647. As often as they shall desire.- That this signifies as often as man assaults the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, which bear witness concerning the Lord, and from which man acknowledges and confesses the Lord, to inflict evil upon them, is evident from the signification of "as often as they shall desire," when said of the two witnesses, by whom are meant those who acknowledge and confess the Lord, not that they themselves will and do the evils which have been so far referred to, but that the evil themselves bring them upon themselves when they assault the goods and truths which proceed from the Lord in order to inflict injury upon them. For in the sense of the letter of the Word it is ascribed to Jehovah God, that is, to the Lord, that He is angry, and wrathful, that He is furious against the wicked, and that He does evil to them, indeed, that He wills to do evil, when notwithstanding the Lord is never angry or wrathful, and neither wills nor does evil to any one. For the Lord flows-in with every man, from good with good, and from truth with truths from good, for He desires to bring all unto Himself and to save them. From these things it is evident that the expression "as often as the witnesses shall desire" does not mean as often as they desire, but as often as the wicked desire or do evil from willing it, that is, assault the goods and truths of heaven and of the church which are from the Lord with intent to injure them.
[2] That it is neither the Lord, nor the good of love and truth of faith which are from the Lord with men and angels, that wishes evil to any one, is evident from this fact, that the Lord God is not the cause of evil with any one; and He who is not the cause of evil is not the cause of punishment, but the evil itself which is in man is the cause of it. In the spiritual world where heaven and hell are, every thing is so ordered that the Lord never casts any one into bell, but the evil spirit himself, as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell (n. 545-550). This is the case because the Lord is not the cause of evil, and he who is not the cause of evil is not the cause of any effect which exists from evil. From these things now it is evident that what is contained in this verse, namely, "That the two witnesses have power to shut heaven, that the rain rain not," and that "they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they shall desire," is not to be understood according to the sense of the letter, but according to the spiritual sense, which is, that those who do evil to the two witnesses bring such things upon themselves. For so far as any one does evil to them, so far he shuts heaven against himself, and with himself turns truths into falsities, and so far he himself destroys himself by the lusts of evil.
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