485. Revelation 11

1. And there was given me a reed like a staff; and the angel stood near, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God and the altar, and them that adore therein.
2. And the court which is without the temple cast out, and measure it not; for it is given to the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they trample forty-two months.
3. And I will give to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
4. These are the two olive trees, and the two lamp stands, which are standing before the God of the earth.
5. And if anyone will hurt them, fire shall go forth out of their mouth, and shall devour their enemies; and if anyone will hurt them, thus must he be killed.
6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain no rain in the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood; and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will.
7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their bodies shall be upon the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9. And they of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies three days and a half, and shall not permit their bodies to be put into tombs.
10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and shall be glad, and shall send gifts one to another; because those two prophets tormented them that dwell upon the earth.
11. And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that saw them.
12. And they heard a great voice out of heaven, saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
13. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were killed the names of men seven thousand; and the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
15. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for ages of ages.
16. And the four-and-twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces, and adored God;
17. Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come, because Thou hast taken Thy great power, and hast entered into the kingdom.
18. And the nations were angry; and Thy anger is come, and the time of judging the dead, and of giving reward to Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.
19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven; and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE

The contents of the whole chapter

It still treats of the state of the church among the Reformed, as to the quality of those who are interiorly in faith alone, contrary to the two essentials of the New Church, which are that the Lord alone is the God of heaven and earth, and that His Human is Divine; and that men ought to live according to the precepts of the Decalogue. That these two essentials were declared to them (verses 3-6), but that they were totally rejected (verses 7-10). That they were raised up again by the Lord (verses 11, 12). That they who rejected them, perished (verse 13). That the state of the New Church was manifested from the New Heaven (verses. 15-19).

