969. Verse 4. And the third angel poured out his vial into the rivers and into the fountains of waters, signifies the state of the church manifested as to the faculty of understanding the truths of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "the angel pouring out the vial," as being the state of the church manifested (See above, n. 960, 961, 965); also from the signification of "rivers," as being such things as belong to intelligence, and thus to the faculty of understanding (See n. 518; also from the signification of "fountains of waters," as being the truths of the Word (See n. 483). From this it is clear that "the third angel poured out his vial into the rivers and into the fountains of waters" signifies the state of the church manifested as to the faculty of understanding the truths of the Word.

[2] Man is so created as to be an image of heaven and an image of the world, for he is a microcosm. He is born of his parents an image of the world, and he is born again to be an image of heaven. To be born again is to be regenerated; and man is regenerated by the Lord by means of truths from the Word and a life according to them. Man is an image of the world as to his natural mind, and he is an image of heaven as to his spiritual mind. The natural mind, which is the world, is beneath; and the spiritual mind, which is heaven, is above. The natural mind is full of all kinds of evils, such as thefts, adulteries, murders, false witnesses, covetousnesses, and even blasphemies and profanations of God. These evils and many others have their seat in that mind, for the loves of them are there, and thus the delights of thinking, willing, and doing them. These things are innate in that mind from parents, for man is born and grows up into the things that are in that mind, and is restrained only by the bonds of civil law and by the bonds of moral life from doing them, and from thus manifesting the tendencies of his depraved will. Who cannot see that the Lord cannot flow in out of heaven with man and teach him and lead him before these evils have been removed? For they obstruct, repel, pervert, and suffocate the truths and goods of heaven, which present themselves from above, press down and strive to flow in. For evils are infernal and goods are heavenly, and everything infernal burns with hatred against everything heavenly.

[3] This makes clear that before the Lord can flow in with heaven out of heaven and form man to the image of heaven, those evils that lie heaped up in the natural mind must needs be removed. Moreover, as the removal of evils must come first before man can be taught and led by the Lord, the reason is evident why in eight commandments of the Decalogue the evil works that must not be done are recounted, but not the goods that must be done. Good does not exist together with evil, nor does it exist before evils have been removed; for until then there is no way possible from heaven into man. Man is like a dark sea, the waters of which must be removed on either side before the Lord in a cloud and in fire can give a passage to the sons of Israel. The "dark sea" signifies hell, "Pharaoh with the Egyptians" the natural man, and "the sons of Israel" the spiritual man.