Apocalypse Revealed (Whitehead) n. 833

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833. Verse 19. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army, signifies that all the interiorly evil, who have professed faith alone, with the leaders and their followers, will fight against the Lord's Divine truths in His Word, and will infest those who will be of the Lord's New Church. That by "the beast" are signified those who are in the religious persuasion of faith alone, may be seen above (n. 567, 576, 577, 594, 598, 601). That it is only they who are interiorly evil, and have professed that religious persuasion, will be seen below. By "the kings of the earth" are signified those who are in the falsities of that religious persuasion more than the rest, thus the leaders; for by "the kings of the earth" are signified those who are in the truths of the church from the Word, and in the opposite sense those who are in falsities (n. 20, 483, 704, 720, 737, 740); here those who are in falsities. By "their armies" all those among them are signified who in like manner are in falsities (n. 447). By "making war" is signified to contend against, since by "war" in the Word spiritual war is signified, which is that of falsity against truth, and of truth against falsity (n. 500, 586, 707). By "Him that sat upon the horse" is meant the Lord as to the Word (n. 820, 821); and because they cannot fight against the Lord Himself, but against His Divine truths which are in the Word, and thus they fight also against the Lord, because the Lord is the Word, this therefore is meant by "making war with Him that sat upon the horse." That by "an army" those are signified who are in Divine truths, thus abstractly Divine truths, consequently those who are of the Lord's New Heaven and New Church, because Divine truths are with them, may be seen above (n. 826).


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