28、主在亮云中与天使一同显现，只听见从那里传来如号筒的声音。这是代表主保护天堂天使，并将善人从四面八方招聚来的标志。因为主从不毁灭任何人，只保护祂自己的人，把他们引离与恶人的交流。当他们被撤回时，恶人就随从自己的情欲，由此冲进各种可憎的事。然后，只见所有即将灭亡的人聚在一起，就像一条巨龙，弯起长长的尾巴，直伸向天堂，在高处朝各个方向抽打，好像它要摧毁天堂，把它拖下来。但它的努力都是徒劳的，因为这尾巴被扔了下来，那仍站在高处的大龙开始沉下去。我被允许看见这代表，好叫我知道并让人们也知道启示录中的“龙”指的是谁，即：“龙”是指所有读圣言、听讲道、参加教会的神圣仪式，内心却根本不思想诱惑他们的恶欲，反而思想偷盗和欺诈、奸淫和淫乱、仇恨和报复、谎言和亵渎，因而在灵里活得像魔鬼，在身体上活得像天使的人。这些人构成那龙的身体，而那些在世时持有与仁分离之信，在思维和意图上与前者相似的人构成尾巴。
28. The Lord appeared in a bright cloud, surrounded by angels, and out of the cloud came a sound like trumpets. This was a sign representing the Lord’s protection of heaven’s angels and his gathering of good people from all sides.
The Lord does not bring destruction on anyone. All he does is protect his own and withdraw them from their communication with the evil. Once the good people have been withdrawn, the evil become fully engaged in their own obsessions and therefore plunge into all kinds of reprehensible behavior.
At that stage all the people who were about to perish gathered together, looking like a great dragon whose tail was stretched out in a curve and raised toward the sky, thrashing back and forth on high as though it wanted to destroy heaven and drag it down. This effort proved fruitless, though, because the tail was thrown back down, and the body of the dragon, which also looked as though it had risen up, sank down again.
I was allowed to see this representation so that I would know, and could make known, which people are meant by the dragon in Revelation. Specifically, the dragon means all those who read the Word, listen to sermons, and observe the rites of the church, but see nothing whatever wrong with the cravings for evil behavior with which they are saturated. Inwardly, they think about acts of theft and cheating, adultery and obscenity, hatred and vengeance, lying and blasphemy, and are therefore living like devils in spirit, although in their outward lives they are like angels. These are the people who made up the body of the dragon. The ones who made up the tail were like these others in regard to their thoughts and intentions, but had been particularly dedicated in the world to faith as something separate from caring.
28. The Lord appeared in a shining cloud together with angels, and a sound was heard from there like that of trumpets. This signal represented the Lord's protection of the angels of heaven and the gathering of the good from all sides. The Lord never brings ruin on anyone, but only protects His own, withdrawing them from contact with the wicked. When they have been withdrawn, the wicked follow their own appetites, which lead them into every kind of crime. Then all those who were about to be destroyed were seen together looking like a great dragon with a long curving tail lifted up towards heaven and lashing on high in different directions, as if it wanted to destroy heaven and drag it down. But its efforts were in vain, for the tail was cast down, and the dragon which still stood high began to sink.
I was allowed to see this representation, so that I should know and publish who it is who are meant by the dragon in Revelation. They are in fact all who read the Word, listen to sermons and attend the holy rites of the church, while inwardly they think nothing of indulging their appetites for evil in which they are ensnared. Inwardly they ponder theft and deceit, adultery and lewdness, hatred and revenge, lies and blasphemies, so that in spirit they live like devils, but in the flesh like angels. These were the people who made up the body of the dragon; those composing the tail were those who in the world had a faith divorced from charity, resembling the former group in their thoughts and intentions.
28. The Lord was seen in a bright cloud with angels, and a sound as of trumpets was heard from it; which was a sign representative of the protection of the angels of heaven by the Lord, and of the gathering of the good from every side. For the Lord does not bring destruction upon anyone, but only protects His own, and draws them away from communication with the evil; and when they are withdrawn, the evil come into their own lusts, and from them rush into every kind of abomination. Then all who were about to perish, were seen together like a great dragon, with its tail extended in a curve, and elevated towards heaven, bending itself about on high in various directions, as though it would destroy heaven, and draw it down. But the effort was vain, for the tail was cast down, and the dragon, which had also appeared elevated, sank down. It was granted me to see this representation, that I might know and make known who are meant by "the dragon" in the Apocalypse; namely, that "the dragon" means all who read the Word, hear preachings, and perform the holy things of the church, making no account of the lusts of evil by which they are enticed, and interiorly they meditate thefts and frauds, adulteries and obscenities, hatred and revenge, lies and blasphemies; and who thus live in spirit like devils, and in body like angels. These constituted the body of the dragon, but the tail was constituted of those who, when in the world, were in faith separated from charity, and were like the former as to thoughts and intentions.
28. Visus est Dominus in candida nube cum angelis, et auditus est sonus inde sicut tubarum; quod signum repraesentativum tutationis angelorum caeli a Domino erat, et collectionis bonorum ab undiquaque; Dominus enim non infert alicui exitium, sed modo tutatur suos, et abstrahit a communicatione cum malis; quibus abstractis mali in suas concupiscentias veniunt, et ex illis ruunt in nefaria omnis generis. Tunc visi sunt omnes qui perituri simul sicut magnus draco cum cauda in curvum extensa, et versus caelum elevata, et in alto diversimode se inflectente, sicut vellet destruere caelum, ac detrahere illud; sed irrito conatu, nam dejecta est cauda, et draco, qui etiam tunc elevatus apparuit, subsidit. Hanc repraesentationem mihi datum est videre, ut scirem et notum facerem quinam per "draconem" in Apocalypsi intelliguntur; quod nempe per "draconem" intelligantur omnes qui Verbum legunt, praedicationes audiunt, et sancta ecclesiae obeunt, ac nihili faciunt concupiscentias mali, quibus inescati sunt, ac intus cogitant furta et fraudes, adulteria et obscena, odia et vindictas, mendacia et blasphemias, ac ita spiritu vivunt sicut diaboli, et corpore sicut angeli; hi erant qui ipsum draconem constituebant; qui autem caudam, erant qui in fide separata a charitate in mundo fuerunt, ac prioribus similes quoad cogitationes et intentiones.