Daniel, Chapter Eight: The Vision of the Ram and the Goat

A period of time passed after Daniel’s vision of the beasts rising from the sea. It is not until the third year of Belshazzar’s reign that Daniel reports another vision. He wrote,

"In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me-- to me, Daniel-- after the one that appeared to me the first time."

The setting of this vision is extremely important - it took place in the third year of Belshazzar’s reign. There is no clear indication in the Word of how long Belshazzar reigned in Babylon ¹ , so historically we cannot pin-point this vision at any time in the kings reign other than in the third year.

However, if we turn to the inner meaning of the Word, the time frame becomes very important. As we noted at the very beginning of this exposition, the term “the third year” represents the concept of completeness and the beginning of a new state ² . The state which is finishing is, of course, the reign of King Belshazzar, who represents the love of control exhibiting itself in the evils of daily or external life.

Chapter Five gives an overview of Belshazzar’s last night in this world, and tells of the profane feast he threw for his thousand lords. In drunken revelry he used the vessels from the temple of Jerusalem to toast his own false gods. At the very height of this debauchery, however, the words of judgment were written on the palace wall - you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Almost as soon as Daniel had interpreted these words, Darius and his army broke into the chamber, killing Belshazzar, and presumably everyone else - except Daniel.

Belshazzar’s feast, as we saw in the treatment of the fifth chapter, describes how evil, once it has taken hold of our conscious mind leads us further and further away from the presence of the Lord, and deeper and deeper into profanation.

Daniel’s vision in chapter seven shows graphically how that decline comes about: first we stop thinking about truth, and, as this happens, falsity extends its power over our minds. Eventually we loose all sense of right and wrong, and plunge headlong into a life of evil and falsity. The only force powerful enough to arrest this decline is the power of the Lord’s love, shown as the “Ancient of Days” and the power of judgment described as the “Son of Man”.

These two images of the Lord, and the judgment on our behaviour they imply are of immense importance because they hold open to us the promise of change and redemption. If we were stuck to eternity in the states of selfishness and greed described as the four beasts arising from the sea, then human life would be very bleak indeed. Thus Daniel’s vision in chapter seven gives way to a new one in chapter eight. In many ways the theme is much the same, yet the each new vision moves us closer to freedom from evil.

Chapter eight, therefore, begins in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, marking the end of one state and the beginning of a new - the end of a time of dominion by hell, and a new dawn of spiritual life breaking on us. Dawn, however, is always preceded by the darkest part of the night. We know light will soon break, but it is not yet here, and the anticipation of morning makes the night darker and longer still. Much the same is true of our regeneration. The more we want liberation from evil, the more powerfully the forces of our selfish loves press into our lives. The challenge of life is to continue fighting our evils in the face of their increased aggression towards us.

Apocalypse Explained 716: Falsities from evil cannot be expelled from a person in a moment, but little by little; for if they were expelled in a moment, the person would expire, because they constitute his life.

The greatest challenge we face as our spiritual life progresses is to use the things we know, rather than simply store them up as memories. In the vision in this chapter, we see a person who is making progress. We know from the historical section of the book that Belshazzar will be killed. We know from the Word the Lord’s promises that if we abide in His Word, He will abide in us, and we shall know the truth, and it will set us free ³ . It is, however, one thing to know this, and another all together to bring these things into daily and practical life. This chapter, and the rest of the book, deal with this theme.

The vision takes place while Daniel was at Shushan, the citadel, in the province of Elam, beside the River Ulai. While the doctrines do not explain this verse , it gives us important imagery about the state of selfishness within us in this state before it changes. The power of selfishness and its seeming impregnability are imaged in the picture of Shushan - protected behind the high walls of falsity and the conviction that one is absolutely right in all things.

Shushan is called “the citadel”, a strong place where the kings of Persia had their summer residence ⁴ . It is possible to imagine it as a strong fortress, designed to keep out the enemies of the king - it is a place where the kings were so confident they could relax in the summer heat. This imagery lends itself to the needs of the vision, especially in relation to the vision in chapter seven.

The only real enemy of selfishness is truth from the Lord, and so often truth can be twisted and bent in so many ways that it is an easy enemy to overcome. People do this all the time through justification of their lives, through denial and countless other ways of defusing the pangs of conscience and guilt. The whole tissue of lies which ensnares a person is like a citadel, defending one from the attack of truth. Thus while a fortress in the Word is usually used to describe a protection against evils and falsities ⁵ , in this case it is the opposite sense which is more appropriate - evil defending itself against goodness and truth.

It is not surprising, therefore that beside the citadel ran the river Ulai, for rivers in the Word mean wisdom ⁶ , and wisdom is a state of life when we use truth to guide our lives in this world. In the sense here, however, because this river is part of the Babylonian empire, the correspondence is converted into the opposite.

Arcana Coelestia 7323: Rivers are attributes of intelligence, and so are matters of truth, and therefore in the contrary sense they are the opposite of intelligence and so are matters of falsity.

Thus Daniel by correspondence saw the last states of evil and selfishness in a person as it is depicted in their external or behavioural aspects. He saw the defensiveness of falsity twisting and perverting truth to its own ends, drawing nourished by the waters of falsity and ignorance.

The side of our lives represented by this vision had a great deal of defending to do - and yet it is ironic that the very force the walls of our spiritual fortress are designed to block out, our conscience, is still with us. Daniel lived within those walls, alongside the king of Babylon. In this irony we see a foreshadowing of the judgment and final killing of Belshazzar.

Spiritual life is a battle fought on more than one plane at a time. The inner motivations, illustrated in the historical stories by Nebuchadnezzar, show how our selfish side is under continued pressure from our conscience to reform and change. The difficulty in change, however, comes in the application of this reform to our external lives. We do so many things from habit, for example, that habit seems to become our real self. Changing this is often like doing violence to our own persona.

In the vision in Chapter Seven, we saw how evil develops, and how it has to be judged. Knowing this, however, is different from the actual work. Too often people fall into the trap of believing that because they know something is wrong, and because they want to break the habit, that they have in fact broken the habit. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In Chapter 8, we have these verses:

3. Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

4. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no beast could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.

5. And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

6. Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

7. And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

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Aware that he was in the citadel, on the banks of the river, Daniel saw the first part of this vision. A ram with two horns, the last, or rear one the higher than the other. To understand the significance of this ram, one has to look at the context in which Daniel saw it. He was surrounded by Babylon, the love of control over their own and other people’s lives from an inner state of selfishness.

As people regenerate, their lives become increasingly divided between life from the conscience, and life from their selfishness. Thus they act from a mixture of motives. From their conscience they come to express states of goodness, kindness and charity. The actions based on conscience may often be seen as a refusal to commit evil, a biting back of a nasty word, or a act of honesty based on love for someone else. These early stages of regeneration are very important, for they show us what we could be if only our selfishness could be conquered.

Selfishness, however, is also often clothed over with an external goodness - selfish people portray themselves as good in order to make it possible for them to attain their own ends in life. Their external goodness is almost indistinguishable from genuine goodness. Thus the goodness in their behaviour is not connected with any spiritual goodness from the Lord, rather it is affiliated with selfishness itself ⁷ . Part of the difficulty of bringing our external being to the point where it is willing to submit to the conscience lies in sorting out the source of the good things we do in our lives.

In his vision Daniel saw a ram on the banks of the river. In the Word a “ram” represents states of good done by a person from a religious or spiritual motive. A person in this state is one who is in faith to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour ⁸ . In the regenerating person this state of goodness gains momentum and power as the person puts selfishness aside and learns to think in terms of the truth. As this happens, and as the power of selfishness is gradually eroded, so the person increasingly becomes a form of charity itself, and more able to fight against the evils and falsities in their lives.

Apocalypse Explained 600: "'Sheep' mean those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour thence in faith." Thus the ram, on the banks of the river is an image of the goodness coming into a regenerating person’s life. The horns on its head represent the power of that goodness faith against the influence of evil falsity ⁹ . Daniel makes specific mention of the relative sizes of the two horns, the higher of the two “came up last”.

In spiritual development there is an interplay between faith and charity. On a conscious level (remember this vision was seen during the reign of Belshazzar), the beginning of our spiritual development lies in our faith. Yet faith by itself does not constitute spiritual life. As we have seen before in the book of Daniel, knowledge about spiritual things, and even an intellectual humility do not bring a person to regeneration - if that were the case, then surely the book would finish at the end of chapter four when Nebuchadnezzar is humbled and praises God. Much of the work of regeneration takes place in changing the external things of our lives which are drawn from a selfish interior, and manifest themselves in our attitudes and behaviour. Thus our knowledge must be converted into action from truth, in other words, changed into charity.

