Revelation 6:12-14 When he opened the sixth seal

 

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. -Revelation 6:12-14 Bible, King James Version (KJV)

Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com

398. Verses 12-14. And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 12. "And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal," signifies still further prediction respecting the state of the church (n. 399); "and behold there was a great earthquake" signifies the state of the church entirely changed (n. 400); "and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood," signifies that all the good of love was separated, and thence all truth of faith falsified (n. 401). 13. "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth," signifies that the knowledges of good and truth perished (n. 402); "as a fig-tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind," signifies which knowledges the natural man has laid waste by reasonings (n. 403). 14. "And the heaven departed as a book rolled up," signifies that the spiritual man became closed up (n. 404); "and every mountain and island were moved out of their places," signifies that every good of love and every truth of faith perished (n.406).

399. Verse 12. And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal, signifies still further prediction respecting the state of the church...

400. And behold there was a great earthquake, signifies the state of the church entirely changed... In what precedes it was predicted that the understanding of the Word in relation to good, and afterwards in relation to truth, would perish, and that at length there would be no understanding of the Word in consequence of the evils of life and the falsities of doctrine from them. The destruction of the understanding of the Word in relation to good was signified by "the red horse" that was seen to go forth from the opened seal of the book (of which above, n. 364); the destruction of the understanding of the Word in relation to truth was signified by "the black horse" that was seen (of which above, n. 372); and that in consequence of the evils of life and the falsities of doctrine there was no understanding of the Word was signified by "the pale horse" (of which above, n. 381); from this it follows that the state of the church was altogether changed. This is evident from what precedes; also from what follows, since it is said that "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth," with many other things, which signify that there was no longer any good of love nor any truth of faith, nor any knowledges of good and truth; which makes clear that "a great earthquake" here signifies a total change in the state of the church. [2] ...This signification of "earthquake" is from appearances in the spiritual world. In that world, as well as in the natural world, there are lands, valleys, hills, mountains, and on them societies of spirits and angels dwell. Before the new heaven was formed upon these places, they were seen to undergo remarkable changes; some appeared to sink down, some to be agitated and shaken, and some appeared to be rolled up, as the scroll of a book is rolled up, and to be borne away, and some appeared to shake and tremble as by a great earthquake. Such things were often seen by me before the new heaven was formed, and were always signs of a change there in the state of the church. When there was a quaking and trembling as from an earthquake it was a sign that the state of the church was changed in that place, and the amount of change was made evident from the extent and character of the earth's motion; and when the state of the church with them was completely changed from good into evil and from truth into falsity, the earth there appeared to be rolled up like the scroll of a book and to be taken away; this is what is meant by the words in verse 14 of this chapter, namely, "and the heaven departed as a book rolled up." Like things also appeared to John, for when he saw these things he was in the spirit, as he himself says (1:10; 4:2); and he who sees in the spirit sees the things that exist and appear in the spiritual world... "Earth and heavens" here, as often elsewhere, signify the church; "earth" the external church, and "heavens" the internal church. The external church means the worship from good and truth in the natural man; and the internal church, the good of love and the faith, which is in the spiritual man, from which is worship; for as there is an internal and an external man, or a spiritual and a natural man, so is it with the church, since the church is in man, and is made up of men in whom the church is. A change and perversion of the church is signified by "the earth trembled, and the heavens quaked;" "the sun and the moon were blackened" signifies that there is no good of love or truth of faith, and "the stars withdrew their brightness" signifies that there were no longer any knowledges of truth and good... Its being said that "the earth tottered and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled," is from appearances in the spiritual world, where such things occur when the state of the church is changed with those who dwell there. Moreover, those who are in truths there dwell at the foot of mountains, for all the dwelling places of the angels are so arranged that those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and those who are in truths from that good dwell lower down. When the state of these in respect to truths is changed, their habitations, and thus the foundations of the mountains, tremble. That there are such things in the spiritual world, and that they exist from changes of the state of the church there, no one except he to whom it is revealed can know... "Mountains" signify the church in which there is love to the Lord, and "hills" the church in which there is love towards the neighbor; so, too, "mountains" signify love to the Lord, and "hills" love towards the neighbor, for the reason that angels who are in love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and those who are in love toward the neighbor dwell upon hills. When in place of love to the Lord love of self reigns, and in place of love towards the neighbor love of the world reigns, then the mountains are said "to quake," and the hills "to dissolve;" for this occurs in the spiritual world, not with the angels, who are in heaven, but with those spirits that made for themselves a semblance of heaven upon the mountains and hills before the Last Judgment...

401. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, signifies that all the good of love was separated, and thence all the truth of faith falsified... This is evident from the signification of "sun" as being in the highest sense the Lord in respect to Divine love... It is said "as sackcloth of hair," because it means the sensual of man, which is the lowest of the natural, and is thus round about the interiors, in which it induces thick darkness. Man has two minds, a spiritual and a natural; the spiritual mind thinks and perceives from the light of heaven, but the natural mind thinks and perceives from the light of the world; from the latter, man has a light that is called natural light. This natural mind is what is called the natural man, but the spiritual mind is what is called the spiritual man...When the spiritual mind, which is the higher and interior mind, is closed, then the natural mind, which is the lower and exterior, is in thick darkness in respect to all things of heaven and the church; for all the light that the natural mind has, and that constitutes its intelligence, is from the light of his spiritual mind, and this light is the light of heaven... [2] The above is evident also from the signification of the "moon" as being spiritual truth, which is called the truth of faith; ...also from the signification of "became as blood," as being that truth was falsified... "The sun" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, and thus with man the good of love to the Lord from the Lord, and "the moon" signifies spiritual truth, because the Lord in the heaven of celestial angels appears as a sun, and in the heaven of spiritual angels as a moon. His appearing as a sun is from His Divine love, for Divine love appears as a fire, from which angels in the heavens have their heat; consequently celestial and spiritual "fire" means in the Word, love... (But of the Sun and the Moon in the Heavens, and the Heat and Light Therefrom, see what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 116-140.)... [5] So, too, when the church was represented as a woman, the sun also then appeared around her; which is thus described in Revelation: A great sign was seen in heaven; a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1). That "the woman" here signifies the church will be seen in the explanation that will be given in what follows. (That "woman" signifies the church, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 252, 253, 749, 770.) And because the church is from the Lord she was seen encompassed with the sun. What is signified by "the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," will also be shown in that explanation... The Lord appears in heaven to those who are in His celestial kingdom as a sun, and to those who are in His spiritual kingdom as a moon... The light proceeding from the Lord as a sun differs from the light proceeding from the Lord as a moon in the heavens, as the light of the sun in the world by day differs from the light of the moon in the world by night; the intelligence of those who are in the light of the sun of heaven differs in like manner from the intelligence of those who are in the light of the moon there; wherefore those who are in the light of the sun there are in pure Divine truth; but those who are in the light of the moon there are not in pure Divine truth, for they are in many falsities, which they have derived from the sense of the letter of the Word not understood, and yet these falsities appear to them as truths... It must be known however, that the falsities of those who are in the light of the moon in the heavens are falsities in which there is no evil... Those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom turn themselves away from the good of love and charity, consequently from the Lord, and then they will nothing but evil and think nothing but falsity, and those who will and think no other, see nothing but thick darkness and darkness in such things as pertain to heaven and the church... In Revelation: The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; and the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for the third part of it, and the night likewise (Rev. 8:12). In another place: Out of the pit of the abyss there went up a smoke as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun was darkened and the air by the smoke (Rev. 9:2). It is clear from what has been said above, that in these passages "the sun and moon made black and darkened" means that there was no longer any good or any truth; therefore they are not further explained...

All in heaven dwell according to quarters. Those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell from the east to the west; those who dwell in the east are those who are in a clear good of love, and those who dwell in the west are those who are in an obscure good of love...

With the ancients, all things of the church consisted of the representatives of spiritual things in natural; with them therefore, "the sun" signified the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the moon" the Lord in relation to Divine truth, consequently in worship they turned their faces to the rising of the sun...

All things in the Word are, indeed, truths, but they are adulterated by the ideas of thought concerning them, and by the way they are applied, consequently with such persons truths are not truths except in respect to the mere utterance of them. This is so because all the life of truth is from spiritual good, and spiritual good has its seat in the higher or interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind. This mind cannot be opened with those who are in the love of self...

402. Verse 13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, signifies that the knowledges of good and truth perished... Moreover, stars appear in the angelic heaven, but they are appearances from the knowledges of good and truth, therefore they appear about those who are in such knowledges, especially when they turn them over in the mind, and are desirous of knowing them.

403. As a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when shaken by a great wind, signifies which knowledges the natural man has laid waste by its reasonings... [2] That "the fig-tree" signifies the natural man is from correspondence; for in heaven gardens and paradises are seen, where there are trees of every kind, and each tree signifies something of the Divine that is communicated to angels by the Lord. In general, "the olive" signifies the celestial, which is of the good of love; "the vine" the spiritual, which is of truth from that good; and "the fig-tree," the natural, which is derived from the spiritual or the celestial. And as these trees have this signification they also signify the angel or man in whom such things exist. But in a general sense they signify a whole society, because every society in the heavens is so formed as to present the image of a single man. In the spiritual sense, however, these trees signify the church, "the olive" the celestial church, "the vine" the spiritual church, and "the fig-tree" the natural church, which is the external church corresponding to the internal. From this it can be seen why "the fig-tree" is said to signify the natural man, that is, the natural with man... 

404. Verse 14. And the heaven departed as a book rolled up, signifies that the spiritual man became closed up... The above is evident... from the signification of "departed as a book rolled up," as meaning that it became closed up; for the spiritual mind, which is... the higher or interior mind with man, is opened by truths applied to life, thus by goods, but it is closed up by falsities applied to life, thus by evils; and the closing up is as the rolling up of the scroll of a book. That this is so was made very clear by the appearances in the spiritual world when the Last Judgment was accomplished; for the mountains and the hills there then appeared sometimes to be rolled up as the scroll of a book is rolled up, and those that were upon them were then rolled down into hell. The cause of this appearance was this: that the interiors of their minds, through which somewhat of light from heaven had before flowed in, were then closed up. What takes place in general with many, takes place with everyone in particular of a like character, for in the spiritual world such as the general is, such is the particular (see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 73). By "book" is meant a scroll, because in ancient times there were no types and thus no books like those at the present day, but there were scrolls of parchments; so "books" in Revelation mean scrolls, and "heaven departed as a book rolled up" means as a scroll rolled up...