711. Cried out, travailing, and in pain to bring forth.- That this signifies non-reception by those in the church who are natural and sensual, and their resistance is evident from the signification of crying out, travailing, and being in pain to bring forth, when said of the nascent doctrine of truth from celestial love, which is meant by the male child which the woman brought forth, as denoting non-reception thereof, and also resistance; and this is from those in the church who are natural and sensual, because such are meant by the dragon treated of in what follows. That to travail and to bring forth denote to travail in birth and bring forth such things as pertain to the church, in this case, those which pertain to the doctrine of truth and good, is evident from what has been shown in the preceding article concerning the womb, the opening of it, and concerning birth, and also from the rest of this chapter, where the expression to bring forth is used. In the meantime it is sufficient here to observe only, that by the male, which the woman brought forth, is meant the doctrine of the New Jerusalem, which has been given by the Lord out of heaven. That the dragons then stood around and opposed vehemently, and with all their might, and this even to the crying out and torment of those who were in favour of that doctrine, I can bear witness; thence it is evident that those who are like them in the world will also oppose the reception of that doctrine. Who these are shall be stated in what follows, where the dragon and the beasts are treated of. But what is specifically signified, in other parts of the Word, by crying out, travailing in birth, and being in pain to bring forth, may be seen below (n. 721), where the signification of travailing in birth and of bringing forth is explained.

540. Such, then, is the equilibrium between heaven and hell. Those who are in the world of spirits are in that equilibrium, for the world of spirits is midway between heaven and hell. From the same source all men in the world are kept in a like equilibrium, since men in the world are ruled by the Lord by means of spirits in the world of spirits, as will be shown hereafter in its own chapter. No such equilibrium would be possible unless the Lord ruled both heaven and hell and regulated both sides. Otherwise falsities from evil would preponderate, and would affect the simple good who are in the outmosts regions of heaven, and who can be more easily perverted than the angels themselves; and thereby equilibrium would perish, and with it freedom in men.