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.

2713. That 'a wilderness' means that which is obscure in comparison is clear from the meaning of 'a wilderness' as that which is obscure, when it has reference to the spiritual man in comparison with the celestial man, dealt with above in 2708.