1. After these things I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the land, holding back the four winds of the land, so that the wind should not blow upon the land, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree. 2. And I saw another angel coming up from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a great voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to harm the land and the sea;

3. Saying, Do no harm to land, or sea, or trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads. 4. And I heard the number of them that were sealed (signatorum); a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of Israel. 5. Out of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed. 6. Out of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand sealed. 7. Out of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand sealed. 8. Out of the tribe of Zebulon twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand sealed: out of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed. 9. After these things I saw, and behold a great crowd, which no one could number, out of every nation and [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. 10. And crying with a great voice, saying, Salvation (salus) to our God sitting upon the throne and to the Lamb. 11. And all the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four animals, and they fell before the throne upon their faces and adored God. 12. Saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, and honour, and vigour (virtus) and strength, to our God for ages of ages, Amen. 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These [people] clothed with white robes, who are they and whence have they come? 14. And I said unto him, Sir (Domine), thou knowest; and he said unto me, They are those who are coming out of great affliction, and have washed their robes, and made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. 15. By reason of this they are before the throne of God, and they are serving Him day and night in His temple, and the One sitting upon the throne shall remain over them. 16. They shall not hunger any more, nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat. 17. For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne shall feed (pascere) them and conduct them to living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE

THE CONTENT OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER

In this chapter it treats of those who are and those who will be in the Christian heaven; and first of their separation from the evil (vers. 1-3); after that it treats of those who are in love directed to the Lord and thereby in wisdom, out of whom the higher heavens [are formed] (vers. 4-8); and of those who are in charity and the faith thereof from the Lord, because they have fought against evils, out of whom the lower heavens [are formed] (vers. 9-17).

THE CONTENTS OF EACH OF THE VERSES

1. Afterwards I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the land signifies the entire heaven now in the effort to effect the last judgment. Holding back the four winds of the land, so that the wind should not blow upon the land, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree signifies a nearer and consequently stronger influx into the lower regions where the good were conjoined with the evil, held back and restrained by the Lord. 2. And I saw another angel coming up out of the rising of the sun signifies the Lord providing and moderating. Having the seal of the living God signifies Who alone has a knowledge of all [men] and of individuals, and is able to distinguish and separate them each one from the other. 3. And he cried with a great voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to harm the land and the sea, saying, Do no harm to land, or sea, or trees signifies the restraining and holding back by the Lord of the nearer and stronger influx into the lower regions. Till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads signifies before those have been separated who are in truths out of good from the Lord. 4. And I heard the number of them that were sealed (signatorum) a hundred and forty-four thousand signifies all who acknowledge the Lord as being the God of heaven and earth, and are in truths of doctrine out of the good of love from Him by means of the Word. Sealed out of every tribe of Israel signifies The Lord's heaven and Church from those. 5. Out of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed signifies celestial love, which is love directed to the Lord, and this with all who will be in the New Heaven and in the New Church. Out of the tribe of Reuben 12,000 sealed signifies the wisdom out of celestial love with those who will be there. Out of the tribe of Gad 2,000 sealed signifies the uses of life, which are of the wisdom out of that love with those who will be there. 6. Out of the tribe of Asher 12,000 sealed signifies mutual love with those. Out of the tribe of Naphtali 12,000 sealed signifies the perception of uses and of what uses are with those. Out of the tribe of Manasseh 12,000 sealed signifies the will of being serviceable and of action with those. 7. Out of the tribe of Simeon 12,000 sealed signifies spiritual love which is love towards the neighbour with those. Out of the tribe of Levi 12,000 sealed signifies the affection of truth out of good which results in intelligence with those. Out of the tribe of Issachar 12,000 sealed signifies the good of life with those. 8. Out of the tribe of Zebulon 12,000 sealed signifies the conjugial love of good and truth with those. Out of the tribe of Joseph 12,000 sealed signifies the doctrine of good and truth with those. Out of the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 sealed signifies the life of truth out of good in accordance with the doctrine with those. 9. After these things I saw, and behold a great crowd which no one could number signifies all the rest who are not of those enumerated, and yet are in the New Heaven and in the Lord's New Church, and who make the ultimate heaven and the external Church, of whose quality no one but the Only Lord has knowledge. Out of every nation and [all] tribes and peoples and tongues signifies all in Christendom who are in religion out of good, and in truths out of doctrine. Standing before the throne and before the Lamb signifies hearing the Lord and doing the things He commands. Clothed with white robes, and palms in [their] hands signifies communication and conjunction with the higher heavens, and confession out of Divine truths. 10. And crying with a great voice and saying, Salvation (salus) to our God sitting upon the throne and to the Lamb signifies acknowledgment from the heart that the Lord is their Saviour. 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four animals signifies all in the entire heaven. [And they fell before the throne upon their faces and adored God signifies the humiliation of their hearts and, as a result of the humiliation, adoration of the Lord.] 12. Saying, Amen signifies the Divine Truth (Veritas) and confirmation therefrom. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving signifies the Lord's spiritual Divine things. And honour and vigour (virtus) and strength signifies the Lord's celestial Divine things. To our God for ages of ages signifies those things in the Lord and from the Lord to eternity. Amen signifies the agreement of all. 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These [people] clothed with white robes, who are they, and whence have they come?

