give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn," xxiv. 29, 30: these things are said of the consummation of the age, which is the end of the church; the sun shall be darkened, signifies, that there is no longer any love and charity; the moon shall not give her light, signifies, that there is no longer any intelligence and faith; the stars shall fall from heaven, signifies, that there are no longer any knowledges of good and truth; all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, signifies, that there are no longer any goods and truths; tribulation, signifies, that state of the church.

28. "Even so, Amen," signifies, the divine confirmation that so it will be. This is evident from what was explained above, n. 19.

29. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," signifies, who is the self-subsisting and only-subsisting from first principles to ultimates; from whom proceed all things; thus, who is the self-subsisting and only-subsisting love, the self-subsisting and only-subsisting wisdom, and the self-subsisting and only-subsisting life in himself; and, consequently, the self-subsisting and only-subsisting Creator, Saviour, and Illuminator, from himself; and thence the All in all of heaven and the church. These and many more things besides are contained in the above words, by which the Lord is described; that they are spoken of the Lord, and, indeed, of his Humanity, is very evident, for it follows, that John heard a voice, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; and I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and saw the Son of Man in the midst of seven candlesticks," chap. i. 10-13: who, also, a little further on, says, "I am the First and the Last, I am he that liveth and was dead," verse 17, 18; chap. ii. 8. But that all the particulars above enumerated are contained in these words, cannot be confirmed briefly, for to confirm them, so as to be well comprehended, would require many volumes; still they are in part confirmed in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love

and the Divine Wisdom. The Lord calls himself the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End; because Alpha and Omega, refer to his divine love, and Beginning and End, to his divine wisdom; for there is, in every particular of the Word, a marriage of love and wisdom, or of good and truth; on which subject, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 80-90. The Lord is called the Alpha and the Omega, because alpha is the first letter, and omega the last in the Greek alphabet, and therefore signify all in the aggregate; the reason is, because each letter of the alphabet, in the spiritual world, signifies something; and a vowel, being used for sound, somewhat of affection or love; from this origin, spiritual and angelic speech, and, also, the Scriptures, are derived; but this is an arcanum hitherto unknown; for there is a universal language which all angels and spirits use; and this has nothing in common with any language of men in the world: every man comes into this language after death; for it is inherent in every man from creation, therefore they all can understand each other in the spiritual world. It has been granted me frequently to hear that language, and also to speak it; and I have compared it with the languages in this world, and have found that it does not, even in the smallest particular, make one with any natural language upon the earth; it differs from these in its first principles, which are, that each letter of every word has a sense and signification peculiar to itself, as well in speaking as in writing: therefore it is, that the Lord is called the Alpha and the Omega, which signifies, that he is the All in all of heaven and the church; and as these two letters are vowels, they have relation to love, as was said above. Concerning this language, and the writing of it, as flowing from the spiritual thought of the angels, something may be seen in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 295.

30. "Saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come;" that this signifies, who is eternal and infinite, and who is Jehovah, may be seen above, n. 13, where the same is explained.

31. "The Almighty," signifies, who is, lives, and has power from himself, and who governs all things from first principles by ultimates. Since all things are from the Lord, and are created from the first principles which are from him; and since there is nothing made which does not thence derive its existence, as is abundantly shown in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, it follows, that he is omnipotent. Suppose a one from whom are all things; are not all things of that one, upon which they depend in their order, as the links of a chain upon their hook; or as the bloodvessels of the whole body upon the heart; or as all and every thing in the universe upon the sun? thus do all things depend upon the Lord, who is the sun of the spiritual world, from whom all the essence, life, and power, possessed by those who are under that sun, is derived; in a word, from him we live, and move, and have our being, Acts xvii. 28: this is divine omnipotence. That the Lord rules all things from first principles by ultimates, is an arcanum never before revealed; but it is now explained in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, and concerning the Sacred Scripture, in many places; and also in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, n. 124; and concerning The Divine Love, n. 221. It is well known, that the Divine being infinite, does not fall within the ideas of the thought of any man or angel, because these are finite, and what is finite is not capable of perceiving the infinite; still, that it may in some manner be perceived, it has pleased the Lord to describe his infinity by these words: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End; who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty; these words, therefore, include all things that ever angel or man can think, spiritually and naturally, concerning the divine; which things, in general, are what were adduced above in an universal manner.

