920. And cast it into the great wine-press of the anger of God, signifies the falsification of the Word as to all spiritual truth, and consequent damnation, because there is no spiritual good, which is charity. This is evident from the signification of "wine-press" as being the bringing forth of truth from good; for "clusters" and "grapes," which were put into the wine-press, signify spiritual good, and "wine" which is produced, signifies truth from that good (See above, n. 220, 376). As "the wine-press" signifies the bringing forth of truth from spiritual good, so in the contrary sense it signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil. For in like manner as good brings forth truth, so evil opposite to good, brings forth falsity. "Wine-press" signifies here the falsification of the Word as to all spiritual truth, because it is called "the great wine-press of the anger of God," and "the anger of God" signifies man's contempt for truth and good and his rejection of it, and the full rejection of it is the falsification of the sense of the letter of the Word even to the destruction of spiritual truth, that is, of the Divine truth which is in heaven. That this falsification closes heaven may be seen n. 888. Moreover, those who are in evil (and all are in evil who are not in the good of charity) cannot do otherwise than bring forth falsities; for as good brings forth truths so evil brings forth falsities. "The great wine-press of the anger of God" signifies also damnation, because this is a consequence, and because the terms "anger of God" and "great wine-press" are used. That this is what a "wine-press" signifies will be confirmed from the Word in the next article.

[2] Here a few words shall be said about the bringing forth of truth from good, and also of falsity from evil, which is signified by "wine-press" in the spiritual sense. The origin and cause of such bringing forth is that all good is from love, and that which is loved gives delight; and as delight is grateful and pleasing, that which is of the love man thinks about with delight and also confirms. And since love with its delight constitutes the life of man, when man thinks from love and its delight he thinks from self and from his life. That this is so can be clearly seen from men after death, when they have become spirits; for then, when they think from self, they can think in no other way than from their love, since their whole life is their love. Since, therefore, good is from love and truth is from thought, it is clear how truth is brought forth from good.

[3] The same that has been said of good and truth can be said of the will and understanding; for as all good is from the love it is from the will, and as all truth from good is from the thought it is from the understanding; for the will loves, and the understanding thinks. The same that has been said of good and truth can be said of heat and light; for spiritual heat is the love that enkindles the will, and the spiritual light is the truth that enlightens the understanding. For all love, which is from the will, presents an effigy of itself in the light of the understanding, where it recognizes itself and wishes to see itself, because it loves itself; and this is why man thinks what he loves.

[4] The same that has been said of the bringing forth of truth from good can be said of the bringing forth of falsity from evil. For all evil is from the love, and therefore it loves falsity; and evil is from the will, and falsity is from the thought from evil. This has been said because "wine-press" signifies in the spiritual sense the bringing forth of truth from good, also the bringing forth of falsity from evil. "The great wine-press of the anger of God" signifies also the falsification of the word, because the falsification of the Word is the bringing forth of falsity from evil; for evil is what falsifies, since evil loves the idea of itself in the thought, and the thought, that it may persuade, wishes to find confirmation of the evil in the Word.

826. Verse 14. And he seduceth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs that were given him to do before the beast, signifies to persuade those who are of the church that these are truths, by testifications from the Word joined to reasonings from the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "seducing," as being to persuade that falsities are truths, for the persuasion of falsity is seduction. Also from the signification of "them that dwell on the earth," as being those who are of the church (See above, n. 821). Also from the signification of "signs," as being testifications and consequent persuasions (See just above, n. 824, here testifications from the sense of the letter of the Word. Also from the signification of "the beast" before which these signs were done, as being reasonings from the natural man (See above, n. 774). Here "the signs that were done by this beast before the other" signify testifications from the sense of the letter of the Word, joined to reasonings from the natural man, because "the beast" that did the signs signifies confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word; and "the beast" before which the signs were done signifies reasonings from the natural man; so here it signifies the conjunction of confirmations from the Word with these reasonings; and when these are conjoined they become testifications and persuasions. For reasonings that are from the natural man are of no avail in spiritual things before the world; but when the same reasonings are confirmed from the Word they prevail; for the reason that the Word is Divine, and in the sense of the letter consists of appearances of truth and of correspondences, in which the genuine truths that lie hidden within can be seen only by one who is enlightened; while one not enlightened can draw over these appearances of truth to confirm that falsities are truths, for with one who is not enlightened fallacies prevail, and the reasonings are from fallacies. But one who is enlightened sees from spiritual and from natural light at the same time; and the natural light with him is illumined by the spiritual; but one who is not enlightened sees from natural light only, separated from spiritual light, and such a light is in spiritual things not light but thick darkness. And yet this thick darkness, when falsities have been confirmed, appears to be as it were the light of truth, but it is like the light in the hells, which in the sight of those who are there appears as light; but as soon as light from heaven enters the light there is turned into mere thick darkness, and their thought grows dull. Those who are in the hells that contain such as have more deeply persuaded themselves of falsities by their ability to think more interiorly than others, are in the light of phantasy, and this light is bright in a way, but it is turned into a still blacker thick darkness by the influx of rays of light from heaven. Such is the light of the confirmation of falsity from the sense of the letter of the Word by reasonings from the fallacies of the natural man. From this it is clear that the light of the confirmation of falsity even to the destruction of the Divine truth which is in heaven, is infernal light.

[2] As the preceding articles treat of good works, I will here go on with the plan and show what is meant by love to the Lord. All who are in love to the Lord from the Lord are in the third or inmost heaven; and they are such as have truths written in the life, and not, like the angels of the lower heavens, in the memory; and this is why those who are in the third heaven never talk about truths, but only listen to others speaking about them, and reply either that it is so, or that it is somewhat so, or that it is not so. For they see in themselves whether what they hear is true or not; and this they see not from any sight in the thought, as others do, but from the affection of truth in the understanding. For with them all truths are written on their affections, and these derive their essence from celestial love, which is love to the Lord. Thus with them truths make one with their affections. And as these angels are in love to the Lord from the Lord, their interior life consists of mere affections of good and truth from that love. For this reason they do not speak about truths, but do truths, that is, good works. For the affections of good and truth that are from that love must needs come forth in act, and when they come forth they are called uses, and are what are meant by good works. Moreover, they perceive in themselves the quality of the uses or works from the affection from which they are; and also the differences between them from the conjunction of many affections; thus they do all things with interior wisdom. And because they do not think about truths and thence speak about them, but only do them, and because this comes from their love to the Lord, and thence from the affections alone, of which their life consists, it is evident that love to the Lord consists in doing truths from the affection of them, and that their deeds are good works; consequently that to love the Lord is to do; and this is what is meant by the Lord's words in John:

He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me. But he that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (John 14:21, 24).

And they are meant by these words in Jeremiah:

I will give My law in the midst of them, and will write it upon their heart. Neither shall they teach a man his companion or a man his brother, Know ye Jehovah, for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them (Jeremiah 31:33, 34).

"The law" means all things of the Word, thus all the truths and goods of heaven; "in the midst of them" signifies in their life; and the "heart" upon which the law shall be written signifies the love. From this it is clear how ample is the doctrine of love to the Lord, for it is the doctrine of all affections which belong to love; and every affection has truths written upon it according to the quality of its perfection, and brings them forth in act with infinite variety; and these affections do not come into the understanding in the form of ideas, but come to the inner sensitive perception in the form of delights of the will, wherefore they cannot be described by words. Those who imbibe the laws of life from the Word and live according to them, and who worship the Lord, become angels of the third heaven.