it falls upon subjects which turn its rays into dismal colours; or as the light and heat of the sun, in putrid marshy lands, produce noxious herbs which nourish serpents, while in good lands they cause trees and grasses to grow, which nourish men and useful beasts. The cause of such effects in putrid lands is not in the light and heat of the sun, but in the nature of the lands themselves, and yet those effects may be ascribed to the fire and heat of the sun. From these things the source from which hail and fire appear in the spiritual world is evident, and also why it is said that Jehovah causes them to be rained down, when nevertheless nothing comes from Jehovah but what is good. When Jehovah, that is the Lord, causes a powerful influx, it is not for the purpose of destroying the evil, but to rescue and protect the good, for by this means he conjoins the good to himself more closely and interiorly, and therefore they are separated from the evil, and the evil perish. For if the evil were not separated, the good would perish, and the angelic heaven would fall to ruin.
[8] Similar things are signified by hail, and by a tempest of hail, in the following passages.
In Isaiah:
"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and behold, the Lord, strong and mighty, as a tempest of hail, as a destroying storm" (28:1, 2).
Again:
"The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place" (28:17).
Again:
"And Jehovah shall cause the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall cause his arm to see rest, in the indignation of his anger, and in the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering and inundation, and hailstones" (30:30).
And again:
"It shall hail until the forest come down, and the city humble herself with humility" (32:19).
In Ezekiel:
"And I will plead with" Gog "with pestilence and with blood; and I will cause to rain upon him, an overflowing rain, and hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (38:22).
In the Apocalypse,
"Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of the covenant; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail" (11:19).
And in another place:
"And great hail, as it were the weight of a talent, came out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (16:21).
[9] Therefore those who are in falsities are called hailstones in Ezekiel:
"Say unto them that cover over with untempered [mortar], that it shall fall; there shall be an overflowing rain, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall" (13:11).
Here by them "that cover over with untempered [mortar]," are signified those who confirm falsities in order that they may outwardly appear as truths. They are called hailstones, because they thus destroy truths; and the dispersion of such falsities is signified by the words "there shall be an overflowing rain."
[10] In Job,
"Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail? which I reserve against the time of battle and of war? Which is the way where the light is spread abroad?" (Heaven and Hell 126-140); also, because stones in the Word, signify truths, and in the opposite sense falsities; and large hail appears to consist as it were of stones cast down from heaven, which destroy the crops and herbs of the field, as well as the smaller animals, just as stones would do; therefore it is also said, hailstones. That stones, in the Word, signify truths, and in the opposite sense falsities, may be seen in the Arcana. Coelestia (n. 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376).
503. And there was hail and fire mingled with blood, signifies the destroying infernal falsity and evil mingled with the truths and goods of the Word, to which violence was offered. This is evident from the signification of "hail," as being the destroying infernal falsity (of which presently); from the signification of "fire" as being the destroying infernal evil (of which also presently); and from the signification of "blood," as being the Divine truth, here that to which violence was offered, consequently Divine truth falsified, because it is said "hail and fire mingled with blood." That "blood" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and received by man, and in the contrary sense its destruction by the falsities of evil, and thus violence offered to it, may be seen above n. 329.
[2] This signification of "hail and fire," as being destroying falsity and evil, is also from the appearances in the spiritual world when Divine truth flows down there out of heaven and flows into the sphere where those are who are in falsities from evil and who are eager to destroy the truths and goods of the church; to those who stand afar off there is then an appearance of a shower of hail and fire, a shower of hail in consequence of their falsities, and a shower of fire from their evils. The reason of this appearance is that when Divine truth flows into the sphere where falsities and evils are, it is changed into something similar to what is in that sphere; for all influx is changed in the recipient subject according to its quality, as with the light of the sun in black subjects, and the heat of the sun in putrid subjects. So it is with Divine truth (which is the light of heaven) and Divine good (which is the heat of heaven) in evil subjects, which are spirits who are in falsities from evil; thence is this appearance. From this it is that "hail and fire" have these significations in the Word; for the sense of the letter of the Word comes for the most part from appearances in the spiritual world.
