988. Verse 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast, signifies the state of the church manifested as to the doctrine of faith. This is evident from the signification of "the angel pouring out the vial," as being the state of the church manifested (as above); also from the signification of "the throne of the beast," as being the doctrine of faith. "The throne of the beast" signifies the doctrine of faith because "throne" signifies the church as to the truth that reigns therein, and "the beast" signifies such faith as exists in that church, therefore "the throne of the beast" signifies the church as to the doctrine of faith. This follows also from what is said before, that "the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun," which signifies the state of the church manifested as to love (See above n. 981; consequently the vial poured out by this angel upon the throne of the beast signifies manifestation of the state of the church as to faith, since love and faith are what constitute the church, but only when they are one and not two. But "the throne of the beast" means such faith as there is at this day in that church, which is faith separated from the goods of life.

[2] The doctrine of faith is meant by "the throne of the beast," because "throne" means in the highest sense heaven and the church as to the Divine truth; and in the Christian Church the Divine truth is called faith; which was not done in the ancient churches, in which they did not know what faith is since faith involves something that is not understood and yet must be believed as if it were truth. Nearly everything of the church and of its doctrine at the present day is such; as for instance, what must be believed about the trinity, that there are three Persons of the Divinity, that the Lord was born from eternity, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from them, and that this proceeding is a Person which is God by Himself, and yet that there are not three but one, and thus that there is a trinity in the unity, and a unity in the trinity; furthermore, that faith is saving apart from its life, which is from the goods of charity or from good works; that to one who has been justified by faith alone, all works even such as are evil are pardoned, and the law does not condemn him, since the Lord has taken away the condemnation by the fulfilling of the law and by the passion of the cross; and that man will be saved when this is merely believed.

[3] There are many other things that must be believed as truths which are said to be matters of faith because whether they are true or not cannot be seen; as what is said about free will, about the faith of infants, about the flesh and blood in the Holy Supper, also about the life of man after death, and the Last Judgment, which are called things to be believed although the understanding sees in them mere paradoxes that transcend all faith; as that man after death is a shadowy or airy something, a formless phantom of ether that does not see, hear or speak, and thus is either flying in the air or is in a somewhere awaiting the judgment, which is to come with the destruction of the entire universe, both the visible heaven, the sun, moon and stars, and also the earth; and then all things of the body left in the world by death are to come together again and clothe the soul, and thus man's senses will be restored; with other like things. As these cannot fall into the understanding they cannot be called truths, but must be called faith. Such is the faith that is meant by "the throne of the beast."

[4] Who cannot see that by such a faith a man may be induced to believe mere absurdities and falsities, provided they are set up as dogmas by those placed in authority and are confirmed by others who for various reasons prefer to live in blind obedience? For by fallacies and sophistries, falsities, even infernal ones, can be so confirmed as to appear like truths, for instance, that infernal falsity that nature is everything; that whatever appears is ideal; that there is little difference between man and beast, that they die a like death and do not live after death; that the Word is not holy; and other like things; from which it is clear that all blindness in spiritual things has been induced by the faith of the present day, which was begun and brought to its densest darkness by the Babylonish nation; and although the Reformed, who separated from that nation, came forth from that thick darkness into some light by reading the Word they did not come into a light that enabled them to see truths as the ancient people did, and for the reason that they separated faith from the life, and it is from the life that a man has light, and not from any faith separated. All this makes clear what is meant by "the throne of the beast," the same as before by:

The throne that the dragon is said to have given to the beast (Revelation 13:2, see above, n. 783.

Also by the throne of Satan (Revelation 2:13).

"Thrones" signify false doctrinals in other passages in the Word, as in Ezekiel:

All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and shall cast away their mantles and they shall be clothed with terrors (Ezekiel 26:16).

In Haggai:

I will overthrow the throne of the Kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the Kingdoms of the nations (Haggai 2:22).

And in Daniel:

I beheld till thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit (Daniel 7:9).

