Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 536charity, it should he added to what has been said, that love makesheaven, and because it makes heaven it also makes the church; forall the societies of heaven, and they are innumerable, as well as allwithin each society, are arranged according to the actions of love;so that it is affection or love according to which all things arearranged in the heavens, and not one person has his place accordingto faith. Spiritual affection or love is charity; it is evident, therefore,that no one can ever enter heaven if he is not in charity.257. Since in this prophetical book numbers are oftenmentioned, and no one can know the spiritual sense of the thingscontained therein unless it is known what the particular numberssignify (for all numbers in the Word, like all names, signify spiritualthings), and since the number “seven” is often mentioned amongothers, I win here show that “seven” signified all persons and allthings, likewise fullness and totality; for that which signifies allpersons and all things signifies also fullness and totality, for fullnessand totality are predicated of the magnitude of a thing, and allpersons and all things are predicated of multitude. That “seven” hassuch a signification can be seen from the following passages. inEzekiel:They that dwell in the cities of Israel shall set fire to and burn thearms, and the shield, and the buckler, with the bow and with thearrows, and the hand-staff, and the spear; and they shall make a firewith them seven years. And they shall bury Gog and all his multitude,and they shall cleanse the earth seven months (39:9, 11, 12).Here the desolation of all things in the church is treated of; “thosethat dwell in the cities of Israel” signify all goods of truth; “to setfire” signifies to consume by evils. “The arms, the shield, thebuckler, the bow, the arrows, the hand-staff, the spear,” are allthings pertaining to doctrine; “to make a fire with them sevenyears” means to consume them all and fully by evils. “Gog” signifiesthose who are in external worship and in no internal worship; “tobury them and cleanse the earth” means to destroy all such, andcompletely purge the church of them.[2] in Jeremiah: