Spiritual Meaning of REVELATION 20:1
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AR 840. Verse 1. And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand, signifies the Lord’s operation into lower things, from His Divine power of shutting and opening, and of binding and loosing. By "an angel coming down from heaven," is meant the Lord (n. 5, 170, 344, 465, 657, 718); also the Lord‘s operation (n. 415, 631, 633, 649); here into lower things, because it is said "coming down"; by having "the key of the abyss" is signified the Divine power of opening and shutting hell (n. 62, 174); and "by having a great chain in his hand," is signified the endeavor and thence the act of binding and loosing. Hence it follows that there was not any key nor a chain in the Lord’s hand; but it was so seen by John that it might be a representative of the Lord‘s Divine power; the opening and shutting of hell is also treated of two or three times in this chapter.

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design:  I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.

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