The two horns on the rams head represent this process. In the process of rebirth, our faith is paramount, and our charity secondary. Thus one horn was higher than the other to depict this imbalance. In a regenerated person faith and charity would be equal in a person’s life, for as soon a one learned something, the person would bring it into action. True power against evil comes from charity.

Daniel watched the ram as it moved about, pushing in all four directions of the compass. It is simple to see this as the extension of goodness in a regenerating person into the various parts of life. However, there is more to it than that. The doctrines make an interesting point in relation to directions in the spiritual world, for there quarters are determined by a person’s relationship to the Lord.

In the natural world directions are determined according to the rising and setting of the sun, and generally directions are determined in relation to north. In the spiritual world, however, the Lord is seen in the east like a sun, and all the directions there are drawn from that direction ¹⁰ .

Daniel does not specify which direction he was looking in when he saw the ram, but it must have been the east, for it pushed westward, northward and southward. If, as we have seen, the ram represents goodness in our lives as a result of living according to the Lord’s Word, then it makes sense that the ram must have stood in the east, for the east represents the Lord and all goodness and truth flow from Him.

Apocalypse Explained 600: "An angel perpetually faces the Lord as a sun, and therefore before him is the Lord as the east, and behind him the Lord as the west, and at his right hand is the south, and at his left hand the north."

The ram pushed first westward. The “west” takes its meaning in relation to the east, and if the east is where the Lord is present, then the west is where the Lord is seen in a state of obscurity ¹¹ . Perhaps another way of saying that is that in a regenerating person good actions from genuinely good motives begin to make their presence felt in the daily activities of a person so that his or her expressions of charity become more genuine and heartfelt, and less in service to the selfish side of one’s nature.

As the ram pushed westward, so it also pushed northward and southward. If one thinks of directions on two axes, one has east/west and north/south. The east west axis relates to a person’s love, to his or her charity and the presence of goodness in the actions a person does. The north/south axis, on the other hand, has reference to the way a person thinks. The south end of this axis represents thoughts based on truths when they are clearly seen and understood, while the northern end depicts things less clearly seen ¹² .

The ram pushing in these directions, therefore illustrates the progress made by a regenerating person whose thoughts and feelings are being greatly influenced by the presence of truth in the mind, and a commitment to bringing that truth into daily life. This becomes more apparent when one thinks of the context in which Daniel’s dream takes place - the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, meaning the end of the state of selfishness in the external. As we know from the historical series, Belshazzar would be killed by Darius the Mede. At the same time we know that the internal motivating force in a person’s life, represented by Nebuchadnezzar is also undergoing profound change, shown by that king’s gradual recognition and acceptance of the Lord.

Thus regeneration is marching onward. This progress is aptly described by Daniel’s words that nothing “could withstand [the ram]; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.”

Regeneration, as we have seen before, is not possible without the combats of temptation. As we make spiritual progress, our states of selfishness reassert themselves. We have seen this phenomena several times in this study. Nebuchadnezzar, after he was shown how he must be humbled, still exalted in his pride, and was reduced to the level of a wild animal. So too Belshazzar, warned of that he was found wanting, continued his wild debauchery. In our own lives we often become aware that the more primed we become to break a habit, the more strongly the habit exerts its control over us.

Arcana Coelestia 760: "Temptation is severe. In fact it impinges on, attacks, breaks down, and alters a person’s essential life."

The challenge came without warning. Daniel’s words echo the drama of the changes of state we go through as we struggle to bring selfish feelings, thoughts, attitudes and actions under control. One minute a person may be acting from the very best of intentions, and the next selfishness emerges to utterly destroy the activity by subverting it and leading into an act of selfishness. The mechanism used by the selfish, unrepentant and unregenerate side of our minds to accomplish this is depicted by the goat Daniel saw coming “from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground”.

Every detail of this and the next verses shows how strongly selfishness reasserts itself. Goats and sheep are closely related animals. Yet from time immemorial the difference in their nature has been used as symbolism for good and evil.

Sheep are portrayed in the Word as gentle creatures ¹³ , willing to follow the Shepherd, as we are shown so often in the Psalms and the Gospels. The Lord frequently used the image of sheep being rescued, or let into the sheep-fold. He is referred to as the gentle shepherd ¹⁴ .

Psalm 23:1: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

In sharp contrast to the gentle and peaceful image of sheep and shepherd is the harsh and destructive goat. The most damaging image given to the goat is the Lord’s teaching that at the day of judgment the sheep will be separated from the sheep, and be cast into hell. In that story in the Word, the goats represent those who had the opportunity to help the Lord in his times of distress, but had failed to do so.

Matthew 25:41: "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

It is not surprising therefore that Daniel’s vision of the ram pushing its way to the four corners of our minds is upset by the appearance of a goat. In every respect the ram and the goat are opposites, beginning with the fact that the ram must have come from the east, where the Lord is present, while the goat came from the west.

The west, as we saw earlier is a state of lack of charity. The goat came from our selfishness, and represents the selfish, unregenerate side of our minds re-exerting itself in an attempt to roll back the gains made by our conscience. To some degree this is similar to the action in the historical section of the book of Daniel as Darius the Mede’s one hundred and twenty satraps conspired to trick Daniel and thus destroy him.

Understanding that the goat came from the west makes it possible to grasp the spiritual concept of the goat itself. “Goats” represent states in people in which their charity, their love for the neighbour, does not form a part of their spiritual life. Such a person may have great stores of knowledge, but their lives remain untouched by this knowledge ¹⁵ . The cause of this is the basic selfishness which dominates a person’s life and which is described as Nebuchadnezzar. This inner selfishness naturally affects the way a person lives his or her life, depicted by Belshazzar. Any good done while a person is in this state is not real good, it is done only for the sake of one’s own person gain. The origin of a person’s goodness in this state, therefore, is not love for the neighbour, or charity, but is self. Thus the person cannot be a “sheep”, but rather is a goat, destructive of all spiritual values, and ultimately doomed to hell ¹⁶ .

This then is the male goat Daniel saw, coming from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground. Notice the distinction between “earth” and “ground”. In general the “ground” in human minds is the ability to receive goodness and truth from the Lord, and thus be regenerated ¹⁷ , while the earth represents the state of love a person has ¹⁸ . The implication is, therefore, that the challenge, or temptation to put aside the actual practice of good invades our minds with little warning. The goat’s feet touched neither earth, nor ground, meaning that this temptations do not draw from the sources of our spiritual life, which is goodness and truth from the Lord, as sheep do, but derive their origin in the reasoning of the human mind.

Arcana Coelestia 566: "In the Word a careful distinction is made between ground and land or earth. Whenever “ground” is used it means the Church or some aspect of the Church… But when “land” or “earth” occurs in the Word it frequently means where the Church or some aspect of the Church does not exist…"

This is the great challenge of spiritual life. So often we know what the Word teaches, and we know how and why we should use the truths there. A part of us is willing. Yet we still have external behaviour represented by the third year of Belshazzar’s reign - we still have attitudes and habits which are resistant and unwilling to change. Thus we fall into the trap of separating the things we know from the things we do. We fall into faith separated from charity, and as we stop acting according to what we know to be true, so states of goodness in our external life begin to perish ¹⁹ . When this happens, truth itself begins to perish, for the things a person then chooses to believe are things which favour their own tastes ²⁰ . The result is a slide into both false thinking and evil action.

A Brief Summary of New Church Doctrine 84: "When charity is thus removed, good works, which are of charity, slip away from the mind, and are obliterated, so that they are never remembered, nor is the least effort made to recall them to mind from the Law of the Decalogue."

We fall into this trap by believing certain fundamental falsities which undermine spiritual progress, for example, we start to believe that we are incapable of actually doing good, or that we cannot do good without expecting some reward from it ²¹ . This challenge is extremely powerful, and the power is represented by the “notable horn between his [ie. the goat’s eyes]”. This horn represents the attractive power human reasoning exerts over people ²² - a power so strong that it puts all our advances into spirituality to flight.