The contents of each verse

Verse 1. "And there was given me a reed like a staff," signifies that the faculty and power of knowing and seeing the state of the church in heaven and in the world was given (n. 485). "And the angel stood by, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God and the altar, and them that adore in it," signifies the Lord's presence and His command, that he should see and know the state of the church in the New Heaven (n. 486). Verse 2. "And the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not," signifies that the state of the church on earth, such as it is at present, is to be removed, and not known (n. 487). "For it is given to the Gentiles," signifies, because the state of that church is destroyed and desolated by evils of life (n. 488). "And the holy city shall they trample forty-two months," signifies that it would disperse every truth of the Word, even so that nothing remained (n. 489). Verse 3. "And I will give My two witnesses," signifies those who confess and acknowledge in heart that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that His Human is Divine, and who are conjoined to Him by a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue (n. 490). "And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and sixty] days," signifies that these two articles, the acknowledgment of the Lord, and a life according to the commandments of the Decalogue, which are the two essentials of the New Church, are to be taught until the end and the beginning (n. 491). "Clothed in sackcloth," signifies mourning in the meantime on account of the nonreception of truth (n. 492). Verse 4. "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands, which are standing before the God of the earth," signifies love and intelligence, or charity and faith, from the Lord with them (n. 493). Verse 5. "And if anyone will hurt them, fire shall go forth out of their mouth, and shall devour their enemies," signifies that they who wish to destroy these two essentials of the New Church, will perish from infernal love (n. 494). "And if anyone will hurt them, he must thus be killed," signifies that he who condemns them shall in like manner be condemned (n. 495). Verse 6. "These have power to shut heaven, that it rain no rain in the days of their prophecy," signifies that they who turn themselves away from these two essentials cannot receive any truth from heaven (n. 496). "And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood," signifies that they who turn themselves away from them falsify the truths of the Word (n. 497). "And to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will," signifies that they who would destroy them, will cast themselves into all kinds of evils and falsities, as often as and as far as they do so (n. 498). Verse 7. "And when they shall have finished their testimony," signifies that after the Lord taught those two essentials of the New Church (n. 499). "The beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them," signifies that they who are in the internals of the doctrine of faith alone will reject these two (n. 500). Verse 8. "And their bodies shall lie on the street of the great city," signifies that they are totally rejected (n. 501). "Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt," signifies two infernal loves, which are the love of dominion from the love of self, and the love of rule from the pride of one's own intelligence, which exist in the church where one God is not acknowledged, and the Lord not worshiped, and where they do not live according to the precepts of the Decalogue (n. 502, 503). "Where also our Lord was crucified," signifies non-acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine Human, and, consequently, a state of rejection (n. 504). Verse 9. "And they of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies three days and a half," signifies when all they, who, until the end of the present church and the beginning of the New Church, have been and will be in falsities of doctrine and evils of life from faith alone, have heard and shall hear of these two essentials (n. 505). "And shall not permit their bodies to be put into tombs," signifies that they have condemned and will condemn them (n. 506). Verse 10. "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and be glad," signifies the delight of the affection of the heart and soul in the church among those who were in faith alone (n. 507). "And shall send gifts one to another," signifies consociation through love and friendship (n. 508). "Because these two prophets tormented them that dwell upon the earth," signifies that these two essentials of the New Church, by reason of their contrariety in the two essentials in the church of the Reformed, are held in contempt, dislike, and aversion (n. 509). Verse 11. "And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet," signifies that these two essentials, during the commencement and progress of the New Church, with those who receive them, will be vivified by the Lord (n. 510). "And great fear fell upon them that saw them," signifies commotion of mind and consternation at Divine truths (n. 511). Verse 12. "And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them, Come up hither," signifies that these two essentials of the New Church were taken up by the Lord into heaven, from whence they came, and where they are, and the protection of them (n. 512). "And they went up into heaven in a cloud," signifies the taking them up into heaven, and conjunction there with the Lord by the Divine truth of the Word in its literal sense (n. 513). "And their enemies saw them," signifies that they who are in faith separated from charity heard them, but remained in their own falsities (n. 514). Verse 13. "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell," signifies a remarkable change of state which then took place with them, and that they were torn away from heaven, and cast down into hell (n. 515). "And in the earthquake were killed the names of men seven thousand," signifies that all those who confessed faith alone, and therefore made no account of the works of charity, perished (n. 516). "And the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven," signifies that they who saw their destruction acknowledged the Lord, and were separated (n. 517). Verse 14. "The second woe is past; behold the third woe cometh quickly," signifies lamentation over the perverted state of the church, and then the last lamentation, to be treated of presently (n. 518). Verse 15. "And the seventh angel sounded," signifies the exploration and manifestation of the state of the church after the consummation, at the coming of the Lord and of His kingdom (n. 519). "And there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for ages of ages," signifies celebrations by the angels, because heaven and the church are become the Lord's, as they were from the beginning, and because now they belong to His Divine Human, consequently that now, the Lord as to both will reign over heaven and the church to eternity (n. 520). Verse 16. "And the four-and-twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces, and adored God," signifies the acknowledgment by all the angels of heaven, that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and the highest adoration (n. 521). Verse 17. "Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come," signifies confession and glorification by the angels of heaven, that it is the Lord who is, who has life and power from Himself, and who rules all things, because He alone is eternal and infinite (n. 522). "That Thou hast taken Thy great power, and hast entered into the kingdom," signifies the New Heaven and the New Church, where they acknowledge Him to be the only God (n. 523). Verse 18. "And the nations were angry," signifies those who are in faith alone, and thence in evils of life, that they were enraged, and infested those who are against their faith (n. 524). "And Thy anger is come, and the time of judging the dead," signifies their destruction, and the execution of the Last Judgment upon those who have not any spiritual life (n. 525). "And of giving reward to Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints," signifies the felicity of eternal life to those who are in the truths of doctrine from the Word, and in a life according to them (n. 526). "And to them that fear Thy name, small and great," signifies who love the things which relate to the Lord in a lesser and in a greater degree (n. 527). "And to destroy them that destroy the earth," signifies the casting of those into hell who have destroyed the church (n. 528). Verse 19. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven; and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant," signifies the New Heaven, in which the Lord in His Divine Human is worshiped; and where they live according to the precepts of His Decalogue, which are the two essentials of the New Church, whereby conjunction is effected (n. 529). "And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail," signifies the ratiocinations, commotions, and falsifications of good and truth, that ensued in the lower parts.

