1028. For the plague thereof was exceeding great, signifies the total destruction of genuine truth. This is evident from the signification of "the plague of the hail," as being the falsification of the Word (as above); therefore "the plague thereof was exceeding great" signifies more grievous falsification, which is that the Word is falsified even to the destruction of all genuine truth. How the Word is falsified even to the destruction of genuine truth, and heaven is thereby closed against man, may be seen above (n. 719, 778, 888, 914, 916, 950).

(Continuation: The Commandments in general)

[2] It is said by some that he who sins against one commandment of the Decalogue sins also against the rest, thus that he who is guilty of one is guilty of all. It shall be told how far this is in harmony with the truth. When a man transgresses one commandment, by confirming with himself that it is not a sin, thus without fear of God, he commits it; because he has thus rejected the fear of God he does not fear to transgress the rest of the commandments, although he may not do this in act.

[3] For example, when one does not regard frauds and illicit gains, which in themselves are thefts, as sins, neither does he regard as a sin adultery with the wife of another, hating a man even to murder, lying about him, coveting his house and other things belonging to him; for when he rejects from his heart in any one commandment the fear of God he denies that anything is a sin; consequently he is in communion with those who in like manner transgress the other commandments. He is like an infernal spirit who is in a hell of thieves; and although he is not an adulterer, nor a murderer, nor a false witness, yet he is in communion with such, and can be persuaded by them to believe that such things are not evils, and can be led to do them. For he who has become an infernal spirit through the transgression of one commandment, no longer believes it to be a sin to do anything against God or anything against the neighbor.

[4] But the opposite is true of those who abstain from the evil forbidden in one commandment, and who shun and afterwards turn away from it as a sin against God. Because such fear God, they come into communion with the angels of heaven, and are led by the Lord to abstain from the evils forbidden in the other commandments and to shun them, and finally to turn away from them as sins; and if perchance they have sinned against them, yet they repent and thus by degrees are withdrawn from them.

916. Having authority over the fire, signifies thus as to celestial and spiritual love. This is evident from the signification of "fire," as being love in both senses, namely, love to the Lord, which exists with those in heaven who are called celestial angels, and love towards the neighbor, which exists with those in heaven who are called spiritual angels; and in the contrary sense love of self, which exists with those in hell who are called devils, and love of the world, which exists with those in hell who are called satans. (That these loves are signified in the Word by "fire" may be seen above in 68, 496, 504, 539.) It is said of this angel that "he had authority over the fire," because the devastation of the church as to the good of love is treated of, and the devastation as to that is attributed to this angel, as the devastation as to the truth of doctrine is attributed to the former angel, who was therefore said to have "a sharp sickle in his hand." This makes clear what is meant by its being said that this angel "had authority over the fire;" namely, that he will lay waste celestial and spiritual love, and all things of it in the church.

[2] The devastation of the church is attributed to an angel, as elsewhere in the Word it is attributed to the Lord. But this is said of the Lord merely in the sense of the letter, but is not so understood in the spiritual sense. For truth in the sense of the letter is like a face seen through a veil, while truth in the spiritual sense is like a face uncovered; or truth in the sense of the letter is like a cloud, while the truth in the spiritual sense is like light and its splendor; or again, truth in the sense of the letter is what appears to be truth to the sensual man, while truth in the spiritual sense is truth to the spiritual-rational man. For example, it is said in the Word that the sun rises, moves forward, and sets, making days and years, which is wholly according to the way it appears to the sensual man. Nevertheless, the rational man thinks of the sun as not moving, and of the earth as moving; which shows that man's understanding thinks in a reverse way of the things that appear before the senses in order that they may be presented before it in the light of truth. It is similar with the things here said in Revelation of "Him who sat on the white cloud" and of the angels, namely, that "they send the sickle into the harvest and reap it," and that "they gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth, and cast them into the wine press of the anger of God." All this, too, is said according to the way it appears to the sensual man; and yet it must be reversed, and understood according to its spiritual sense.

[3] All this makes clear that a sensual man, such as one is in the ages of infancy and early childhood, also the simple-minded, can think about and believe these and like things according to the sense of the letter, as that God takes away good and truth from men on account of their wickedness; while the adult man who wishes to be wise will not explain these things in the sense that this is done by God, that is, that He takes away from man all good and truth and infuses in the place of them evil and falsity, or that He devastates the church, or even that He is angry and wrathful. For if a wise adult should explain such expressions according to the sense of the letter and confirm them by reasonings, he would destroy the genuine truth itself such as it is in heaven, and consequently would close up heaven to himself. For how could anyone enter heaven with a belief that God is angry and revengeful, that He punishes, and the like, when the angels of heaven are in the perception that God is never angry, and never works vengeance, or punishes? Would they not turn themselves away from such a one and bid him depart, and immediately close the door after him? So is heaven closed to those who, while they live in the world, explain the sense of the letter of the Word even so as to destroy Divine truth in the heavens; which truth is also the same as the truth of the spiritual sense, which is in all the particular truths of the natural sense which constitute the sense of the letter of the Word.