127. Men's desire to probe into mysteries of faith by means of sensory evidence and factual knowledge was not only the cause of the downfall of the Most Ancient Church, that is to say, of its descendants - to be dealt with in the next chapter; it is also the cause of the downfall of every Church. For that desire leads not only to falsities but also to evils of life.

1405. But, as clearly shown already, the internal sense is such that every single thing has to be understood apart from the letter, abstractedly - as though the letter did not exist; for within the internal sense reside the soul and life of the Word, which are not open to view unless the sense of the letter so to speak vanishes. This is how angels are led by the Lord to perceive the Word when it is being read by man.