1. After these things I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God;

2. For true and just are His judgments; for He hath judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her whoredom, and He hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. 3. And a second time they said, Alleluia; and her smoke shall go up unto the ages of the ages. 4. And the twenty-four elders and the four animals fell down, and adored God who sitteth upon the throne, saying, Amen. Alleluia. 5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both the small and the great. 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as it were the voice of many waters, and as it were the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God the Almighty reigneth. 7. Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. 8. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen clean and bright; for the fine linen is the just deeds of the saints. 9. And He said unto me, Write, Happy are they that have been called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He said, These are the true words of God. 10. And I fell down before his feet to adore him; and he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; adore God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 11. And I saw heaven opened; and behold a white horse; and He that sitteth upon him is called faithful and true; and in justice He doth judge and make war. 12. And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and upon His head were many diadems; having a name written, which no one knew but Himself:

13. And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called, The Word of God. 14. And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean. 15. And out of His mouth went forth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall tend them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the wine of the fury and anger of God Almighty. 16. And He hath upon His garment and upon His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders of thousands, and the flesh of the mighty, and the flesh of horses, and of them to sit upon them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, both small and great. 19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with Him that sat upon the horse, and with His army. 20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, that did signs before him, with which he seduced them that received the mark of the beast, and that adored his image; these two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21. And the rest were slain by the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, that proceeded out of His mouth; and all the birds were satiated with their flesh.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE

The contents of the whole chapter

The glorification of the Lord by the angels of heaven, because the Roman Catholic religious persuasion is removed in the spiritual world, whereby they have come into the light and into their happiness (verses 1-5). Annunciation concerning the Lord's coming, and concerning the New Church from Him (verses 6-10). The opening of the Word as to the spiritual sense for that church (verses 11-16). The calling of all to it (verses 17-18). Resistance by those who are in faith separated from charity (verse 19). Their removal and damnation (verses 20-21).