[3] That "hail" signifies infernal falsity destroying the truth of the church is evident elsewhere in the Word, where the destruction of truth is described by "hail;" as in Egypt, when Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go, which is thus described in Moses:
Moses said to Pharaoh that he would cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as had not been in Egypt. There shall be hail upon man and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and Jehovah sent voices and hail, and the fire ran along the earth; and Jehovah caused hail to rain upon the land of Egypt; and there was hail, and fire with it, raining in the midst of the very grievous hail. And the hail smote all that was in the field, from man even to beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke down every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail. And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax was a stalk. But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for these were covered (Arcana Coelestia 7553-7619.)
[4] So "hail" and "coals" (or fire) have a like signification in David:
He smote their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with a grievous hail; and He shut up their beast to the hail, and their herds to the coals. He sent among them the fierceness of His anger, an incursion of evil angels (Psalms 78:47-49).
Because "hail" signifies falsity destroying the truths of the church it is said "He smote their vine with hail, and their sycamore trees with a grievous hail," for "vine" signifies the spiritual truth of the church, and "sycamores" its natural truth; and as "coals" signifies the love of evil and its ardor for destroying the goods of the church, it is said, "He shut up their beast to the hail, and their herds to the coals," "beast" and "herds" signifying the evil affections or cupidities that arise from evil love, and "coals" the cupidity and ardor for destroying; "an incursion of evil angels" signifies the falsity of evil from hell.
[5] In the same:
He gave them hail for their rain, a fire of flames in their land; and He smote their vine and their fig tree, and broke down the tree of their border (Psalms 105:32, 33).
This, too, is said of the "hail of Egypt" which signifies infernal falsity destroying the truths of the church; and the "vine" and the "fig tree" here also signify similar things as the "vine" and the "sycamore trees" above, namely, the "vine" spiritual truth, and the "fig tree" natural truth, each belonging to the church; and "tree" signifies the perceptions and knowledges of truth and good.
[6] "Hail" has a similar signification in Joshua, when Joshua fought against the five kings of the Amorites, of which it is said:
It came to pass when the kings fled before Israel, and they were in the going down to Beth-horon, that Jehovah cast down great hailstones from heaven upon them unto Azekah; and more died from the hailstones than the sons of Israel slew with the sword (Joshua 10:11).
As the histories of the Word, the same as the prophecies, are representative and contain an internal sense, therefore also does this that is related of the five kings of the Amorites and the battle of the sons of Israel with them; for the "nations" that were driven out of the land of Canaan signified the evil who are to be cast out of the Lord's kingdom, and the "sons of Israel" signified those to whom it would be granted to possess the kingdom, for the "land of Canaan" signified heaven and the church, thus the Lord's kingdom; thence the "five kings of the Amorites" signified those who are in the falsities of evil and who wish to destroy the truths of the good of the church; this is why they were slain by "hailstones out of heaven," that is, were destroyed and perished by their own falsities of evil; for the evil themselves perish in consequence of their evils and falsities, with which they wish to destroy the truths and goods of the church.
[7] In David:
At the brightness before Him His clouds passed, with hail and coals of fire. Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, hail and coals of fire. And He sent forth His arrows and scattered them, and many lightnings and discomfited them (Psalms 18:12-14).
