720. And cast them unto the earth, signifies their extinction and destruction. This is evident from the signification of "casting to the earth," when said of the "stars" by which is signified the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, thus truths; here it means to extinguish and destroy, for truths are extinguished and destroyed when they are falsified and adulterated. Truths falsified and adulterated are more false than falsities from any other source; for falsities from other sources do not so extinguish and destroy truths, for they give some place to truths in or near themselves. By falsities from other sources, those especially are meant that are from ignorance, from fallacies, and from religion with those who do not have the Word. It is to be known that those who live in evil, and yet say that they are saved because they have faith, have scarcely any genuine truth, however many things they know and draw forth from the sense of the letter of the Word; for the sense of the letter of the Word is such that when it is not comprehended interiorly it may be explained in various ways, and when that sense is not looked at from genuine truths it is believed according to the letter and is falsified, according to what was shown in the preceding article in the comparison with the movement and position of the sun. That such have scarcely any genuine truth was ascertained with some in the spiritual world who had confirmed faith alone by doctrine and life, who it was found did not know and acknowledge a single genuine truth; angels investigated it and were surprised. This showed clearly that they had extinguished and destroyed with themselves the truths of the Word. This, then, is meant by "the dragon drew down the third part of the stars of heaven with his tail, and cast them to the earth;" as the he-goat did also in Daniel:

The horn of the he-goat waxed great even to the host of the heavens, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the earth and trampled upon them; and it cast down the truth to the earth (Daniel 8:10, 12).

"The host of the heavens" means all the truths and goods of heaven and the church. (The stars that shall fall from heaven have a like signification, Matthew 24:29)

707. A woman arrayed with the sun, signifies the church with those who are in love to the Lord, and thence in love towards the neighbor. This is evident from the signification of "woman," as being the spiritual affection of truth, from which the church is a church, consequently also the church in respect to that affection (of which above, n. 555; it follows that this means the New Church to be established by the Lord after the end of the present church, which is in the Christian world. This is evident also from the signification of the "sun," as being the Lord in relation to the Divine love, thus also love to the Lord from the Lord (of which also above, n. 401, 412); also from the signification of "arrayed" as being to live from that love, for the life of the love of everyone, both of man and of spirit and angel, forms a sphere about them from which what is their quality is perceived, even afar off; moreover, by means of that sphere consociations and conjunctions are effected in the heavens and also in the hells; and as here the church which is in love to the Lord from the Lord is treated of, and that church is meant by "the woman," and that love by "the sun," so "the woman arrayed with the sun" signifies the church with those who are in love to the Lord from the Lord. It is added, and thence in love towards the neighbor, because love towards the neighbor is derived from love to the Lord, as what is posterior is derived from its prior, or what is exterior from its interior; in a word, as an effect from its effecting cause; for love to the Lord is to love and to will those things that are of the Lord, consequently those things that the Lord has commanded in the Word, and love towards the neighbor is to act from that will, thus it consists in the performance of uses, which are effects. That this "woman" signifies the New Church, which is to be established by the Lord after the end of the church now existing in the Christian world, can be seen from what follows in this chapter, namely, that "she brought forth a son, a male child which the dragon wished to devour, and that was caught up to God," and that "the woman fled into the wilderness," and there too "the dragon wished to destroy her;" for from what follows it will be seen that "the son a male" means the truth of the doctrine of that church, and "the dragon" means those who are opposed to the truths of that doctrine. That the church here meant by the "woman" is the same church as "the New Jerusalem" that is described in the chapter, chap., and is there (verse 21:9) called "the bride, the Lamb's wife," will be seen in the explanation of that chapter.