Thus as Daniel watched the he-goat approaching from the west, the animal ran at the ram “with furious power.” The goat “was moved with rage against the him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns.” This violent action describes the rage with which evil and falsity attacks goodness and truth. We have seem some of this before, in the rage of Nebuchadnezzar against Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-nego for refusing to worship his image. Later in the rage of the one hundred and twenty of Darius’ satraps against Daniel for worshipping God.

It is the nature of evil to attack goodness, to continually resist goodness and to drag goodness down into the states of hell ²³ . The tragedy for people who give in to this evils side of themselves, is that gradually their conscience is broken and lost - a decline shown in chapter seven when the four beasts arising from the sea are spoken of. In this chapter, however, it is the decline of one’s conscience and its ability to lead a person through life and is described by the ram’s horns being broken. As we saw earlier, the ram’s horns represent the power of good and truth in a person’s life, but when a person is in the grip of evil, good and truth have no influence over the way they feel and think, and consequently over how they act.

Arcana Coelestia 1683: "The inherent nature of evil is to wish to injure everyone, but the inherent nature of good is to injure no one. The evil are acting in conformity with their own life when they are attacking, for their constant desire is to destroy."

The actions of the he-goat illustrate the violence of evil against goodness perfectly. As the goat attacked the ram, there was no resistance from the ram, and so the goat “cast him down to the ground and trampled him.”

As Daniel watched the ram was defeated, and he observed that “there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand”. This is the darkest hour before the dawn. Remember that this vision takes place in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, and the “third year” represents the end of one state and the beginning of a new one. We know from the historical series that Belshazzar is finally killed by Darius the Mede, who elevates Daniel to a place of honour in his empire - but this state has yet to dawn. In the meantime, darkness is on the land - although morning is going to break.

Here's the next set of verses from Daniel 8:

8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

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This next section of Daniel’s vision describes the progress of evil and falsity in a person who separates him or herself from goodness. In order for our lives to be transformed by truth, the truths we know must come forth into activity, otherwise they simply remain exercises of the mind. When we act according to truth, our lives are transformed because they become reflections of the Lord’s Word. Our actions themselves become expressions of the Lord love from which the truths originated. Thus by living according to truth a person is changed by the Lord.

The exact opposite happens when we chose to ignore truth and live according to our own interpretations of right and wrong. When we do this, our actions do not draw themselves from the Word, but from our own self-centred version of what we claim truth to be. The result is that we only believe and only do things which serve us. In this state we can say that Nebuchadnezzar rules the internals of our minds, and Belshazzar our external thoughts and actions. The result is the profanation of Belshazzar’s feast, and the cruelty of Nebuchadnezzar’s decrees.

While the conscience is bound around by these evils, it seems as thought “nothing can deliver us from his hand”, and indeed without the intervention of the Lord, we would be lost. How easy it would be for hell to claim our lives is described in the events Daniel saw after the ram was put to flight.

As he watched, the male goat grew very great. The evils of life flooding into us when we turn aside from the power of good and evil, is powerful. They have the ability to obliterate everything else. This growth in power is described by the he-goat growing in size, and becoming strong.

More important than the sheer size of the goat, however, was that happened to its horn. When Daniel first describes this horn in verse five, he comments that the goat “had a notable horn between his eyes”, which represents the power of human reasoning over matters of goodness and truth. As he watched, the horn was broken, and from it grew four other horns.

This dramatic change in the horn has an ominous meaning in the depiction of the slide into evil. If the central “notable” horn represents human reasoning on spiritual matters, it also represents the false conclusions people come to. When we reason apart from the teachings of the Word, we open our minds to the selfish side of our being, with the result that we slip deeper and deeper into self-orientation.

Thus we could say that the single horn represents the basic principle that we know better than the Lord, that our belief and interpretation about life is more valid than what the Lord teaches in the Word. It also means that we will pick and choose the things we wish to believe in. If one starts from that point of view, it soon becomes apparent that every area of our thinking, and thence of our action, is going to be affected.

The horn breaking is not so much a destruction of the power of human reasoning, but a development into other areas of our lives. The horn “breaking”, therefore is the division of our false reasoning into many different falsities ²⁴ .

The four smaller horns which came up in its place represent the joining together of these falsities with evil affections in our minds which are only too happy to be justified by our thoughts ²⁵ . Thus as a person slips into this line of thinking, he or she may well find him or herself enjoying things which the conscience had labelled unacceptable, but has now been made acceptable by the new outlook, or excuse offered by the understanding. The result is a powerful combination of the will and understanding acting in unison and bent on gratifying self.

Notice that the four horns are deployed according to the “four winds of heaven”. As in the case of the ram, who came from the east, and pushed to the west, the north and the south, so without mentioning those quarters in detail, we are told that the four horns occupied those same areas. The four quarters in the Word represent different states of goodness and truth in a person. But by taking the negative correspondence, they can also describe the states of evil and falsity. Thus the areas of our minds, which had once been opened up to goodness and truth by the ram, are now changed into strongholds of evil and falsity by the goat’s horns.

So far, however, the challenge of evil to good in a regenerating person is still somewhat straight forward. Each person has two distinct aspects to themselves - the selfish and the good. During the course of regeneration these two sides alternate in the battles of temptation, and sometimes it seems as thought the darker side of our being is going to win. As the dawn of new life approaches, so that appearance grows increasingly stronger. Sooner or later it will take a great effort to throw off our evils altogether - but at this stage of the story we are not ready for that yet. Thus deeper and darker temptations swirl around us.

In these states one is reminded of Jesus on the cross, when all the world was plunged into darkness, and He cried out “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” It was still necessary for Him to die before the victory of resurrection.

So too with us. With the ram set to flight, and the goat grown so huge, with the four horns at the four corners of heaven, it seems as though things could not get any worse. The end is not yet near. “My time has not yet come!”

Thus as Daniel watched, one of the horns sprouted a little horn, “which grew exceedingly great towards the south, towards the east, and toward the Glorious Land”. This little horn marks a change in the decline of a person towards hell. The first four horns each represent the power of falsity in our lives, a falsity which generates evil, and which leads us further and further from heaven.

This little horn, however, represents a new kind of falsity, not a falsity which produces evil, but a falsity which is the result of evil ²⁶ . At this point one may wonder what the difference is between a falsity which produces evil and a falsity produced by evil. The falsity which produces evil arises in a willingness or approve or justify some evil in a person’s life. The evil, however, is still only potential, and only comes into being when the person acts on that falsity. One could call this a falsity of permission, for it gives a person permission to act in certain ways.

However, the falsity which comes from evil is a natural consequence of this. When a person acts according to evil, when he or she embraces evil, then the evil changes the way that person views life. They no longer need the original falsity to give them permission to act evilly. Now they have tasted the fruit of evil, and draw nourishment from it. The result is a falsity arising in direct consequence of the evil.

Thus the little horn grew, as the power of falsity grows at speed when it draws its origin from evil. When one comes into this state, one had passed the point of reasoning about whether it is permissible to act in certain ways, now one does so without any conscience, without any bonds to hold one back. Thus the horn’s influence spread throughout, like a cancer.

The danger this type of falsity represents in our development cannot be underplayed. We are told that the horn grew towards the south, towards the east. As was shown before, the south represents a state of spiritual light ²⁷ , while the east, where the Lord is in heaven, is a state of goodness ²⁸ . The horn growing into these regions illustrates how the falsities rooted in evil actually begin to obscure and obliterate the light of truth and warmth of love we have from heaven itself.

The impact of this can be seen in the lives of people who give in to evil. They may know that a certain action is wrong because they have read so in the Word. Yet they continue nevertheless. In time, their persistence in that activity puts to flight the restraining bonds of the conscience, and as a result they come into the fullness of the activity. As this happens, so they begin to think in terms of the activity, and to loose the ability to think or will contrary to it. When this happens one passes out of a state of temptation, and into an acquiescence to evil itself.

As Daniel watched the progress of the little horn, he noted that it “grew up to the host of heaven, and cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.” In this action it was very similar to the fourth beast in chapter seven, with its great iron teeth, which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue ²⁹ .

The horn cast down some of the “host” or army and some of the stars of heaven, which we told symbolises the goods and truths of heaven ³⁰ . “Stars” represent the knowledges of truth drawn from the Word. As we have seen throughout this study, truths are a person’s first line of defence against evil and falsity. The whole of Daniel’s life is a testimony to this. However, when a person lapses into a life of selfishness, which is made possible by misusing the things of the Word, then the person gives him or herself permission to act as they will. The result is the destruction of real faith and charity ³¹ . These are most dangerous to a person’s spiritual life, for they blot out any sense of sin, remorse or shame, and leave the person to the mercy of a life of unrestricted evil. The destruction of the sense of sin, and the knowledge that one has indeed committed evil, is described by the little horn growing towards the south which cast down the host and stars and trampled on them ³² . To trample them down means to utterly destroy them ³³ .

