"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns," signifies manifestation of all things.

"The beast, which thou sawest, was, and is not," signifies the Word which, in the beginning, was received in the church and read, and afterward, taken away from the people and not read: "and is about to ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition," signifies its being acknowledged as Divine, but still rejected: "and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder," signifies those of that religious persuasion who reject the Word: "they whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world," signifies there are those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine power over heaven and earth, but as transferred to some vicar, and from him to his vicars: "when they behold the beast that was, and is not," signifies when they know that the Word was received, but still rejected: "but yet is," signifies that still it is, because it is Divine, and not rejected, except by the profane.