THE EXPLANATION

Verse 1. And there was given me a reed like a staff, signifies that the faculty and power of knowing and seeing the state of the church in heaven and in the world was given to him by the Lord. By "a reed" is signified feeble power, such as man has from himself; and by "staff," is signified great power, such as man has from the Lord; therefore by "a reed was given like a staff," is signified power from the Lord. That it is the faculty and power of knowing and seeing the state of the church in heaven and in the world, is plain from what follows in this chapter to the end.
[2] That by "a reed" or cane, is signified feeble power, such as man has from himself, is evident from these passages:
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of a broken reed, on Egypt; on which when a man leans it will go into his hand, and pierce it (Isa. 36:6).
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know, that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel; when they held thee by the hand thou didst break, and perforate all their shoulder (Ezek. 29:6-7).
By "Egypt" is signified the natural man who trusts in his own strength, therefore he is called "the staff of a bruised reed." By "reed" is signified feeble power, in Isaiah:
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench (Isa. 42:3).
[3] But by a "staff" is signified strong power, which is from the Lord; here of knowing the state of the church, because "the temple and altar were measured" with a staff; and by "measuring" is signified to know, and by "the temple and altar" is signified the church; as will be seen presently. "A staff" signifies power, because wood, of which staffs were made among the ancient people, signifies good; and because it is instead of the right hand, and supports it, and by "the right hand" is signified power; hence it is, that a scepter is a short staff and by "a scepter" is signified the power of a king; and a "scepter" and "staff" are the same word in the Hebrew language.
[4] That a staff signifies power, is evident from these passages:
Say ye, How is the staff of strength broken, the staff of beauty; descend from glory, and sit in thirst (Jer. 48:17, 18).
Jehovah will send the staff of thy strength out of Zion (Ps. 110:2).
Thou didst strike through with staffs the head of the unbelieving (Hab. 3:14).
Israel the staff of Jehovah's inheritance (Jer. 10:16; 51:19).
Thy rod and Thy staff shall comfort me (Ps. 23:4).
Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked (Isa. 9:4; 14:5; Ps. 125:3).
My people inquire of wood; and his staff answers them (Hos. 4:12).
Jehovah that removeth from Jerusalem the whole staff of bread and the whole staff of water (Isa. 3:1; Ezek. 4:16; 5:16; 14:13; Ps. 105:16; Lev. 26:26).
By "the staff of bread and water" the power of good and truth is signified, and by "Jerusalem" the church:
The staff of Levi, upon which Aaron's name was, which blossomed with almonds in the tent (Num. 17:2-10),
signifies nothing else in the spiritual sense but the power of truth and good, because by "Levi" and "Aaron" the truth and good of the church were signified.
[5] That power is signified by "a staff" is manifest from the power of Moses' staff:
That by the stretching out of the staff the waters were turned into blood (Exod. 7:20).
That by it frogs came up upon the land of Egypt (Exod. 8:1, etc.).
That by it there became lice (Exod. 8:16, etc.).
That by it there were thunders and hail (Exod. 9:23, etc.).
That by it the locusts went forth (Exod. 10:12, etc.).
That by it the Red Sea was divided and turned back (Exod. 14:16, 21, 26).
That by it the waters flowed forth from the rock of Horeb (Exod. 17:5, etc.; Num. 20:7-13).
That by it Joshua with Moses prevailed over the Amalekites (Exod. 17:9-12).
That fire went forth out of the rock by the staff of the angel (Judg. 6:21).
From these passages it is manifest that by "a staff" power is signified; and also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:5, 24, 26; 11:4; 14:5; 30:31-32; Ezekiel 19:10-14; Lamentations 3:1; Micah 7:14; Zechariah 10:11; Numbers 21:18).