Arcana Coelestia 4897: "That 'stars' have this signification in the Word is because they are small luminaries which shine at night, when they give forth into our atmosphere gleams of light, just as knowledge gives forth gleams of good and truth."

In the historical series this blotting out of the “stars” of heaven can be seen in the denial by Nebuchadnezzar of Daniel’s true name. By calling him “Belteshazzar”, the represents the way we deny the source and origin of truth, and when that is denied, it becomes only too easy to relegate it to the farthest corners of our minds and finally forget about it all together. However, this little horn casting down the host and stars of heaven is doing something far more sinister than simply forgetting the truth. It is the actual destruction of truth as far as possible. This is done by twisting it around until it looses all meaning and power.

The state of evil and falsity which then rules the person mind are worse than any other sort ³⁴ . If a person lapsed into evil because of ignorance, or from having been taught falsities they still have a spiritual defence. On the other hand, to commit falsity with malice of forethought, when one knows the truth and chooses to reject it, and misuses the truth in such a way to make it permissible, then that person comes into a deeper level of falsity. The result is that without a recognition of goodness and truth from the Lord, the person in this state looses their intelligence and wisdom, for these originate in truth ³⁵ . In this state falsity and evil are confirmed in the person’s mind, and that person is alienated from the presence of the Lord.

To compound this matter, the horn exalted itself as high as the Prince of hosts. Here again we see the similarity of imagery to the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, which treats of Lucifer, son of the dawn, exalting himself to God. This is the very nature of selfishness, and the end to which all selfishness tends, for loving self is opposite to loving God, and should a person allow unbridled selfishness in his or her life, then eventually that person will challenge God Himself.

In this state there is no possibility of genuine worship of God at all. Thus the horn “took away the daily sacrifices”. Sacrifices in the Word are part of worship, and worship is based on humility. If a person cannot, or will not humble him or herself before the Lord, then there can be no worship. The effect of the horn exalting itself to the level of God in a person’s mind, is to destroy humility, for a person in that state thinks he or she knows best, and is willing to please self.

It is also said that the horn cast down the sanctuary of the Prince of Hosts, meaning that nothing would be considered sacred or holy any longer.

A person in this state lapses into the very depths of hell, for all spiritual value, all real hope for salvation, disintegrates in the face of the terrible selfishness rampant in the person’s heart. In its place is a sea of self-centred willing, thinking and acting. The horn, with all its power, was given an army "to oppose the daily sacrifices, and he was cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered."

The next two verses are:

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, "How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?"

14 And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."

---

The vision Daniel witnessed describes the final states of evil in a regenerating person. From states of spiritual progress, represented by the ram pushing in all directions, one comes into alternate states of degeneration, depicted as the ram with his fearful horns. These alternations of state are of vital importance to ones spiritual development, because in the process of regeneration one moves from a state in which one has no spiritual life to one in which he or she has. Because regeneration is a process which takes place during the whole course of a person’s life, a person is often between these two states, and yet one has to be in one or within the other. So they alternate.

Arcana Coelestia 933: "The state of a person when he is being regenerated resembles ‘cold’ and ‘heat’, that is, a point when faith and charity do not exist and then when they do."

The Writings offer insight into how these alternations work:

Every time a person is engrossed in his own bodily and worldly interests faith and charity do not exist, that is, it is a period of cold. For at such times it is bodily and worldly interests that are active… When, however, the bodily interests in a person and those of his [unregenerate] will are inactive and quiescent, the Lord acts by way of his internal man and at that pint faith and charity are present with him, which here is called ‘heat’ ³⁶ .

We see the roots of this alternation very clearly in chapter seven. When a person sees evil and the power of falsity in their lives, as described by the four beasts arising from the sea, and one judges them according to their knowledge and love for truth itself, then life begins to change. As we saw in chapter seven, however, although the beast was killed, nevertheless the lion, the bear and the leopard had “their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time” ³⁷ . Judgment changes the way we look at our lives, but it doesn’t by itself take away the evils to which we are prone. Those have to be overcome by temptation.

It is in this vision that we see the mechanism of overthrow. First the one state, the ram, then the other, the goat. Of course the most pertinent question arising about this progress is how long it will last. Remember that this vision was seen in the third year of Belshazzar, and that the third year represents the end of one state and the beginning of the next. According to this we know that eventually the states of evil will pass away completely, and we will be delivered. But how long?

Daniel heard this very question from heaven: “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?” The answer is one of those verses in the Word which, without the internal sense to explain is, has exercised human minds for centuries.

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

This is how the verse is translated in the New King James Version of the Bible. Unfortunately it is not an accurate translation, leaving out some very important words. If one turns to the American Standard Version, one find the verse translated as follows:

And he said to me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The difference seems minor, but by leaving out the “mornings” and “evenings”, the translators have left out a vital part of the information the Lord has given us. Swedenborg translates the passage differently, relying on a literal interpretation of the original Hebrew. Translated from his Latin the verse reads:

"And he said unto me, Even unto the evening, the morning, two thousand three hundred; for then shall the holy thing be justified."

This is the translation we shall use for this purposes of this exposition, for it does no good to leave words out, or to lump “evening” and “morning” together and turn them into “day”. Similarly, although the meaning is much the same, it does not use to speak of “the sanctuary shall be cleansed” when in fact the original says that “the holy thing shall be justified.”

How long, then, shall this state of alternation between goodness and evil last? The answer is quite clear. It involves the evening and the morning. As in all matters related to time in the Word, the internal sense deals with spiritual state, not temporal time. It is important, therefore to view this verse as a whole. Evening and morning are seen most clearly in juxtaposition to each other.

The terms evening and morning are frequently used in the Word to describe the end of one state and the beginning of the next. We have already seen in many places how “night” represents states of spiritual darkness and obscurity.

Arcana Coelestia 7844: "In the Word throughout mention is made of “evening”, and by it is signified the last time of the church, and also the first time; the last with those among whom the church is ceasing, and the first with those among whom it is beginning."

Evening as a prelude to the night means much the same. Spiritual obscurity has its origins in the things which belong to human selfishness and greed, for as we have seen, these block out the light of truth from the Lord ³⁸ .

In sharp contrast to this is the breaking light of dawn, when shadows are put to flight and the world is transformed by the sun. This early light has precisely the opposite meaning from the darkness of evening. It is the time when truth shines into human minds, and the Lord’s kingdom can be clearly seen in its light ³⁹ .

In the Arcana Coelestia, a series of distinctions are made between evening and dawn, which help greatly in understanding these two different states:

Evening:

• a state of shade, or of falsity and of no faith

• all things that are a person’s own

• a state of no faith

Dawn

• A state of light, or of truth, and of the knowledges of truth.

• whatever with a person which is from the Lord

• a state where there is faith

• the coming of the Lord.

Now perhaps it is possible to grasp the answer to the question of how long the states of alternation will last - to the evening and the dawn, in other words, when one passes from a state of no faith, and a life according to one’s own selfishness, to a state in which truth rules completely. In this latter state one will live from the Lord, for the power of selfishness will have been destroyed, and the person will be free to draw from their conscience for spiritual leadership.

In the historical series this state is the end of the reign of Belshazzar and the subsequent leadership of Darius the Mede, for Darius, even though he ruled Babylon, and even though he was susceptible still to flattery, prised Daniel. In this reign Daniel became second only to the king himself, wielding real power. Thus we see the triumph of the conscience over selfishness.

One should not ignore the concept of time in this verse, however. The evening and morning would continue two thousand three hundred. As elsewhere the numbers are vitally important. Two thousand draws on two basic numbers: two and multiplies of ten. Two, as we have seen in earlier chapters, contains the concept of joining two things into a marriage or union ⁴⁰ . This conjunction, however, only comes about through states of conflict and toil ⁴¹ . The number “ten” represents states of completion and fullness.

The implication, therefore, is that these alternations of state will continue through the temptations of a person’s life until the state described as three hundred occurs. Again this number is a composite between “three” and multiples of ten. “Three” describes, as we have seen earlier, a state which is full and thus the beginning of a new state. Ten represents fullness.

