179. Internal Meaning of Daniel, Chapter 8

Prediction concerning the church in respect to charity and in respect to faith. (11, 11)

1-3 The church which is in faith and in charity, and its power. (11)

4 It will increase in truths and goods. (11)

5 Faith alone will wholly destroy charity. (2)

6-10 It will prevail through reasonings, by which it will dissipate the truths of doctrine that are derived from the Word. (2)

11-12 It will destroy the worship of the Lord, together with Divine truths. (2)

13-14 This will go on until the Coming of the Lord. (1)

15-19 It is further explained, that this will be when the Lord comes. (2, 1, 15)

20-25 Faith alone will destroy the church, and despise the Lord. (3, 4)

26 This is the end of the church. (3)

27 It is a sad time. (3)

Intellectual things -- ideas, knowledge, facts, even insight and understanding -- are more separate and free-standing than emotional things, and it's easier to imagine numbering them as individual things. Our loves and affections tend to be more amorphous -- they can certainly be powerful, but would be harder to measure. Using words like “much,” “many,” myriad” and “multitude” to describe a collection of things gives the sense that there is an exact number, even if we don't know what it is and don't want to bother trying to count. These words, then, are used in the Bible in reference to intellectual things -- our thoughts, knowledge and concepts. Words that indicate largeness without the idea of number -- “great” is a common one -- generally refer to loves, affections and the desire for good. Here's one way to think about this: Say you want to take some food to a friend who just had a baby. That's a desire for good (assuming you're doing it from genuinely good motives). To actually do it, though, takes dozens of thoughts, ideas, facts and knowledges. What does she like to eat? What do you have to cook? What do you cook well? Can you keep it hot getting to her house? Is it nutritious? Does she have any allergies? So one good desire can bring a multitude of ideas into play.