Here "hail and fire" have a similar signification as the "hail and fire" in this passage in Revelation, namely, falsities and evils destroying the truths and goods of the church. It is said that such things are from Jehovah, because Divine truth coming down out of heaven is changed with the evil into infernal falsities, as has been said above; and from this change there spring forth many appearances such as the fall of hail and fire; and yet these things are not out of heaven from the Lord, but from those who are in the falsities of evil, who turn the influx of Divine truth and good into the falsity of evil. It has been granted me to perceive these changes, when Divine truth flowed down out of heaven into some hell. On the way it was successively turned into the falsity of evil, like that which was with them; just as it is with the sun's heat when it falls into dung heaps, or the sun's light when it falls into subjects that turn its rays into horrid colors; or when the sun's light and heat produce in fetid marshy lands noxious plants that nourish serpents, while in good lands they produce trees and grasses that nourish men and useful beasts. The cause that such effects are produced in putrid land is not the light and heat of the sun, but the lands themselves which are such, and yet these effects may be ascribed to the sun's fire and heat. From this it can be seen what the origin is of the appearances of hail and fire in the spiritual world, and why it is said that "Jehovah causes them to rain," when yet there is nothing from Jehovah but what is good; and when Jehovah, that is, the Lord, renders the influx powerful, it is not that He may destroy the evil but that He may rescue and protect the good, for He thus conjoins the good to Himself more closely and interiorly, and thus they are separated from the evil, and the evil perish; for if the evil were not separated the good would perish and the angelic heaven would fall to ruin.
[8] "Hail" and "the rain of hail" have a similar signification in the following passages. In Isaiah:
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim. Behold, the Lord strong and mighty, as an inundation of hail, as a tempest of slaughter (Isaiah 28:1, 2).
In the same:
The hail shall overthrow the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place (Isaiah 28:17).
In the same:
Then Jehovah shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall cause His resting arm to be seen in the indignation of anger, and in the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering and inundation, and with hailstones (Isaiah 30:30).
In the same:
It shall hail until the forest shall sink down and the city be laid low in lowliness (Isaiah 32:19).
In Ezekiel:
And I will plead with Gog with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him an overflowing rain, and hailstones, fire and brimstone (Job 38:22).
In Revelation:
Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of the Covenant; and there were lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail (Revelation 11:19).
And again:
And a great hail as of a talent-weight cometh down out of heaven upon men; and the men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was exceeding great (Revelation 16:21).
[9] So those who are in falsities of evil are called "hailstones" in Ezekiel:
Say unto them that daub on what is unfit, that it shall fall; there shall come an overflowing rain, in which ye, O great hailstones, shall fall (Ezekiel 13:11).
Here "them that daub on what is unfit" signify those who confirm falsities to make them appear outwardly as truths; such are called "hailstones" because they thus destroy truths; the dispersion of such falsities is signified by "an overflowing rain. "
[10] In Job:
Hast thou come to the treasuries of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, which I keep back against the time of battle and war, which is the way in which light is diffused? (Job 38:22-24).
Job is asked by Jehovah about many things, whether he knows them, and the things he is asked about signify such things as belong to heaven and the church; and "Hast thou come to the treasuries of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?" signifies whether he knows why truth is taken away and is destroyed by the falsities of evil, which in the spiritual world appears like a fall of snow and hail out of the sky there. That there are such appearances when the evil are to be dispersed is signified by "which I keep back against the time of battle and war;" thence it is added, "which is the way in which light is diffused?" This signifies the process by which truth is insinuated, "light" meaning truth.
[11] "Hail" signifies the falsity of evil, and "a storm of hail" the destruction of truth, because hail in itself is cold and cannot bear the heat of heaven, and "coldness" signifies the deprivation of the good of love; the good of love is the heat in the angelic heaven (See the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Another reason for this meaning is that "stones" in the Word signify truth, and in the contrary sense falsities, and great hail appears to be made up of stones cast down out of heaven, which destroy the crops and herbs of the field, as well as the smaller animals as stones would, and this is why they are called "hailstones." (That "stones" signify in the Word truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, see Arcana Coelestia 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376)
503. "Et facta est grando et ignis mixta sanguine." - Quod significet falsum et malum infernale destruens, commixtum veris et bonis Verbi, quibus violentia illata, constat ex significatione "grandinis", quod sit falsum infernale destruens (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "ignis", quod sit malum infernale destruens (de qua etiam sequitur); et ex significatione "sanguinis", quod sit Divinum Verum, hic cui violentia illata, ita Divinum Verum falsificatum, quia dicitur "grando et ignis mixta sanguine." Quod, "sanguis" significet Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, et receptum ab homine, et in opposito sensu destructionem ejus per falsa mali, et sic violentiam ei illatam, videatur supra (n. 329).