(Continuation respecting the Sixth Commandment)

[5] How holy in themselves, that is, from creation, marriages are can be seen from the fact that they are seminaries of the human race; and as the angelic heaven is from the human race they are also the seminaries of heaven; consequently by marriages not only the earths but also the heavens are filled with inhabitants; and as the end of the entire creation is the human race, and thus heaven, where the Divine Itself may dwell as in its own and as it were in itself, and as the procreation of mankind according to Divine order is accomplished through marriages, it is clear how holy marriages are in themselves, that is, from creation, and thus how holy they should be esteemed. It is true that the earth might be filled with inhabitants by fornications and adulteries as well as by marriages, but not heaven; and for the reason that hell is from adulteries but heaven from marriages. Hell is from adulteries because adultery is from the marriage of evil and falsity, from which hell in the whole complex is called adultery; while heaven is from marriages because marriage is from the marriage of good and truth, from which heaven in its whole complex is called a marriage, as has been shown above in its proper article. That is called adultery where its love reigns, which is called the love of adultery, whether it be within matrimony or out of it, and that is called marriage where its love reigns, which is called conjugial love. Whether the earth might be filled with inhabitants by fornications and adulteries as well as by marriages will be further considered in the following article.

[6] When procreations of the human race are effected by marriages in which the holy love of good and truth from the Lord reigns, then it is on earth as it is in the heavens, and the Lord's kingdom on earth corresponds to the Lord's kingdom in the heavens. For the heavens consist of societies arranged according to all the varieties of celestial and spiritual affections, from which arrangement the form of heaven springs, and this preeminently surpasses all other forms in the universe. There would be a like form on the earth if the procreations there were effected by marriages in which love truly conjugial reigned; for then, however many families might descend in succession from one head of a family, there would spring forth as many images of the societies of heaven in a like variety. Families would then be like fruit-bearing trees of various kinds, forming as many different gardens, each containing its own kind of fruit, and these gardens taken together would present the form of a heavenly paradise. This is said in the way of comparison, because "trees" signify men of the church, "gardens" intelligence, "fruits" goods of life, and "paradise" heaven. I have been told from heaven that with the most ancient people, from whom the first church on this globe was established, which was called by ancient writers the golden age, there was such a correspondence between families on the earth and societies in the heavens, because love to the Lord, mutual love, innocence, peace, wisdom, and chastity in marriage then reigned; and it was also told me from heaven that they were then inwardly horrified at adulteries, as at the abominable things of hell.

783. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority, signifies that those who separate faith from life support and corroborate their doctrinals by reasonings from fallacies, and thus powerfully seduce. This is evident from the signification of the "beast" to which the dragon gave his powers, as being reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life (See above, n. 774). These reasonings are from the fallacies of the senses, because that beast appeared like a leopard, and his feet were "as of a bear," and "the feet of a bear" signify fallacies, 781.

Also from the signification of "giving his power, his throne, and great authority," as being to support and corroborate doctrinals; "power" signifying efficacy; "throne" the church in respect to doctrine that is from falsities, and "great authority" support and corroboration thereby. That this is added to their reasonings and their fallacies has been shown above.

[2] It is not because the falsities in which they are have any power in themselves that those who separate faith from life, that is, from good works, have "power, a throne, and great authority," for falsities from evil have no power whatever, since all power is in truths from good. But falsities have power over falsities, as like over like. This can be clearly seen from the power of infernal spirits with one another, which they exercise by things imaginary and by semblances of correspondences, by which they are desirous of seeming most powerful and mighty; but yet they have no power whatever against truths, and so wholly none that it is nothing at all. This I could confirm by much experience were there space to digress so far in these explanations of Revelation. But this can be seen from the fact that the hells, in which there are myriads of myriads, are so held bound by Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, that no one in them dares raise up a finger of his hand; also from this fact that a single angel by means of truths from the Lord is able to lead, to control, to bind, or to scatter a thousand companies of evil spirits, and this merely by a look from an intention of the will. Such power also has been sometimes granted to me by the Lord. It may seem strange that the church at its end should be in falsities and in evils from them, and in evils and in falsities from them, and yet that truths from good have all power; and it seems as if such truths might be given by the Lord by means of truths from the Word. But the reason is that falsities have power against those who are in falsities from evil; and at the end of the church these falsities reign, and when these reign truths are not received. For this reason falsities cannot be dispersed by truths, and therefore the devil is then called powerful, and loosed from bonds. This is why infernal falsity is called in the Word a "lion," a "bear," a "wolf," a "beast," also a "wild beast" strong and fierce.