The contents of each verse

Verse 1. "After these things I heard as it were a voice as of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia," signifies thanksgiving, confession and celebration of the Lord by the angels of the lower heavens, on account of the removal of the Babylonians (n. 803). "Salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God," signifies that now there is salvation from the Lord, because now there is reception of Divine truth and Divine good from His Divine power (n. 804). Verse 2. "For true and just are His judgments; for He hath judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her whoredom," signifies because in justice the profane Babylonish religious persuasion is condemned, which has destroyed the Lord's church by filthy adulterations of the Word (n. 805). "And He hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand," signifies retribution for the injuries and violence offered to the souls of the worshipers of the Lord (n. 806). Verse 3. "And a second time they said, Alleluia; and her smoke goeth up unto the ages of the ages," signifies thanksgiving and celebration of the Lord from joy that that profane religious persuasion is condemned to eternity (n. 807). Verse 4. "And the twenty-four elders and the four animals fell down, and adored God who sitteth upon the throne, saying, Amen. Alleluia," signifies adoration of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and as the Judge of the universe, by the angels of the higher heavens, and confirmation of the thanksgiving, confession, and celebration of the Lord by the angels of the lower heavens (n. 808). Verse 5. "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him," signifies influx from the Lord into heaven, and thus unanimity of the angels, that all who are in the truths of faith and in the goods of love should worship the Lord as the only God of heaven (n. 809). "Both small and great," signifies those who worship the Lord from the truths of faith and the goods of love in a less or a greater degree (n. 810). Verse 6. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as it were the voice of many waters, and as it were the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God the Almighty reigneth," signifies the joy of the angels of the lowest heaven, of the angels of the middle heaven, and of the angels of the highest heaven, that the Lord alone reigns in the church which is now to come (n. 811). Verse 7. "Let us rejoice and exult and let us give the glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come," signifies joy of soul and heart, and thence the glorification of the Lord, that henceforth there may be the full marriage of Him with the church (n. 812). "And His wife hath made herself ready," signifies that they who will be of this church, which is the New Jerusalem, are collected together, inaugurated and instructed (n. 813). Verse 8. "And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen clean and bright," signifies that they are instructed by the Lord in genuine and pure truths through the Word (n. 814). "For the fine linen is the just deeds of the saints," signifies that through truths from the Word those who are of the Lord's church have the goods of life (n. 815). Verse 9. "And he said unto me, Write, Happy are they that have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," signifies an angel sent from heaven to John, and speaking with him concerning the Lord's New Church, and saying that it was given to know on earth, that those have eternal life who receive the things which are of that church (n. 816). "And he said, These are the true words of God," signifies that this is to be believed because it is from the Lord (n. 817). Verse 10. "And I fell down before his feet to adore him; and he said, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; adore God," signifies that the angels of heaven are not to be adored and invoked, because there is nothing Divine in them; but that they are associated with men, as brethren with brethren, with those who worship the Lord, and thus that in consociation with them the Lord alone is to be adored (n. 818). "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," signifies that the acknowledgment that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and at the same time a life according to His precepts, in the universal sense the all of the Word and of doctrine therefrom (n. 819). Verse 11. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse," signifies the spiritual sense of the Word revealed by the Lord, and the interior understanding of the Word disclosed thereby, which is the coming of the Lord (n. 820). "And He that sitteth upon him is called faithful and true; and in justice He doth judge and make war," signifies the Lord as to the Word, that it is the Divine good itself and the Divine truth itself, from both of which He executes judgment (n. 821). Verse 12. "And His eyes were as a flame of fire," signifies the Divine wisdom of the Lord's Divine love (n. 822). "And upon His head were many diadems," signifies the Divine truths of the Word from Him (n. 823). "Having a name written which no one knew but Himself," signifies that what the quality of the Word is in its spiritual and celestial senses no one sees but the Lord, and he to whom He reveals it (n. 824). Verse 13. "And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God," signifies the Divine truth in its ultimate sense, or the Word in the letter, to which violence has been offered (n. 825). Verse 14. "And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean," signifies the angels in the New Christian heaven, who were conjoined to the Lord in the interior understanding of the Word, and thus who are in pure and genuine truths (n. 826). Verse 15. "And out of His mouth went forth a sharp sword," signifies the dispersion of falsities by the Lord by doctrine therefrom (n. 827). "That with it He should smite the nations; and He shall tend them with a rod of iron," signifies that He will convince all who are in dead faith, by the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, and by rational things (n. 828). "And He treadeth the winepress of the fury and anger of God Almighty," signifies that the Lord endured alone all the evils of the church, and all the violence offered to the Word, and thus to Himself (n. 829). Ver. 16. "And He hath upon His garment and upon His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords," signifies that the Lord teaches in the Word what He is, that He is the Divine truth of the Divine wisdom and the Divine good of the Divine love, thus that He is the God of the universe (n. 830). Verse 17. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God," signifies the Lord from the Divine love, and thence from Divine zeal, calling and assembling all who are in the spiritual affection of truth and think of heaven, to the New Church, and to conjunction with Himself, and thus to eternal life (n. 831). Verse 18. "That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders of thousands, and the flesh of the mighty, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit upon them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, and small and great," signifies the appropriation of goods from the Lord through the truths of the Word and of doctrine thence, in every sense, degree, and kind (n. 832). Verse 19. "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with Him that sat upon the horse, and with His army," signifies that all the interiorly evil, who have professed faith alone, with the leaders and their followers, will fight against the Lord's Divine truths in His Word, and will infest those who will be of the Lord's New Church (n. 833). Verse 20. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that did signs before him, with which he seduced them that received the mark of the beast, and adored His image," signifies all those who professed faith alone, and were interiorly evil, both the laity and the common people, as also the clergy and the learned, who by reasonings and attestations that faith alone is the only means of salvation, have led others to receive that faith, and to live according to it (n. 834). "These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone," signifies that all those, as they were, were cast into hell, where are loves of falsity and at the same time lusts of evil (n. 835). Verse 21. "And the rest were slain by the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, that proceeded out of His mouth," signifies that all from the various heresies among the Reformed, who have not lived according to the Lord's commandments in the Word, which they knew, being judged from the Word, perish (n. 836). "And all the birds were satiated with their flesh," signifies that from their lusts of evil, which are their proprium, the infernal genii are as it were nourished.

THE EXPLANATION

Verse 1. After these things I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia, signifies thanksgiving, confession, and celebration of the Lord by the angels of the lower heavens, on account of the removal of the Babylonians. By "a great multitude in heaven," are signified the angels of the lower heavens; by "their voice saying, Alleluia," is signified thanksgiving, confession, and celebration of the Lord by them; by "Alleluia," in the Hebrew language, is signified, Praise ye God, therefore it was an expression of thanksgiving, confession, and celebration of the Lord from joy of heart, as appears from these passages:

Bless Jehovah, O my soul. Alleluia (Ps. 104:35). Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen. Alleluia (Ps. 106:48). We will bless Jah from now even to eternity. Alleluia (Ps. 115:18). Let every soul praise Jah. Alleluia (Ps. 150:6; besides other places, as Ps. 105:45; 106:1; 111:1; 112:1; 113:1, 9; 116:19; 117:2; 135:3; 148:1, 14; 149:1, 9; 150:1). That it is on account of the rejection of the Babylonians, is evident from the preceding chapter, which treats of the Babylonians, for which reason it is said, "After these things," and also from what follows (verses 2, 3) in this chapter. That the angels of the lower heavens are meant by "a great multitude in heaven," is plain from verse 4 of this chapter, where it is said that "the twenty-four elders and the four animals adored Him that sat upon the throne, saying Amen. Alleluia," by whom the angels of the higher heavens are meant.