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are not able to take away from those, who are not in the faith of charity, the faculty of understanding and willing what is true and good, but that they should only be able to induce stupor for a short time. By its being given them, is signified that it is so ordered from the divine providence of the Lord, as above; not to have power to kill them, signifies not to be able to take away from those who are not in the faith of charity, the faculty of understanding and willing what is true and good, for when this faculty is taken away, man is spiritually killed; by tormenting them five months, is signified to induce stupor for a short time; five signifies a little, or, a short time, and to torment, signifies to induce stupor, because this is what is signified by a scorpion, n. 425; and by the torment, as it were, of a scorpion, is signified as follows, n. 428. That the faculty of understanding truth and of willing it, or rationality and liberty, cannot be taken away from man, is amply shown in the Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, n. 73, 74, 82-86, 92-98, 138-149, 322. That five months signify a little, and, a short time, is owing to the signification of five, as denoting a little; for times, whether they be hours, days, weeks, or months, or years, do not signify time, but state; and numbers determine its quality, n. 4, 10, 348, 947. That five signifies something, and also a little, may appear from these places: "A thousand shall flee at the rebuke of five," Isaiah xxx. 17. "And five of you shall chase a hundred," Levit. xxvi. 8. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto ten virgins, of which five were wise, and five were foolish," Matt. xxv. 1, 2. By ten virgins are signified all in the church; by five are signified a certain part or some of them. The like is signified by ten and five in the parable where there were given unto the servants talents that they should trade, and one with his talent gained ten talents, and another, five, Luke xix. 13-20. Ten talents signify much, and five talents, a little; not to mention other passages; as in Isaiah xvii. 6, xix. 18, 19, Matt. xiv. 15-22.

428. "And their torment was as the torment of a

because it was commanded from heaven; by not hurting the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, is signified not to be able to take away any truth and good of faith; for by grass, is signified the truth of faith, which is what first springs up in man, n. 401; and, by green thing, is signified the living principle of faith, which is derived from good, n. 401; by not hurting any tree, is signified not to be able to take away the affection and perception of truth and good; for by a tree, is signified man as to these qualities, n. 400; by those men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads, are signified they who are not in charity, and thence in faith; for the forehead signifies love and charity, n. 347; and to have the seal, signifies to know and distinguish them from others, n. 345. The reason why they who have confirmed faith alone, to the very arcana of justification and salvation by it, cannot take away any truth and good of faith, nor the affection and perception of them, from any but those who are not in the faith of charity, is, because they are scarcely comprehended by any one but the priest who teaches and preaches them. The layman hears them, but they enter in at one ear and go out at the other; which the priest himself, who utters those arcana, may know of a certainty from this circumstance, that he himself spent the whole force of his genius in acquiring a knowledge of them in his youth, and afterwards in retaining them in adult age, likewise from his considering himself as a man of extraordinary learning: what then must be the case with a layman, who simply thinks of faith from charity, when he hears these mysteries? From what has been said, it may be seen, that faith alone, as being competent to justification, is the faith of the clergy, and not of the laity, save such of them as live unconcernedly, who imbibe no more from their arcana than that faith alone saves; that they cannot do good from themselves, nor fulfill the law; and that Christ suffered for them; besides some other universals of a similar nature.

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427. "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months,' signifies, that from the divine providence of the Lord, they

are not able to take away from those, who are not in the faith of charity, the faculty of understanding and willing what is true and good, but that they should only be able to induce stupor for a short time. By its being given them, is signified that it is so ordered from the divine providence of the Lord, as above; not to have power to kill them, signifies not to be able to take away from those who are not in the faith of charity, the faculty of understanding and willing what is true and good, for when this faculty is taken away, man is spiritually killed; by tormenting them five months, is signified to induce stupor for a short time; five signifies a little, or, a short time, and to torment, signifies to induce stupor, because this is what is signified by a scorpion, n. 425; and by the torment, as it were, of a scorpion, is signified as follows, n. 428. That the faculty of understanding truth and of willing it, or rationality and liberty, cannot be taken away from man, is amply shown in the Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, n. 73, 74, 82-86, 92-98, 138-149, 322. That five months signify a little, and, a short time, is owing to the signification of five, as denoting a little; for times, whether they be hours, days, weeks, or months, or years, do not signify time, but state; and numbers determine its quality, n. 4, 10, 348, 947. That five signifies something, and also a little, may appear from these places: "A thousand shall flee at the rebuke of five," Isaiah xxx. 17. "And five of you shall chase a hundred," Levit. xxvi. 8. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto ten virgins, of which five were wise, and five were foolish," Matt. xxv. 1, 2. By ten virgins are signified all in the church; by five are signified a certain part or some of them. The like is signified by ten and five in the parable where there were given unto the servants talents that they should trade, and one with his talent gained ten talents, and another, five, Luke xix. 13-20. Ten talents signify much, and five talents, a little; not to mention other passages; as in Isaiah xvii. 6, xix. 18, 19, Matt. xiv. 15-22.