The answer, therefore, as to how long alternations of state will last is that they will last until they have run their course, and the person is ready to put aside the evening states, and fully embrace the morning.

Here's a fourth set of verses:

15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."

17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end."

18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.

20 "The ram which you saw, having the two horns-- they are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.

24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

25 "Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.

26 "And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future."

The prophets of the Old Testament saw visions, but they had no idea what these visions meant. Daniel was no exception. He had seen a ram defeated by a goat, not an ordinary goat, but one with a “notable” horn. He must have grown increasingly puzzled as he watched the horn break and four lesser horns grow out of it. His puzzlement may have turned to fright and despair when he saw the power of the little horn as it grew towards the south and interfere with the daily sacrifices. He watched all if this, but didn’t understand what it meant.

He writes that he saw the vision, and was “seeking the meaning”, when the next vision broke upon him. This time he heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai, and suddenly saw a man standing before him. He was afraid and fell on his face.

As in chapter seven, once again the vision is explained. In chapter seven, however, it is Daniel who asks for interpretation. In chapter eight the angel Gabriel is sent to explain it to him. The explanation in chapter seven is largely a reiteration of what Daniel had already seen. In chapter eight new information is introduced which leads to a deeper understanding.

Daniel begins by commenting that he wanted to understand the things he saw, and suddenly “there stood before him one having the appearance of a man”. In chapter seven we are not sure who Daniel asks, for he says he asked “one of them who were standing near” ⁴² . In this vision, however, it is very different. Daniel sees a man.

Remember that Daniel was in the citadel at Shushan, on the banks of the River Ulai when he sees this vision. As he saw the man so he heard a voice from between the banks of the Ulai river. Earlier it was noted that “rivers” refer to matters of truth and wisdom in a person. When describing the citadel at Shushan on the banks of the Ulai, it was pointed out that the river took its negative meaning, being the falsities which feed and protect the love of self.

However, each correspondence has both a positive and a negative correspondence. When the River Ulai is seen in context of the Babylonian palace, it makes sense to draw out the negative sense. Yet when the voice calls to the angel Gabriel from within the banks of the river, then one must assume a positive correspondence. In this context therefore, the river Ulai represents the wisdom of God being communicated to Daniel by means of the angel Gabriel.

Gabriel is mentioned four times in the Word, in Daniel chapters eight and nine, and twice in the Christmas story given in the book of Luke. Daniel refers to Gabriel as “the man Gabriel” who could fly swiftly (more about this in chapter nine), while in Luke Gabriel is clearly identified as an angel, who, as he said to Zacharias in the temple, stands in the presence of God.

In Hebrew the name “Gabriel” means a warrior, a valiant man, which is a very apt description of the angel. The Writings tell us that Gabriel was not a single angel, but the human appearance of an entire society or community of angels ⁴³ . The name given to the angel, is in accordance with the function he performs ⁴⁴ . Angels, or rather societies of angels in human form appeared to prophets to communicate Divine Truth to them ⁴⁵ . The Arcana Coelestia makes this point when it says:

Arcana Coelestia 8192: "'Angels' signify Divine truth, for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord makes heaven, consequently also the angels who constitute heaven; for in so far as they receive the Divine truth which is from the Lord, so far they are angels."

Apocalypse Explained 302: "A 'strong angel' signifies heaven because the whole angelic heaven before the Lord is as one man, or as one angel, likewise each society of heaven; therefore by 'angel' in the Word an angel is not meant, but an entire angelic society, as by 'Michael', 'Gabriel', 'Raphael'.

The truth Gabriel came to present to Daniel, therefore, was the meaning of the vision the prophet had just witnessed. As he approached Daniel, the latter was afraid and fell to his face. Here we have a response of the conscience when it is brought into close approximation to truth itself.

One must be wary of the trap of believing Daniel to be some disconnected observer of visions. The historical series in the first part of the book shows that this is not so. Daniel represents a person’s conscience, or the presence of truth guiding the human mind. Such a presence can never be simply neutral. The conscience plays a tremendous role in the way our minds develop, partly because it is through the conscience that we are able to understand the end result of selfishness and evil. The conscience reminds us of what good and truth really are, and how to come back into these states.

When we are in alternate states of evil, the conscience somewhat goes into abeyance, but it does not leave us, otherwise all our spiritual development would cease. Thus Daniel, while he watched the visions was seeing, correspondentially, the interaction of the conscience with the life of selfishness.

It is no surprise, therefore, that when the angel Gabriel, representing the Divine truth itself, came near to our human conscience, representing Daniel, that Daniel fell on his face. Symbolically this means the submission of the conscience to a higher authority - truth itself.

When a person is in a state of temptation, as is represented by this vision, it often appears that one’s knowledge and understanding of the Word disappears ⁴⁶ . This is the state represented by Daniel falling on his face in submission to a higher truth, and is later shown by his statement in the next verse that he “was in a deep sleep”, for, as we have seen earlier, sleep represents a state of spiritual obscurity.

Arcana Coelestia 1999: "True adoration, or humiliation of heart, carries with it prostration to the earth upon the face before the Lord, as a gesture naturally flowing from it. For in humiliation of heart there is the acknowledgement of self as being nothing but filthiness, and at the same time the acknowledgement of the Lord's infinite mercy toward that which is such; and when the mind is kept in these two acknowledgements, the very mind droops in lowliness toward hell, and prostrates the body; nor does it uplift itself until it is uplifted by the Lord. This takes place in all true humiliation, with a perception of being uplifted by the Lord's mercy."

It is part of the Lord’s mercy that He never leaves people in this state. The angel Gabriel, representing the power of the Lord’s truth, came to Daniel to begin the task of explaining what the vision meant. He begins by putting it into context: “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” Notice that all the words of this statement are addressed to the understanding, the part of our minds which draws information from the Word, processes it into useful spiritual guidance. The conscience is the function of that truth in the understanding.

Thus the angel begins, “understand, son of man.” This latter phrase also speaks to the truth within us. Generally in the Word “sons” represent truths ⁴⁷ , while the “son of man” is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and received in our minds ⁴⁸ . Prophets were called “sons of men” because they represented the Lord in that they communicated His truth to the people of this world ⁴⁹ .

Thus when a person is in an state where the evil or selfish side of his or her personality is in ascendancy, and when our conscience has been set aside, the Lord lifts our minds to higher things. This is the dawn of the new state about to be break into our minds. The truth present with us comes forward to remind us of the presence of the Lord, and to reawaken our conscience and thus spur us on to resist the evil.

The angel reminds Daniel that this “vision refers to the time of the end”, the states when evils in our external man will finally be brought under control, and we will be freed from their influence ⁵⁰ . In places where the “time of the end” is referred to in the Word, it deals with “the consummation of the age is the last time of the church or its end”. Thus “end” represents a completion of a state, “when there is no Divine truth left except what has been falsified or set aside.” Using this concept, the angel’s words describing Daniel’s vision as a vision of “the end” refers to the final states of evil in a person before they are completely rejected and set aside. This idea is also contained in the opening words of the chapter, that Daniel saw this vision “in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar”.

That time, however, has not yet come. Daniel, flat on his face on the ground, and asleep, is touched by Gabriel, who stood him upright. In this new state, the explanation of the vision could begin.

Gabriel describes the dream in terms of the kings of the world. Thus the ram’s horns are the kings of Media and Persia. The goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the four horns coming from the broken “notable” horn are four kingdoms. The little horn growing to the south is a king with fierce features, “who understands sinister schemes”.

Over the centuries there have been many attempts to explain this vision in human and political terms, and in some ways the explanations often work. The kingdom of Media and Persia were in fact overrun by Alexander the Great, the Greek king. On his death his empire was divided into four regions. The king with the fierce features, then replaced them, and could be compared to the Roman Empire. This king would even rise against the “Prince of princes”, meaning that the Lord Himself would be put to death by the Romans. Finally however, the last king would be “broken without human means”, depicting the collapse of the Roman Empire ⁵¹ .

The difficulty with this interpretation of Gabriel’s words is that they do not really address the issues of the human soul. Perhaps historically this prophecy did come true in the events of the times, but the Lord is not concerned with temporal and political things. His concern is for the salvation of the human soul, and for this reason the Word is given to us. Each and every detail of the Word deals with, amongst other things, human salvation. It is necessary then to turn aside from political speculation and delve into the meanings given in the Writings.