14. And I said unto him, Sir (Domine), thou knowest signifies a longing to know, and a will to inquire, and the answer and information. And he said, They are those who are coming out of great affliction signifies that they are those who have been in temptations, and have fought against evils and untruths. And have washed their robes signifies and who have cleansed their religious principles (religiosa) from evils of untruth. And have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb signifies and have purified them from untruths of evil by means of truths, and so have been reformed by the Lord. 15. By reason of this they are before the throne of God, and are serving Him day and night in His temple, and the One sitting upon the throne shall remain over them signifies that they are in the presence of the Lord, and are living constantly and faithfully in accordance with the truths that they are receiving from Him in His Church. 16. They shall not hunger any more, nor thirst any more signifies that henceforth they shall not lack goods and truths. Neither shall the sun fall upon them nor any heat signifies that henceforth they shall not have a lusting after evil nor after the untruth of evil. 17. For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne shall feed (pascere) them signifies that the Only Lord shall teach them. And conduct them to living fountains of waters signifies and shall lead them by means of the truths of the Word to conjunction with Himself. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes signifies that they shall not any more be in fights against evils and the untruths thereof, and so shall not be in sorrows but in goods and truths, and thereby in heavenly joys from the Lord.

THE EXPOSITION

[verse 1] 'Afterwards I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the land' signifies the entire heaven now in the effort to effect the last judgment upon those who were in the world of spirits. Many things now follow concerning the state of the spiritual world just before the last judgment. No one is able to know these things except by means of revelation from the Lord. And because it has been given to me to see how the last judgment has been carried through, and also the changes that have preceded it, and the orderly arrangements that have followed, I am able in consequence to report the things, in this chapter and those that follow, that are signified by all [the statements] therein. [2] Here, by 'four angels' is signified the entire heaven; by 'the four corners of the land' is signified the entire world of spirits, which is intermediate between heaven and hell; for the last judgment was effected on those who were in the world of spirits, but not on any in heaven nor on any in hell. Heaven is signified by 'angels' because by 'angel' in the highest sense is understood the Lord as to the Divine Human (n. 344); and because heaven is heaven from the Lord, by 'angels' heaven is also signified. [3] The entire heaven is signified by 'four angels' here because they were seen to stand 'upon the four corners of the land', and, by 'the four corners' the four quarters are signified. It is signified that the entire heaven was now in the effort to effect the last judgment, because the Lord, when the judgment was impending, caused the heavens to draw near over the world of spirits, and by the approach of the heavens there was effected such a change of state of the interiors of the minds with those below that they saw nothing but terrors before their eyes. [4] That 'corners' signify quarters, and consequently that 'the four corners' signify all the quarters, can be established from the following passages:-

You shall measure outside the city, the corner towards the east (ortus), the corner towards the south, the corner towards the west, and the corner towards the north Num. xxxv 5.

Thou shalt make the posts for the dwelling for the corner of the south, and for the corner of the north thereof Exod. xxvi 18, 20, 23.

And the court, to the south corner, to the north corner, to the west corner and to the east (oriens) corner Exod. xxvii 9, 11-13.

The four quarters are also frequently called 'the four corners' in Ezekiel, as in chap. xlvii 18-20 and chap. xlviii. [5] Since 'corners' signify quarters, therefore they also signify all things, as all things of heaven or of hell, or of good or truth, which is plain from these statements:-

Satan shall go forth to lead astray the nations that are at the four corners of the land Rev. xx 8.

I will cut off the nations, and their corners shall be devastated Zeph. iii 6.

Israel was gathered together as one man, and the corners of all the people stood firm Judg. xx 1, 2.

A sceptre shall rise out of Israel, that shall wear down the corners of Moab Num. xxiv 17.

A day of the trumpet and of clangour upon the high corners Zeph. i 16.

Into the farthest corners will I cast them out Deut. xxxii 26.

[6] That a 'corner' signifies an ultimate that holds up higher things, as the foundation does a house, and thus also signifies all things, is plain from these statements:-

He will found in Zion the stone of the corner, of the price of the founding of the foundation Isa. xxviii 16.

And they shall not take of it a stone for the corner Jer. li 26.

Out of Judah shall be the corner-stone Zech. x 4.

The stone which they rejected is become the head of the corner Ps. cxviii 22; Matt. xxi 42; Mark xii 10; Luke xx 17, 18.