891. Verse 8. But the fearful, and the unfaithful, and the abominable, signifies those who are in no faith, and in no charity, and thence in evils of every kind. By "the fearful" are signified they who are in no faith, as will be seen presently; by "the unfaithful" are signified they who are in no charity towards the neighbor, for these are insincere and fraudulent, consequently unfaithful; by "the abominable" are signified they who are in all kinds of evils, for "abominations" in the Word signify in general the evils which are named in the six last commandments of the Decalogue, as may be seen in Jeremiah:
Trust ye not upon the words of a lie, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah are these; will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery, and swear by a lie, and come and stand before Me in this house, when ye do these abominations? (Jer. 7:2-4, 9-11);
and so in all other places. That by "the fearful" are signified they who are in no faith, is evident from the following passages:
Jesus said to the disciples, Why are ye fearful, O men of little faith? (Matt. 8:26; Mark 4:39, 40; Luke 8:25) Jesus said unto the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not; believe only, then thy daughter shall be saved (Luke 8:49, 50; Mark 5:36). Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). The same is meant by "fear not" (Matt. 17:6, 7; 28:3-5, 10; Luke 1:12-13, 30; 2:9-10; 5:8-10, and elsewhere). From all these things it may appear, that by "the fearful, and the unfaithful, and the abominable," are signified they who are in no faith, and in no charity, and thence are in all kinds of evils.
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