645. And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, signifies that truths with such are turned into falsities from evil. This is evident from the signification of "having power" when "the olive trees and lampstands" are referred to, as signifying the goods of love and the truths of doctrine; not that these themselves have such power, namely, to turn truths into falsities, since this is contrary to their nature, which is to turn falsities into truths, for good acts with them and not evil, and yet they appear to have this power and appear to do this, because this occurs when they are hurt; but it is the evil that is from hell, or hell from which all evil comes, that "turns waters into blood," that is, truths into falsities from evil. The above is evident also from the signification of "waters," as being truths (of which above, n. 71, 483, 518, 537, 538); also from the signification of "blood," as being the truth of the Word, and thence of doctrine from the Word, and in the contrary sense falsity, in particular the truth of the Word falsified, for "to shed blood" signifies to do violence to charity, and also to Divine truth which is in the Word. (But as to the signification of "blood" in both senses, see above, n. 329.)