[2] Quod "grando" et "ignis" significent falsum et malum destruens, est quoque ex apparentiis in mundo spirituali, quando ibi Divinum Verum e caelo defluit, ac influit in sphaeram ubi illi qui in falsis ex malo sunt, et cupiunt destruere vera et bona ecclesiae; tunc apparet illis qui e longinquo stant sicut depluitio grandinis et ignis, ex falsis apud illos sicut depluitio grandinis, et ex malis sicut depluitio ignis: causa est quia Divinum Verum, cum influit in sphaeram ubi falsa et mala sunt, mutatur in simile quod in sphaera; nam omnis influxus mutatur in subjecto recipiente secundum quale ejus, sicut lux solis in subjecta nigra, et calor solis in subjecta putida; ita Divinum Verum, quod est lux caeli, et Divinum Bonum, quod est calor caeli, in subjecta mala, quae sunt spiritus qui in falsis ex malo sunt; exinde est apparentia illa: ex eo est quod "grando" et "ignis" in Verbo talia significent, nam sensus litterae Verbi quoad maximam partem est ex apparentiis in mundo spirituali.
[3] Quod "grando" significet falsum infernale destruens verum ecclesiae, constare potest ex Verbo alibi, ubi destructio veri per "grandinem" describitur:
Ut in Aegypto, cum Pharao non voluit dimittere populum Israelem, de qua re ita apud Mosen,
Dixit Moseh ad Pharaonem quod plueret grando gravis valde, qualis non fuerat in Aegypto, ... "et erit grando super hominem et super bestiam, et super omnem herbam agri in terra Aegypti. Et extendit Moseh baculum ad caelum, et Jehovah dedit Voces et grandinem; et ambulavit ignis ad terram; et pluere fecit Jehovah grandinem super terram Aegypti, et fuit grando, et ignis simul ambulans in medio grandinis gravis valde.... ; et percussit grando, .... omne quod in agro, ab homine usque ad bestiam; et omnem herbam agri percussit grando, et omnem arborem agri confregit; tantum in [terra] Goschen, ubi erant filii Israelis, non erat grando:.... et linum et hordeum percussum est, quia hordeum spica maturescens, et linum culmus: et triticum et zea non percussa sunt, quia abdita illa" (Exodus 9:18-35):
similia per "grandinem in Aegypto" significantur, quae per "grandinem" hic in Apocalypsi; quare etiam plura similia dicuntur; ut quod "grando et ignis simul ambulaverint", quod "percussa sit herba agri et confractae arbores": quod plura similia hic memorentur, est quia similia per plagas Aegypti significantur quae per plagas in Apocalypsi factas dum septem angeli clanxerunt; per "Aegyptios" enim significabantur mere naturales homines, per "filios Israelis" spirituales homines, per "plagas Aegypti" illae mutationes quae praecedunt ante ultimum judicium, similiter ut hic in Apocalypsi; nam per immersionem Pharaonis et Aegyptiorum in Mare Suph repraesentabatur ultimum judicium et damnatio. Inde nunc est quod per "grandinem" et "ignem" ibi etiam significentur falsa et mala destruentia ecclesiam. (Sed illa videantur explicata in Arcanis Caelestibus n. 7553-7619.)