Poznámky pod čarou:

714. And behold a great red dragon, signifies all who are merely natural and sensual from the love of self, and yet have more or less knowledge from the Word, from doctrine therefrom or from preaching, and think to be saved by knowledge alone apart from life. This is evident from the signification of "dragon," as being a man who is merely natural and sensual, and yet has a knowledge of things in themselves spiritual, whether from the Word or from preaching or from religion (of which presently); also from the signification of "great red," as meaning to be in the love of self and in its evils; for "great" is predicated in the Word of good, and in the contrary sense of evil, as "many" is predicated of truths, and in the contrary sense of falsities (See above, n. 336, 337, 424), and "red" is predicated of love in both senses, namely, of celestial love, which is love to the Lord, and in the contrary sense of diabolical love, which is the love of self (of which also above, n. 364). This shows that "a great red dragon" means all who are merely natural and sensual from the love of self, and yet have more or less knowledge from the Word or from doctrine therefrom or from preaching, and who think to be saved by knowledge alone without the life of charity. Such think to be saved by knowledge alone without the life of charity, because all who live for the body and the world, and not for God and heaven, become merely natural and sensual; for everyone is inwardly formed according to his life, and to live for the body and the world is to live a natural and sensual life, while to live for God and heaven is to live a spiritual life.

[2] Every man is born sensual from his parents; and by his life in the world becomes natural more and more interiorly, that is, rational, according to his moral and civil life and the lumen acquired therefrom; afterwards he becomes a spiritual man by means of truths from the Word or from doctrine from the Word, and by a life according to these truths. From this it can be seen that one who knows the things taught in the Word or in doctrine or by a preacher, and does not live according to them, however learned and erudite he may appear, is nevertheless not spiritual but natural, and even sensual, for knowledge [scientia] and the ability to reason do not make man spiritual, but the life itself.

This is so because knowledge and the faculty of reasoning are merely natural, and can therefore also be with evil men, even with the worst of men; but truths from the Word with a life according to them are what make man spiritual, for life is willing truths and doing them from a love of them; this is not possible to the natural man alone, but must come from the spiritual, and from its influx into the natural; for to love truths and from love to will them and from that will to do them is from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord, and is in its nature celestial and Divine; this cannot flow in immediately into the natural mind, but only mediately through the spiritual mind, which is capable of being opened and formed for the reception of heavenly light and heat, that is, for the reception of Divine truth and Divine good. These cannot flow immediately into the natural mind, for the reason that man's hereditary evils, which belong to the love of self and the world, have their seat in that mind; therefore the natural man, viewed in itself, loves nothing but self and the world, and from love wills, and from will does those evils, and these block the way to the influx of anything out of heaven into the natural man, and its reception there; therefore it has been provided by the Lord that these evils can be removed, and for a place to be given for the truths and goods of spiritual love, namely, by the opening and formation of the spiritual mind which is above the natural mind, and by the influx of heaven from the Lord through that mind into the natural mind.

[3] This has been said that it may be known that to know the things that are of the Word and of the doctrine of the church does not make man spiritual, but a life according to those things that the Lord has commanded in the Word; therefore although such know many things from the Word they yet remain natural and sensual. Such are signified in the Word by "the dragon." They therefore are signified by "the dragon" because the dragon is a kind of serpent that not only creeps on the ground but also flies, and thence it appears in heaven; and it is because of this flying and appearing in heaven that the dragon means those who are in a knowledge of the truths from the Word, and not in a life according to them, "serpents" in general signifying the sensual things of man (See above, n. 581), and this is why "the dragon" (in the ninth verse of this chapter and in the second verse of the twentieth chapter) Revelation 12:9, 20:2, is called "the old serpent."

[4] Since in the rest of this chapter and also afterwards "the dragon" is treated of, it shall be told what sort of persons, in general and in particular, it signifies. In general it signifies those who are more or less natural, and yet are in a knowledge of spiritual things from the Word. But in particular it signifies those who have confirmed themselves by doctrine and life in a faith separated from charity. These constitute the head of the dragon. But those who from self-intelligence hatch out for themselves dogmas from the Word constitute its body, while those who study the Word without doctrine constitute its external parts. All these also falsify and adulterate the Word, since they are in the love of self, and thence in the pride of self-intelligence, from which they become merely natural, yea, even sensual, and the sensual man is unable to see the genuine truths of the Word because of fallacies, obscurity of perception, and the evils of the body residing therein; for the sensual clings to the body, from which such things come.

[5] 1. In the first place, "the dragon" means in general those who are more or less natural, and yet are in a knowledge of spiritual things from the Word, because "serpents" signify in general the sensual things in man, and thence sensual men; therefore "the dragon," which is a flying serpent, signifies the sensual man who yet flies towards heaven in that he talks and thinks from the Word or from doctrine from the Word. For the Word itself is spiritual, because it is in itself Divine, and is therefore in heaven. But since the mere knowledge of spiritual things from the Word does not make man spiritual, but a life according to those things that are in the Word, therefore all of those who are in knowledge from the Word and are not in a life according to that knowledge are natural and even sensual.

[6] The sensual who are meant by "the dragon" are those who do not see anything from the light of heaven, but only from the light of the world, and who from that light alone, when excited by the fire of the love of self and pride therefrom are able to talk about Divine things, and to reason keenly and readily about them; but yet they are unable to see whether these things be truths or not, calling that truth which they have imbibed from childhood from a master or preacher, and then from doctrine, and which they have afterwards confirmed by some passages of the Word not interiorly understood. Because they see nothing from the light of heaven they do not see truths, but in place of them falsities, which they call truths; for truths themselves can be seen only in the light of heaven, and not in the light of the world unless that light is illuminated by the light of heaven. These being such love no other than a bodily and worldly life; and as the pleasures and lusts of that life have their seat in the natural man the interiors of such are filthy and crowded with evils of every kind, which close up every way for the influx of the light and heat of heaven; consequently they are inwardly devils and satans, however much they may appear to be spiritual and to be Christians by their talk and simulated gestures. Such are merely sensual, for while they are able to talk outwardly about the holy things of the church, inwardly they believe nothing; and those who think they believe have only a historical and thence a persuasive belief derived from some teacher or from self-intelligence, which in itself is false, but which they believe for the sake of fame, honor, or gain. Such are meant in general by "dragons." But there are many that are signified in particular by the dragon, for there are some that have reference to the head, some to the body, and some to the external parts.

[7] 2. Those that have reference in particular to the head of the dragon are those who have confirmed themselves both by doctrine and by life in faith alone, which is faith separated from charity. These refer to the head of the dragon because most of them are erudite and are believed to be learned; for they have confirmed themselves in the belief that they are saved by simply thinking what the church teaches, which they call believing. But what their doctrine is and what their life is shall be told. Their doctrine is, that God the Father sent His Son, born from eternity, into the world, that He might become man, might fulfill all things of the law, might bear the iniquities of all and suffer the cross; and that thereby God the Father was reconciled and moved to compassion; and that those who from confidence were in a faith respecting these things would be received into heaven; and that the confidence of that faith, together with the Lord, would intercede and save; consequently that such a faith is given to mankind, who are separated from God the Father, as a medium of reception and salvation, because when Adam had eaten of the tree of knowledge man was no longer in a state to do good of himself, for he had thus lost, with the image of God, his free will; lastly, that these things are the Lord's merit, by which alone man can be saved. These in respect to doctrine are the primary things of faith with those who are in faith alone. Elsewhere, the Lord willing, it shall be explained and illustrated that no one can, from any spiritual sight, which is of the understanding, perceive and thus believe anything of this; but such things can be known and talked about only from the memory, without any understanding, thus that in that doctrine there is nothing of intelligence.

