6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. -Revelation 12:6 Bible, King James Version (KJV)
729. Verse 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 6. "And the woman fled into the wilderness," signifies the church among a few...; "where she hath a place prepared by God," signifies its state...; "that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days," signifies until it grows to fullness (n. 732).
730. Verse 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, signifies the church among a few... as there are at the end of the church but few who are in truths from good... From this it is clear what these words involve, namely, that the New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem, which is signified by "the woman," can as yet be instituted only with a few, by reason that the former church is become a wilderness; and the church is called a "wilderness" when there is no longer any good; and where there is no good there are no truths. When the church is such, evils and falsities reign, which hinder the reception of its doctrine, that is, the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour... [4] In the Word wilderness and also solitude and waste places are mentioned in many passages, and these signify the state of the church when there is no longer any truth in it because there is no good. This state of the church is called a "wilderness" because in the spiritual world the place where those dwell who are not in truths because they are not in good is like a wilderness, where there is no verdure [or lush greenery] in the plains, nor harvest in the fields, nor fruit trees in the gardens, but a barren land, parched and dry; moreover "wilderness" signifies in the Word the state of the church with the Gentiles who are in ignorance of truth, and yet are in the good of life according to their religious principle, from which they have a desire for truths. "Wilderness," signifies also in the Word the state of those who are in temptations, because in temptations goods and truths are shut in by the evils and falsities that come forth and are presented to the mind...
731. Where she hath a place prepared by God, signifies the state of the church that in the meantime provision may be made for it...; and what next follows, namely, "that they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days," signifies until it grows to fullness (see below, n. 732)... [2] "Place" signifies state because spaces, places, and distances, in the spiritual world, are in their origin states of life. These, indeed, appear there just the same as in this world, and yet they are different in this respect, that the quality of everyone is known from the place where he dwells, and where he dwells is known from what he is; ...and this for the reason that all things in the spiritual world that appear before the eyes, even to the lands, are correspondences of things spiritual; this is why "place" signifies state. (That spaces, places, and distances, are in their origin states, and thence in the Word signify states, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 191-199, in the article on Space in Heaven.)...[3] From this it may appear what is meant by the Lord's words to His disciples: That in His Father's house there are many mansions, and that He would go to prepare a place for them; and if He should go and prepare a place for them that He would come and take them to Himself (John 14:2, 3). "To prepare a place for them" signifies to provide heaven for everyone according to the state of his life...
732. That there they may nourish her a thousand and two hundred and sixty days, signifies until it grows to fullness... because this follows from what precedes, namely, that "the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God," which signifies that the New Church, which is meant by "the woman," is at first amongst a few, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more...
732. That there they may nourish her a thousand and two hundred and sixty days, signifies until it grows to fullness... because this follows from what precedes, namely, that "the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God," which signifies that the New Church, which is meant by "the woman," is at first amongst a few, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more...
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