[4] Simile itaque significatur per "grandinem" et "prunas" seu ignem, apud Davidem,
"Percussit grandine vitem eorum, et sycomoros eorum grandine gravi, et conclusit grandine bestiam eorum, et pecora eorum prunis: misit in eos excandescentiam irae suae, .... immissionem angelorum malorum" ( 1
quia "grando" significat falsum destruens vera ecclesiae, ideo dicitur "Percussit grandine vitem eorum, et sycomoros grandine gravi"; nam per "vitem" significatur verum spirituale ecclesiae, et per "sycomorum" verum naturale ejus: et quia per "prunas" seu ignem significatur amor mali et ejus ardor destruendi bona ecclesiae, ideo dicitur Conclusit grandine bestiam eorum, et pecora eorum prunis"; per "bestiam" et "pecora" significantur affectiones malae seu cupiditates ex amore malo oriundae, et per "prunas" seu ignem cupiditas et ardor destruendi: per "immissionem angelorum malorum " significatur falsum mali ex inferno.
[5] Apud eundem,
"Dedit pluVias eorum grandinem, ignem flammarum in terra eorum, et percussit vitem eorum et ficum eorum, et confregit arborem termini eorum" (Psalms 105:32, 33):
etiam haec de "grandine Aegypti", per quam significatur falsum infernale destruens vera ecclesiae; et per "vitem" et "ficum" hic quoque similia significantur quae supra per "vitem" et "sycomoros"; per "vitem " verum spirituale, et per "ficum" verum naturale, utrumque ecclesiae: et per "arborem" significantur perceptiones et cognitiones veri et boni.
[6] Simile per "grandinem" etiam significatur apud Josuam, cum pugnavit contra quinque reges Emorraeorum, de quibus ita,
"Factum est, cum fugerent" reges "coram Israele, illi in descensu Bethchoronis, et Jehovah projecit super eos lapides grandinis magnos e caelis ad Asekam.... ; et plures mortui sunt ex lapidibus grandinis quam quos occiderunt filii Israelis gladio" (Joshua 10:11):
quoniam historica Verbi aeque repraesentativa sunt, ac sensum internum continent, ac prophetica, ideo etiam quae memorantur de quinque regibus Emorraeorum, et de pugna filiorum Israelis cum illis per "gentes" enim e terra Canaane expulsas significabantur mali qui e regno Domini ejiciendi; et per "filios Israelis" illi quibus daretur regnum possidendum; nam per "terram Canaanem" significabatur caelum et ecclesia, ita regnum Domini: inde per "quinque reges Emorraeorum" significabantur illi qui in falsis mali sunt, ac volunt destruere vera boni ecclesiae; propterea factum est quod illi per "lapides grandinis e caelo occiderentur." hoc est, per suamet falsa mali destruerentur et perirent; nam mali per sua mala et falsa, per quae destruere volunt vera et bona ecclesiae, ipsi pereunt.
[7] Apud Davidem,
"A splendore ante Ipsum nubes Ejus transiverunt, grandine et prunis ignis; tonavit in caelis Jehovah, et Altissimus dedit vocem suam, grandinem et prunas ignis: et misit tela sua, et dispersit illos, et fulmina multa, et conturbavit illos" (Psalms 18:13-15 [B.A. 12-14]):
hic per "grandinem" et "ignem" similia significantur quae per "grandinem" et "ignem" hic in Apocalypsi, nempe falsa et mala destruentia vera et bona ecclesiae: quod dicatur quod illa "a Jehovah", est quia Divinum Verum descendens e caelo vertitur in falsa infernalia apud malos, ut supra dictum est; ex qua conversione existunt plures apparentiae, sicut quod defluat grando et ignis, cum tamen haec non e caelo a Domino, sed ab illis qui in falsis mali sunt, qui convertunt influxum Divini Veri et Boni in falsum mali. Datum etiam est mihi conversiones illas appercipere, quando Divinum Verum e caelo in aliquod infernum defluxit; vertebatur in via successive in falsum mali, quale fuit apud illos; prorsus sicut calor solis dum cadit in stercorea, et lux solis in subjecta quae radios ejus vertunt in tetros colores; aut sicut lux et calor solis in terris putidis paludinosis producit herbas noxias quae nutriunt serpentes, at in terris bonis producit arbores et gramina, quae nutriunt homines et utiles bestias; lux et calor solis non in causa sunt quod in putidis terris producantur tales effectus, sed sunt ipsae quae tales, et tamen effectus illi adscribi possunt solis igni et aestui. Ex his constare potest ex qua origine apparet grando et ignis in mundo spirituali, et unde quod dicatur quod "Jehovah pluere faciat illa", cum tamen a Jehovah non nisi quam bonum; et quando Jehovah, hoc est, Dominus, fortem reddit influxum, non est ut perdat malos, sed ut eripiat ac tutetur bonos; conjungit enim sic bonos Sibi arctius et interius, et inde separantur a malis, ac mali pereunt; nam si non separarentur mali, perirent boni, ac interiret caelum angelicum.