[8] Of what quality such as these are in respect to life shall also be stated. They teach that man is led of God by faith alone, even to the endeavor to do good, and that good itself in act contributes nothing to salvation, but faith alone does this, and that then nothing of evil condemns him, because he is in grace and is justified. Moreover, they have thought out the steps, which they call the progressions of faith alone, even to the last step of justification; the first is information as to the things that pertain to faith, especially those above mentioned; the second is confirmation from the Word or from preaching; the third is mental investigation whether it be so or not; and as doubt and consequent wavering, which is temptation, then flow in, there must be confirmation from the Word respecting the operation of faith, from which comes confidence, which is victory. They add that heed must be taken that the understanding be not allowed to go further than to secure confirmations from the Word respecting justification by faith alone; if it goes beyond this and is not kept in obedience to faith the man is overcome. The fourth and last step is an endeavor to do good; and this is an influx from God and not at all from man, and is the fruit of faith; for they say that after a man has thus been fully justified nothing of evil condemns him and nothing of good saves him, but faith alone. From this it is clear what such are in respect to life, namely, that they live for themselves and not for God, and for the world and not for heaven; for this follows from the belief that evils do not condemn and that goods do not save. Nor do they know that faith without the life of charity is not faith, and that man ought to shun evils and do good as of himself, and yet to believe that it is from the Lord, and that otherwise evils cannot be shaken off, nor goods appropriated. But more will be said also about this elsewhere.

[9] Such is the doctrine and the life with those who form the head of the dragon, who for the most part are the erudite leaders, but few are from the common people; and for the reason that the leaders regard these things as secrets of theology that cannot be comprehended by the common people because of their secular employments. These belong to the head of the dragon for the reason also that they pervert and falsify all the things of the Word which teach love, charity, and life; for the Word, viewed in itself, is simply the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, and nowhere the doctrine of faith separate from charity. Such falsify the Word by calling them either faith or such fruit as is not eaten, because they give no thought to doing, and thus they are not nourished by that fruit. Moreover, they admit these principles no further than into the memory, and therefrom into the thought nearest to it, which is sensual thought, in which there is nothing spiritual, and this thought does not inquire whether a thing is true; therefore they guard against the entrance of anything into the interior sight which is of the understanding, being unwilling to know that all these things respecting their faith said above are contrary to an enlightened understanding, as they are contrary to the genuine sense of the Word. This is why those who constitute the head of the dragon have no genuine truth, for from a false principle, such as faith alone, nothing can flow forth except falsities in a continual series; nor indeed can there be any such thing as faith alone, for faith apart from charity is not faith, since charity is the soul of faith, therefore to speak of faith alone is to speak of what is without a soul, thus without life, which in itself is dead.

[10] 3. That those constitute the body of the dragon who have hatched out for themselves from self-intelligence dogmas from the Word can be seen from this, that all of such who study the Word and are in the love of self are also in the pride of self-intelligence, and all who are in this pride and at the same time excel in cleverness from natural lumen, hatch out dogmas therefrom for themselves; this is the origin of all the heresies and all the falsities in the Christian world. It shall be told what the intelligence is that is from man's own [proprium], and what the intelligence is that is not from man's own. Intelligence from man's own is from self, but intelligence not from man's own is from the Lord. All who are in the love of self have intelligence from what is their own, for love of self is man's very own [ipsum proprium]; and those are in the love of self who read the Word and gather up dogmas from it for the sake of fame, glory, and honor; and as such are unable to see any truths, but can see falsities only, they are in the body of the dragon; for they gather up and hatch out such things from the Word as favor their loves and the evils that flow from them, and such things as are contrary to their dogmas, which are truths from good, they either do not see or they pervert; but all who are in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, who love truth because it is truth and because it is serviceable to eternal life and to the life of men's souls, have intelligence from the Lord. It is said that their intelligence is not from their own [proprium] but from the Lord, because when such read the Word they are elevated above what is their own and even into the light of heaven, and are enlightened; in that light truth appears from truth itself, because the light of heaven is Divine truth. But they who are in the love of self and in the pride of self-intelligence therefrom cannot be elevated out of their own, for they look to self continually, thus in every least thing they do. Thence it is that they place everything of salvation in faith in their own dogmas, thus in knowing and thinking, and not at the same time in life, that is, not in willing and doing. These, therefore, constitute the body of the dragon. The heart of this body is the love of self, and the breath of its respiration, or of its spirit, is the pride of self-intelligence; from these two the dragon is called "great red," and the term "red" [rufus] in the original Greek text is from fiery-red, thus from love and pride.

[11] 4. Those who study the Word without doctrine and are at the same time in the love of self, constitute the externals of the draconic body. Externals are what proceed from the interiors, and involve, inclose, and contain them, like the skins, the scales, and the prominences on every part. Such constitute the externals of the dragon's body because they are without the intelligence of the spiritual things of the Word; for they only know the Word in respect to the sense of its letter, which is such that, unless doctrine lights the way, it may lead into errors and falsities of every kind; consequently those who study the Word without doctrine are able to confirm as many heresies as they will, and also to embrace them, and also to protect them by the loves of self and of the world and the evils arising therefrom. For the sense of the letter of the Word is the ultimate sense of Divine truth, thus it is for the natural and sensual man, adapted to its apprehension, and often so as to favor it; consequently unless it is read and viewed from doctrine, as from a lamp, it carries the mind away into darkness respecting many things that pertain to heaven and the church. And yet such believe themselves to be wise above all others, when in fact they are not wise at all.

[12] 5. All those who constitute the dragon adore God the Father, and look upon the Lord as a man like themselves, and not as God, or if as God they place His Divine above His Human, and not within it. This will be illustrated in what follows, where the combat of the dragon with Michael is treated of.

[13] 6. From this it can now be seen that the "tail" of the dragon means the falsification and adulteration of the Word by those who constitute its head, its body, and its extremities; for its tail, like the tail of every animal, is a continuation of the spine, which is an extension from the brain, and thus it is moved, bent, and vibrated, according to the appetites, lusts, and pleasures of the head and body, which it caresses, as it were. And inasmuch as all those that constitute the dragon falsify and adulterate the Word, because they are natural and sensual from the love of self and thence are in the pride of self-intelligence, therefore it is said that "the dragon with his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them unto the earth;" "the stars of heaven" signify the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, thence the truths from good therefrom, and "to cast them unto the earth" signifies to pervert and adulterate and thus destroy them.

[14] That those above described constitute the dragon, and that the adulteration and destruction of the truths of the Word are meant by "his tail," it has been given me to see in the spiritual world two or three times, for in that world all things that are seen are representative of things spiritual. When such persons are seen in the light of heaven they are seen as dragons with a long tail; and when many such are seen the tail appears extended from the south through the west into the north, and that tail is also seen to draw down as it were the stars from heaven and cast them unto the earth.

[15] As those above described are meant by "the dragon" and the falsification and adulteration of the Word by his "tail," the "habitation" and "bed" of dragons in the Word signify where there is nothing but falsity and evil, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

The dry place shall become a pool, and the thirsty place springs of waters; in the habitation of dragons, its den, there shall be grass instead of the reed and rush (Isaiah 35:7).

This is said of the Lord's coming and of the establishment of a New Church by Him with the Gentiles; and these words mean that the truths and goods of the church shall be where they were not before, even where there were falsities and evils; where falsities and evils were before is signified by "the dry and thirsty place," and by "the habitation of dragons," also by "the reed and rush;" but the truths and goods that they will then have are signified by the "pool," the "springs of waters," the "den" where dragons were before, and the "grass."

[16] In Jeremiah:

I will make Jerusalem heaps, the habitation of dragons; and the cities of Judah will I reduce to a waste that there may be no inhabitant (Jeremiah 9:11).

The voice of a clamor, behold, a great tumult cometh from the land of the north, to reduce the cities of Judah to a waste, a habitation of dragons (Jeremiah 10:22).

"Jerusalem" means the church in respect to doctrine, and "the cities of Judah" doctrinals, which are truths from the Word; the falsification of truth and the adulteration of good, from which come mere falsities and evils, are signified by "making Jerusalem heaps," and by "reducing the cities of Judah to a waste, a habitation of dragons," for truth falsified is mere falsity, and good adulterated is mere evil; "the voice of a clamor and a great tumult from the land of the north" signifies falsities fighting against truths, and evils against goods; "the land of the north" means where those are who are in falsities of evil.

[17] In the same:

Hazor shall become a habitation of dragons, a desolation even forever; a man shall not dwell there, nor shall the son of man abide there (Jeremiah 49:33).

"Hazor" signifies spiritual treasures, which are the knowledges of truth and good from the Word; their devastation even until they are no more, but falsities and evils in their place, is signified by "Hazor shall become a habitation of dragons, a desolation even forever;" that there will be no truth of the church remaining is signified by "a man shall not dwell there, nor shall the son of man abide in her," "son of man" meaning the truth of the church.

[18] In Isaiah:

The thorn shall come up in her palaces, the thistle and bramble in her fortresses; that she may be a habitation of dragons, a court for the daughters of the owl (Isaiah 34:13).

