Spiritual Meaning of REVELATION 17:11
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AR 739. Verse 11. And the beast which was and is not is himself the eighth, and is of the seven, and he goeth into perdition, signifies that the Word, as explained above, is the Divine good itself, and that it is the Divine truth, and that it is taken away from the laity and the common people, lest the profanations and adulterations made in it by their leaders should appear, and they should on that account recede. By "the beast which was and is not" is signified the Word, as before (ver. 8); by "his being himself the eighth," here the eighth mountain, is signified, that it is the Divine good itself; for by "the seven mountains" the Divine goods of the Word are signified (n. 737); hence by "the beast himself is the eighth" mountain, is signified that it is the Divine good itself. Good is also signified by "the eighth;" and as all the goods of the Word among them were profaned, he himself is not said to be of the seven mountains, as he is just said to be of the seven kings, by whom the Divine truths of the Word are signified, not all of which were adulterated (n. 737, 738). From these few things the arcanum may be seen which lies hidden in these words. By "his going into perdition" is signified that it is rejected, as above (n. 734); but because the Word is not so rejected but that it is acknowledged as holy, but is taken away from the laity and the common people lest the profanations of good and the adulterations of truth made in it by their leaders should appear, and the laity should on that account withdraw, therefore this, because it is the cause itself, is signified by "going into perdition." That the Word is the Divine good itself and the Divine truth is because there is in each and everything of it the marriage of the Lord and the church, and thence the marriage of good and truth; also because there is in everything of it a celestial sense and a spiritual sense; and in the celestial sense it is the Divine good, and in the spiritual sense it is the Divine truth; and these are in the Word, because the Lord is the Word; which things are all demonstrated in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, published at Amsterdam.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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