[8] Similia per "grandinem" et per "pluviam grandinis" significantur in sequentibus locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Vae coronae superbiae, ebriis Ephraimi;.... ecce fortis et robustus Dominus, sicut inundatio grandinis, procella caedis" (28:1, 2);
apud eundem,
"Evertet grando refugium mendacii et latibulum aquae inundabunt" (28:17);
apud eundem,
"Tunc audiri faciet Jehovah gloriam vocis suae, et quietem brachium Ejus videre faciet, in indignatione irae et flamma ignis comedentis, dispersione et inundatione, et lapide grandinis" (30:30, 31);
apud eundem,
"Grandinabit, donec descenderit silva, et cum humilitate humiliaverit se urbs" (32:19);
apud Ezechielem,
"Disceptabo cum" Gogo "peste et sanguine, et pluviam inundantem et lapides grandinis, ignem et sulphur faciam pluere super eum" (38:22);
in Apocalypsi,
"Tunc apertum est templum Dei in caelo, et visa est arca foederis in templo Ejus, et facta sunt fulgura et voces et tonitrua, et terrae motus, et grando magna" (11:19);
et alibi,
"Grando magna quasi talenti pondo descendit e caelo super homines; quare blasphemarunt homines Deum prae plaga grandinis, quia magna erat plaga ejus valde ([Apoc.] 16:21).
[9] Inde illi qui in falsis mali sunt, vocantur "lapides grandinis" apud Ezechielem,
"Dic ad incrustantes ineptum quod cadet; fiet pluvia inundans, qua vos, lapides grandinis, cadent" (13:11):
per "incrustantes ineptum" significantur qui falsa confirmant, ut extrinsecus appareant sicut vera; illi dicuntur "lapides grandinis", quia sic destruunt vera; dispersio talium falsorum significatur per "pluviam inundantem."
[10] Apud Hiobum,
"Num venisti ad thesauros nivis, et thesauros grandinis vidisti? Quae inhibeo in tempus... proelii et belli; quae via qua diffunditur lux?" (38:22-24):
quaeritur Hiob a Jehovah de pluribus num illa sciat; sed illa de quibus quaeritur, significant talia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt; et per "Num venisti ad thesauros nivis, et vidisti thesauros grandinis?" significatur num sciat unde deprivatio veri et destructio ejus per falsa mali, quae in mundo spirituali apparet sicut lapsus nivis et grandinis e caelis ibi; quod talia appareant quando mali dispergendi, significatur per "quae inhibeo in tempus proelii et belli"; inde etiam dicitur, "quae via qua diffunditur lux", per quod significatur quo progressu verum insinuatur ("lux" est verum).
[11] Quod "grando" significet falsum mali, ac "pluvia grandinis" destructionem veri, est quia grando in se frigida est, et non sustinet calorem caeli, ac "frigidum" significat deprivationem boni amoris, et "calor" in caelo angelico est bonum amoris (videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno n. 126-140); tum quia "lapides" in Verbo significant vera, ac in opposito sensu falsa, et grando magna apparet consistere sicut ex lapidibus e caelo dejectis, qui destruunt messes et herbas agri, tum etiam animalia minora, sicut forent lapides; inde etiam dicitur "lapis grandinis."
(Quod "lapides" in Verbo significent vera, ac in opposito sensu falsa, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus n. 640, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376.)
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.