moned, to whom the draconic spirit spake the same words as before; upon which the wise man of the city replied, "Thou hast asserted, that it is the same thing whether charity or faith be considered as the primary essential of the church, be it only agreed that each constitutes the church and its religion; and yet the difference between them is the same as between prior and posterior, between cause and effect, between the principal and the instrumental, and between the essential and the formal. speak in this manner, because I have observed that thou art expert in the art of metaphysics, which art we call mussitation, and some call it inchantment; but to speak in plain terms, the difference is the same as between what is above and what is below; nay! if thou art disposed to believe it, there is as much difference as between heaven and hell; for that which is primary constitutes the head and the breast, and that which is thence derived, the feet and the soles of the feet. But let us, in the first place, determine the meaning of charity and faith. Charity is the affection of the love of doing good to our neighbor, for the sake of God, of salvation, and of eternal life; and faith is thought grounded in confidence concerning God, salvation, and eternal life." But the emissary said, “I grant that this is faith, and I grant also that charity is the affection of love for the sake of God, because he commanded it, but not for the sake of salvation and eternal life." And the wise man of the city said, "We will suppose that to be the case, provided you admit it is for the sake of God." When they had come to this explanation, the wise man of the city said, "Is not affection primary, and thought derived from it? But the dragon's emissary said, "No! I deny it." To this reply was made, "You cannot deny it; does not man think from affection? take away affection, and can you think at all? it is just the same as if you were to take away sound from speech, in which case you cannot speak, for sound has relation to affection, and speech has relation to thought, seeing that affection produces sound, and thought frames it into speech; their connexion is like that which subsists between flame and light, for if you take away flame do you

not extinguish the light? It is the same with charity, because charity is affection, and with faith, because faith is thought. Cannot you thus comprehend, that what is primary is all in that which is secondary, just as sound is in speech? from which consideration you may see, that if you do not allow that to be primary which is so, you cannot have any thing to do with that which is secondary ; therefore, if you assign to faith the first place, when in reality it is in the second, you must needs appear in heaven like a man inverted, with his feet uppermost and his head undermost, or like a mountebank walking on his hands with his feet in the air; and if such be your appearance in heaven, of what sort must your good works be, which constitute charity, but like those which the mountebank would perform with his feet, his hands being otherwise employed? Your charity, therefore, as you may see, is natural and not spiritual, because it is inverted." All this the emissary understood, for every devil can understand truth when he hears it, but cannot retain it, because the affection of evil, when it returns, casts out the thought of truth. After this, the wise man of the city explained at large the nature of faith when it is regarded as the primary essential of religion, showing that in such a case it is merely natural, and that it is mere science devoid of any spiritual life, consequently that it is not faith; "For your charity is nothing but natural affection, and from natural affection proceeds no other than natural thought, which is your faith; and I can venture to affirm, that in faith merely natural there is no more spirituality than in the mind's reflectiou on the Mogul's dominions, on the diamond mines there, or on the wealth and grandeur of that potentate." On hearing this the draconic spirit walked off in a rage, and related all that had passed to his companions without the gates; who, when they heard what had been asserted, that charity is the affection of the love of doing good to one's neighbor for the sake of God, of salvation, and of eternal life, exclaimed with one consent, "It is a lie ; and the dragon himself cried out, "Alas! what enormous wickedness! Are not all good works, which are charity, when performed for the

Then they said one to

sake of salvation, meritorious?" another, "Let us call together more of our companions, and lay siege to this city; let us make scaling-ladders, ascend the walls, rush upon them in the night, and cast out these charities." But when they made the attempt, lo, there appeared, as it were, fire from heaven, which consumed them; but the fire from heaven was but an appearance of their wrath and hatred against the inhabitants of the city, because they would not allow faith to be primary, and maintained that it was secondary; but the reason why they appeared to be consumed by fire was, because hell opened under their feet and swallowed them Incidents similar to this occurred to many in the day of judgment; and this is what is meant by these words in the Apocalypse, "The dragon shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," chap. xx. 8, 9.

up.

CHAPTER XV.

1. AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous; seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is consummated the wrath of God.

2. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

3. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

5. And after that I saw, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

6. And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in linen, clean and shining, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

7. And one of the four animals gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials, fuil of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, and no one was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were consummated.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE.

THE CONTENTS OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER. A preparation for disclosing the last state of the church, and laying open the evils and falses in which those who are of the church are principled, verses 1, 5-8; from whom they are separated who have acknowledged the Lord, and lived according to his commandments, verses 2, 3, 4.

THE CONTENTS OF EACH VERSE. "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous," signifies, a revelation froin the Lord concerning the state of the church upon earth, and its quality as to love and faith: "Seven angels having the seven last plagues," signifies, the evils and falses in the church, such as exist in its last state, universally disclosed and laid open by the Lord : "For in them is consummated the wrath of God," signifies, the devastation of the church and its consequent end: "And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire," signifies, the ultimate boundary of the spiritual world, where are collected, those who had some religion and consequent worship, but no good of life: "And them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name," signifies, those who have rejected faith alone and its doctrine, and thus have not acknowledged and imbibed its falses, nor falsified the Word: "Standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God," signifies, the Christian heaven in its boundaries, and the faith of charity among those who are there: “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb," signifies, a confession grounded in charity, thus in a life according to the commandments of the law, which is the decalogue, and in a belief in the divinity of the Lord's Humanity: "Saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty," signifies, that all things in the world, in heaven, and in the church, were created and made by the Lord from divine love by divine wisdom: "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints," signi fies, that all things which proceed from him are just and true. because he is divine good and divine truth itself in heaven and in the church: "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?" signifies, that he alone is to be loved and worshiped : "For thou only art holy," signifies, that he is the Word, the truth,

and illumination: "For all nations shall come and worship before thee," signifies, that all who are in the good of love and charity, will acknowledge the Lord to be the only God: "For thy judginents are made manifest,” signifies, that the truths of the Word plainly testify it: "And after that I saw, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened," signifies, that the inmost of heaven was seen, where the Lord is in his holiness in the Word, and in the law, which is the decalogue: "And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues," signifies, a preparation from the Lord to operate by influx from the inmost heaven into the church, that its evils and falses may be disclosed, and that thus the wicked may be separated from the good: “Clothed in linen, clean and shining, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles," signifies, this from the pure and genuine truths and goods of the Word: "And one of the four animals gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials," signifies, those truths and goods by which the evils and falses of the church are detected, taken from the literal sense of the Word: "Full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever,” signifies, the evils and falses which will appear, and be detected and laid open by pure and genuine truths and goods of the Word: "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power," signifies, the inmost of heaven full of the Lord's divine spiritual and celestial truth: "And no one was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were consummated," signifies, in such degree there, that it could not further be supported, and this until after devastation, the end of that church was seen.

THE EXPLANATION.

656. "AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous," signifies, a revelation from the Lord concerning the state of the church upon earth, and its quality as to love and faith. This is the subject of this and the following chapter; therefore it is signified by a sign in heaven, great and marvellous. That a sign in heaven signifies a revelation from the Lord concerning heaven and the church and of their state, see above, n. 532, 536; it is concerning love and faith, because it is called great and marvellous and great, in the Word, is said of such things as are of affection and love, and marvellous, of such things as are of thought and of faith.

657. "Seven angels having the seven last plagues,"