[3] For the same reason those who are in falsities are called in the Word "powerful," "vigorous," "mighty," "strong," "heroes," "rulers," "terrible," "dreadful," and "wasters," as can be seen from various passages, as from the following.

In Jeremiah:

Behold I bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, a vigorous nation, all strong men (Jeremiah 5:15, 16).

In the same:

Go up ye horses, rage ye chariots, ye strong men go forth (Jeremiah 46:9).

In the same:

O sword against the strong, that they may be dismayed (Jeremiah 50:36).

In Ezekiel:

I will give Pharaoh into the hand of a strong one of the nations (Ezekiel 31:11, 12).

In Hosea:

Thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy strong ones (Hosea 10:13).

In Joel:

A people great and vigorous, like heroes they run, they climb over the wall (Joel 2:2, 7).

In Amos:

The refuge of the swift perisheth, and the strong shall not confirm his might, neither shall the powerful deliver his soul; he that is strong in his heart among heroes shall flee naked in that day (Amos 2:14, 16).

In David:

Rebuke the wild beast of the reed; the congregation of the strong (Psalms 68:30).

In the first book of Samuel:

The bows of the strong are broken (1 Samuel 2:4).

In Revelation:

All the kings, the great ones, the rich, the commanders of thousands, and the powerful, hid themselves in caves and in the rocks (Revelation 6:15).

In Matthew:

The rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them (Matthew 20:25).

And in Luke:

This is your hour and the authority of darkness (Luke 22:53);

and various other passages.

[4] To what has been said above it may be added, that infernal spirits believe themselves to be stronger and more powerful than others, but this for the reason that they prevail over those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom, thus one infernal spirit over another infernal spirit, or one evil by means of falsity over another evil by falsity; from this appearance they believe themselves to be powerful. But such power may be compared to that of a mite against a mite, or of a flea against a flea, of dust against dust, or of chaff against chaff, the power of which is merely relative to their mutual forces. Add to this that infernal spirits are elated in mind, and wish to be called vigorous, strong, and heroes for the most trivial reasons.

[5] As "the power and great authority" that the dragon gave from himself to "the beast coming up out of the sea," thus the power of infernal spirits among one another, are here treated of, I will unfold some arcana respecting their arts for acquiring power in the spiritual world. There are some who acquire for themselves power by means of the Word, for they are acquainted with some passages of it, and these they recite, and by these a communication with the simple good is effected and conjunction with them in respect to externals; and so far as they are in that conjunction they prevail over others. The reason is that all things of the Word are truths, and truths have all power, and the simple good are in truths; so from conjunction with them they have power, but only so long as that conjunction continues, and this does not continue long, because they are very soon separated from each other by the Lord. Some acquire for themselves power by simulated affections of good and truth and by the affections belonging to the love of what is sincere and just; by these they lead the simple good to feel well disposed towards them and to cherish good will towards them, and to join themselves to them. And so long as that kindly feeling continues to be mutual they continue more powerful than others. Some acquire for themselves power by representatives of various kinds, which are abuses of correspondences; and some in other ways. And as truths that are from good have all power, and these are found with angels, so nothing is more desired by evil spirits than to attract good spirits to their side, because thus the evil prevail; but as soon as they are separated from these they are in the falsities of their own evil, and when they are in these they are deprived of all power.

[6] This, too, is why all the evil who flock out of this world are first separated from the goods and truths that they have merely known from memory, and thus carried in the mouth; and when they have been separated from these their interiors appear, which consist of nothing but masses of falsities from evils. And when they are in these, because they no longer have any power they fall down headlong into hell, as heavy bodies in the air fall to the earth. That goods and truths are taken away from the evil is known from the Word; for the Lord says:

Take the talent from him and give it to him that hath the ten talents; for unto everyone that hath shall be given that he may have abundance, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye out the useless servant into the outer darkness; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:28-30; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26).