This is said of Edom and of the nations, which mean those who are in falsities and evils; "the thorns, the thistle, and the bramble," signify the falsities and evils in which these are; the dogmas by which they are defended are signified by "palaces and fortresses;" the devastation of all good and truth is signified by "a habitation of dragons, and a court for the daughters of the owl," "owls" meaning those who see falsities as truths, and "their daughters" the lusts of falsifying truths.

[19] In the same:

The ijim shall answer in her palaces, and dragons in the temples (Isaiah 13:22).

This is said of Babylon, which signifies the adulteration and profanation of good and truth; "her palaces" in which are the ijim, and the "temples" in which are dragons, signify the goods and truths of the Word and of the church, which are adulterated and profaned, "ijim" signifying adulterated and profaned truths, and "dragons" adulterated and profaned goods.

[20] In Micah:

For this I will lament and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a lamentation like dragons, and a mourning like the daughters of the owl (Mic. Micah 1:8).

This treats of the vastation of Samaria, which signifies the spiritual church in respect to doctrine, here that church vastated; devastation in respect to truth and good is signified by "going stripped and naked;" lamentation over it is signified by "lamenting and howling," lamentation over devastated good by "making a lamentation like dragons," and lamentation over devastated truth by "making a mourning like the daughters of the owl." The lamentation and mourning are said to be like that of "dragons and the daughters of the owl" in a representative sense; also "his going stripped and naked," "stripped" signifying, the like as the dragon, to be destitute of goods, and "naked," the like as the daughters of the owl, to be destitute of truths.

[21] In Jeremiah:

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up as a whale, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath thrust me out. Let Babylon become a heap, a habitation of dragons, a hissing and an astonishment, without inhabitant (Jeremiah 51:34, 37). Here, too, "Babylon" and "Nebuchadnezzar" signify the adulteration and profanation of good and truth. The dispersion of all truth, and thence the destruction of all good, is signified by "he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up as a whale, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath thrust me out," "whale" having a similar signification as "dragon," the same word being used for both in the original tongue. The devastation of all truth and good by their adulteration and profanation is signified by "Babylon shall become a heap, a habitation of dragons, a hissing and an astonishment, without inhabitant," "without inhabitant" signifying no good in anyone.

[22] In Job:

I walked blackened without the sun, I stood in the assembly, I cried out, I am become a brother to dragons and a companion to the daughters of the screech owl (Job 30:28, 29).

This is said of his state in temptations, in which man thinks himself to be damned; therefore "to walk blackened without the sun" signifies to be like a devil, without the good of love; "to stand in the assembly and cry out" signifies to be among truths and yet in falsities; "to become a brother to dragons and a companion to the daughters of the screech owl" signifies to be conjoined with and to be one with those who are in evils without good and in falsities without truths, "dragons" meaning those who adulterate goods and pervert them into evils, and "the daughters of the screech owl" those who do the same to truths.

[23] In David:

Our heart is not turned away backward, neither hath our step declined from Thy way, though Thou hast crushed us in the place of dragons, and covered us over with the shadow of death (Psalms 44:18, 19).

This, too, treats of temptations. That being then shut off, like a sensual man, from influx out of heaven, he did not perceive what is good and what is true, is signified by "God hath crushed him in the place of dragons, and covered him over with the shadow of death," "the place of dragons" meaning where those who are dragons are in hell, that is, those who have destroyed every good in themselves; the falsity in which these are is called "the shadow of death."

[24] In the same:

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder, the lion and the dragon shall he trample ¹ on; because he hath set his love upon Me I will rescue him, I will set him on high because he hath known My name (Psalms 91:13, 14).

To destroy the interior and exterior falsities that vastate the truths of the church is signified by "treading upon the lion and adder;" and to destroy the interior and exterior falsities that vastate the goods of the church is signified by "trampling on the lion and dragon;" to lead away from falsities and to lead to interior truths and goods one who is in doctrine from the Word is signified by "I will rescue him, I will set him on high, who ² hath known My name," "to rescue" meaning to lead away from falsities, "to set on high" to lead to interior truths, and "to know My name," to be in doctrine from the Word.

[25] In Malachi:

Esau I hated, and made his mountains a waste, and gave his heritage to the dragons of the wilderness (Malachi 1:3).

"Esau" means such as are in good in respect to the natural man, here such as are in evil in respect to the same, therefore it is said, "Esau I hated;" that the goods of love of the natural man will be destroyed is signified by "I made his mountains a waste;" and that the truths of that good will be destroyed by the falsities of the sensual man is signified by "I gave his heritage to the dragons of the wilderness."

[26] In Ezekiel:

Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon (or whale) that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made myself (Ezekiel 29:3, 4; 32:2).

This describes the pride of self-intelligence of the natural and sensual man; "Pharaoh king of Egypt" signifies the natural and sensual man; "the dragon" (or whale) the same in respect to knowledges [scientifica] which are falsities or things falsified by the pride of self-intelligence (but this may be seen explained above, n. 513.

[27] In Moses:

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields ³ of Gomorrah; his grapes are grapes of gall, his ⁴ clusters of bitternesses. Their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel gall of asps (Deuteronomy 32:32, 33).

This may be seen explained above n. 519. There, too, "their wine," which is called "the poison of dragons and the cruel gall of asps," signifies that the truth of the church with the posterity of Jacob was external, in which inwardly there were infernal evils and falsities; "dragons and asps" signify sensual things which are the ultimates of the natural man full of horrible evils and falsities confirming them, and for the reason that the natural then receives nothing through the spiritual mind from the Lord, consequently what it receives is from hell.

[28] That "the dragon" signifies such things as have been stated above can be seen more fully from what follows in this chapter, namely, from his enmity against the woman about to bring forth and fleeing into the wilderness; also from his combat with Michael; and still further in chapters Revelation 16:13-15, and Revelation 20:2, 7, 8, 10, 14, where it is said of him that "he was bound a thousand years, and afterwards being loosed he went forth to seduce the nations, and to gather Gog and Magog together to battle against the saints," and that afterwards "he was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone;" from all of which it can be seen that "the dragon" means those who possess no good of charity and love because they do not acknowledge it to be any medium serviceable to salvation, but make it a kind of knowledge [scientificum] which from persuasion they call faith; and when the good of charity and love is not implanted by the life of man there is evil in place of it, and where there is evil there is falsity.

[29] Because "serpents" signify sensual things, which are the ultimates of the natural man, and these are not evil except with those who are evil, and because the word in the Hebrew that means dragon [tannin] is the same as that which means serpents not venemous, so when such serpents are meant by "dragons" they signify in the Word sensual things not evil, or as applied to persons, sensual men who are not evil. That the same word in Hebrew means dragons and such serpents can be seen in Moses:

When he was commanded out of the bush to cast his rod to the earth, and when it was changed to a serpent, he took hold of its tail, and thereby it was changed again into a rod (Exodus 4:3, 4).

Moses took the rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it became a serpent [dragon], and the magicians did the like with their rods; but the rod of Moses, then a serpent [dragon], swallowed up the rods, the serpents [dragons], of the magicians (Exodus 7:9-12).

The word rendered serpent in the former passage and the one so rendered in the latter in the original language are different; in the former passage the word generally employed in other parts of the Word for serpent is used, but in the latter it is the same word as is translated "dragon;" thus it might also be rendered that when Moses' rod was cast before Pharaoh it was changed into a dragon. From this it follows that "dragon," the same as "serpent," signifies in a good sense the sensual which is the ultimate of the natural man when it is not evil or not wicked.

[30] It is in this milder sense that "dragons" are also mentioned in Isaiah:

The wild beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the daughters of the owl, because I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the solitude, to give drink to My people, My chosen (Isaiah 43:20).

And in Jeremiah:

The hind brought forth in the field, but forsook it, because there was no grass; and the wild asses stood upon the hills, they pant for wind like dragons, their eyes were consumed because there was no herb (Jeremiah 14:5, 6).

In these passages the word translated "dragons" is the same word commonly translated "serpents," and is also translated "whales" in the sea, and these have a similar signification, namely, man's natural in general which is the sensual; so the last passage might be translated, "they breathed out the wind like whales." (Likewise in Isaiah 51:9; Jeremiah 51:34; in Ezekiel 29:3, 4; and in David, Psalms 74:13, 14.) Moreover, there are men merely sensual who are good.

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