32. "I John, who also am your brother and companion," signifies, those who are in the good of charity, and thence in the truths of faith. It was observed above, n. 5, that the apostle John represented those who are in the good

of charity; and they who are in the good of charity are, also, in the truths of faith, because charity is the life and soul of faith; hence it is, that John calls himself the brother and companion of those in the church to whom he wrote, for he wrote to the seven churches: by brother, in the spiritual sense of the Word, is meant, one who is in the good of charity; and by companion, one who is thence in the truths of faith; for all are, as it were, in consanguinity by charity, but in affinity by faith; for charity conjoins; not so faith, except it be from charity: when faith is from charity, then charity conjoins, and faith consociates; and since they make one, therefore, the Lord commanded that all should be brethren, for he says, "One is your master, even Christ, but all ye are brethren," Matt. xxiii. 8; the Lord, also, calls those brethren who are in the good of charity, or in good of life; for he said, "My mother and my brethren are these, who hear the Word of God, and do it," Luke viii. 21, Matt. xii. 49, Mark iii. 33-35. By mother is meant the church, and by brethren those who are in charity; and as the good of charity is denoted by brother, therefore the Lord calls those who are principled therein, brethren, in Matthew, also, xxv. 40, and likewise disciples, Matt. xxviii. 10, John xx. 17; but it is not written that the disciples called the Lord brother, because brother denotes the good which is from the Lord: the case is comparatively as it is with kings, princes, and great men, who call those who are connected with them by blood or affinity, brethren, but yet the latter do not in their turn call them so; for the Lord says, "One is your master, even Christ, but all ye are brethren," Matt. xxiii. 8; also, "Ye call me master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am," John xiii. 13. The children of Israel called all those brethren, who were descended from their father Jacob: and in a more extensive sense, those, also, who were descended from Esau; but such as were not descended from them, they called companions. But as the Word, in its spiritual sense, treats only of those who are in the Lord's church, therefore in that sense, by brethren, they are meant, who are in the good of charity from the Lord, and, by com

panions, they who are in the truths of faith; as in the following passages: "Thus shall ye say every one to his companion, and every one to his brother, what hath Jehovah answered?" Jer. xxiii. 35. "Ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty every one to his brother, and every man to his companion," Jer. xxxiv. 17. "He shall not exact it from his companion, or of his brother," Deut. xv. 2. "For my brethren and companions' sakes I will now say," Psalm exxii. 8. "They help every one his companion, and every one said to his brother, be of good courage," Isaiah xli. 6; and in an opposite sense, “Take ye heed every one of his companion, and trust ye not in any brother, for every brother will utterly supplant, and every companion will walk with slanders," Jer. ix. 4. “I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his companion," Isaiah xix. 2; and in other places. These passages are adduced, that it may be known why John calls himself brother and companion; and that by brother, in the Word, is meant one who is in charity or in good, and, by companion, one who is in faith or in truth. But as it is charity from which faith is derived, therefore none are called companions by the Lord, but brethren or neighbor; every one, indeed, is a neighbor according to the quality of good, Luke x. 36, 37.

33. "In tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," signifies, which in the church are infested by evils and falses, but which will be removed by the Lord at his coming. By tribulation, is meant the state of the church when there are no longer any goods of charity and truths of faith, but instead of them, evils and falses ; -by the kingdom, is meant the church; and, by patience of Jesus Christ, is meant the Lord's advent; therefore these words, "In tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," when collated into one sense, signify, when the goods and truths of the church are infested by evils and falses, but which will be removed by the Lord at his coming. That by tribulation, is meant the state of the church when it is infested by evils and falses is evident from the following passages: "In the