428. "And their torment was as the torment of a

scorpion when he striketh a man," signifies, that this is from their power of persuasion. This follows from what was said, n. 427; for by torment is signified the stupor, which their persuasion induces upon the understanding, as the scorpion does upon the body when he stings it; a scorpion signifies that faculty of persuasion, n. 425. In the spiritual world there exists a power of persuasion which takes away the understanding of truth, and induces stupor, and thus distress, upon the mind; but this power of persuasion is unknown in the natural world.

429. "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them," signifies, that it is the desire of those who are in the doctrine of faith separated, that in matters of faith the understanding should be shut up, and the will closed, and thus that they should not have any spiritual light and life; but that it is nevertheless provided by the Lord that the understanding should not be shut up, nor the will closed, lest spiritual light and life in man should be extinguished. In those days, signifies the last state of the church, when the doctrine of faith alone is universally received; men shall seek death, signifies that they will desire that, in matters of faith, the understanding should be shut up; and shall not find it, signifies that it is provided of the Lord, that this should not be done; and shall desire to die, signifies that they will also wish to have the will closed in them; and death shall flee from them, signifies that it is provided that neither should take place; for thus spiritual light and life would be extinguished, and man would spiritually die; to seek, is predicated of the understanding; and to desire, of the will; and death, of both. That this is the signification of these words, is evident; otherwise, what meaning could there be in men's seeking death in those days and not finding it, and desiring to die and death fleeing from them? for by death, no other death is meant but spiritual death, which is induced when the understanding is removed from the things that are to be believed; for, in this case, man knows not whether he thinks and does what is true, or what is false, thus whether he thinks and acts with the angels of heaven, or with the devils of hell.

430. "And the shapes of the locusts," signifies, the form and appearances of those who have confirmed in themselves faith separated from charity. By shapes, is signified their appearances in a representative image; by locusts, are signified falses in extreme or lowest principles, n. 424; and as falses make one with those who are in falses, they also are signified by locusts. That they who have confirmed themselves in faith alone, or that the falses in which they are principled, are meant by locusts, appeared evident to me from this circumstance, that the presbyters who were in' that faith, embraced the locusts that were seen, and kissed them, and were desirous of introducing them into their houses; for the images, which are forms representative of the affections and thoughts of angels and spirits in the spiritual world, appear as if they were alive, in like manner as the animals, birds, and fishes, mentioned above.

431. "Were like unto horses prepared unto battle," signifies, that because they can reason, they appear to themselves to combat from the understanding of truth from the Word. By a horse, is signified the understanding of the Word, n. 298; by war, is signified spiritual war, which consists in reasonings and argumentations, n. 500, 586; by like, or similitudes, are signified appearances, as above, n. 430.

432. "And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold," signifies, that they appeared to themselves as conquerors. By crowns on their heads like gold, are signified tokens of victory, because formerly kings wore crowns of gold in battle, n. 300; for it is said that they were seen like horses, that is, on horses prepared for war, n. 431, for they had the faces of men, as follows; and they are in the persuasion that they are invincible.

433." And their faces were as the faces of men," signifies, that they appeared to themselves to be wise. By man, in the Word, is signified to be wise and intelligent, n. 243; and by his face, wisdom and intelligence: hence it is, that by their faces being as the faces of men, is signified, that they appeared to themselves to be wise. They are also called wise, learned, and erudite, although

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