Spiritual Meaning of

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The signification of plagues, is evils, for example evils to come, even until they were utterly cast into hell, for which reason it is said in Exodus 9:14, all the plagues; and from the signification of sending, as being to rush in, for plagues or evils are not sent by Jehovah or the Lord, but rush in from evil itself; for in the other life evil carries its penalty with it, and has it as it were within itself (AC 696, 697, 1857, 6559). Hence it is that by I will send all My plagues is signified that all evils would rush in upon them.

[2] It is according to order that one plague should follow another, and the evil be thus successively cast down into hell, and therefore it is here said that it might come to pass that they would all rush in together. As the man of the church has no knowledge about the state of the life after death, he believes that after his life in the body a man is either at once uplifted into heaven, or cast into hell; when nevertheless this takes place successively, although with much variety in respect to times and in respect to states. With the good who are to be uplifted into heaven, evils are successively separated, and the good are filled with goods according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world. And with the evil who are to be cast into hell, goods are successively separated, and the evil are successively filled with evils, according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world.

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