Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 283175a. I will give him power over the nations, signifies over the evilswithin him, which will then be scattered by the Lord. This isevident from the signification of “nations,” as being evils (of whichpresently); and from the signification of “giving power over them,”as being that these (the evils) will then be dispersed by the Lord.“To have power,” in reference to “over the nations,” means toscatter in reference to evils; thus there is an adaptation of words totheir subjects. It is said that evils will be scattered by the Lord, forthe Lord scatters evils by means of truths. He first discovers themto man by means of truths, and when man acknowledges the evils,the Lord scatters them. (That the Lord alone does this, see Doctrineof the New Jerusalem, n. 200.) “Nations and peoples” are oftenmentioned in the Word, and those who know nothing of thespiritual or internal sense of the Word, believe that peoples andnations are to be understood. But “peoples” mean those who are intruths, or in the contrary sense those who are in falsities, and“nations” those who are in goods, or in the contrary sense, thosewho are in evils. And as such are meant by “peoples” and by“nations,” so abstractly from persons “peoples” mean truths orfalsities, and “nations” goods and evils; for the true spiritual sense isabstracted from persons, spaces, times, and like things, that areproper to nature.[2] With these the natural sense of the Word, which is the senseof its letter, is at one; and the sense that is at one with these servesas a basis to the sense that is apart from them. For all things that arein nature are ultimates of Divine order, and the Divine does notrest in the middle, but flows down even to its ultimates, and theresubsists. From this it is that the Word in the letter is such as it is,and unless it were such it would not serve as a basis for the wisdomof angels who are spiritual. It can be seen from this how mistakenthose are who despise the Word on account of its style. “Nations”signify those who are in good, and in the abstract, goods, becausemen who lived in ancient times were divided into nations, families,and houses; and they then loved each other mutually; and thefather of a nation loved the whole nation which was from him; thusthe good of love reigned among them. For this reason “nations”signified goods. But when men came into the opposite state, whichtook place in the following ages when empires were established,