767.And the dragon was wroth against the woman.- That this signifies the hatred of those who are meant by the dragon, against the church, which is the New Jerusalem, enkindled by the perception that it is favoured by many, is evident from the signification of wroth when said of the dragon, as denoting hatred, concerning which see above (n. 754, 758), therefore to be wroth denotes to hate. That it is a grievous hatred enkindled by the perception that that church is favoured by many, follows as a consequence from what precedes and from what follows. From what precedes, namely, that the earth opened her mouth, and helped the woman, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth, which signifies that the church, in which there are also dragons, rendered assistance, and did not accept their crafty reasonings about faith alone; and from what follows, namely, that the dragon went away to make war with the rest of her seed, which signifies a determined effort, arising from that hatred, to attack the truths of the doctrine of that church. The anger of the dragon therefore signifies here such hatred enkindled by a perception that it is favoured by many. For, as said above, the woman flying into the wilderness to the place prepared by God signifies that the church which is the New Jerusalem was yet among a few, while provision was being made for it among many, and for its growing to fullness.

754. Having great anger.- That this signifies hatred against spiritual truths and goods, which are of faith and life from the Word, consequently against those who are in them, is plain from the signification of great anger as meaning, in reference to the devil, hatred. For anger, when said of the Lord, signifies zeal, within which there is nevertheless heaven, but when said in reference to the devil it denotes hatred, in which inwardly there is hell. That these and many other things are signified by anger and wrath may be seen above (n. 413, 481 at the end, 647, 693). The hatred of the devil is against spiritual truths and goods, because merely natural truths and goods are altogether opposite to these, for merely natural truths and goods are, in their essence, falsities and evils, although to those who are merely natural and sensual they appear to be truths and goods, because their goods are pleasures and delights springing from the loves of self and the world, and their truths are such as give countenance to those goods. And as the loves of self and the world are from hell, therefore, in their essence, they are evils and falsities. But spiritual truths and goods are in their essence truths and goods, because the goods are delights springing from love to the Lord, and from love towards the neighbour, and the truths are those which teach those goods; and as these truths and goods are from the Lord through heaven, therefore they are called spiritual, for everything which proceeds from the Lord is called spiritual. And since a man cannot receive these truths and goods unless he believes them and does them, it is therefore said, which are of faith and life from the Word. To live from the Word is to live from the Lord, for the Lord is in the Word, indeed He is the Word.

[2] Now because merely natural truths and goods, which in their essence are falsities and evils, are altogether opposite to spiritual truths and goods, which in their essence are truths and goods, therefore the devil, by whom hell is meant, is in unceasing hatred against them. This is why hatreds of various kinds continually ascend from the hells, while on the other hand, spiritual loves, also of various kinds, descend from the heavens; and between the hatreds of the hells and the loves of the heavens there is an equilibrium, in which men in the world are held, in order that they may be able to act from freedom according to reason. Those therefore, who do not live from the Word, but from the world, since they remain natural, receive evils and thus falsities from hell, and conceive from them hatred against spiritual truths and goods. Their hatred does not indeed appear in the world, because it lies concealed interiorly in their spirit, but it is manifested after death, when they become spirits. They then burn against those who are in spiritual truths and goods, with a hatred too great to be described; it is indeed a deadly hatred, for as soon as they see an angel who is in such truths and goods, in fact, if they only hear the Lord named, who is the source of these goods and truths, they immediately rush into passionate hatred, and feel nothing to be more delightful than to persecute them, and do evil to them; and because they are not able to destroy their bodies, they try with intense passion to destroy their souls.

[3] The reason why it is said, "Woe to those that inhabit the earth and the sea, for the devil is come down unto you having great anger," is that, after the Last Judgment, the state of the spiritual world was altogether changed. Before the Last Judgment those who were able to live a civil and moral life in externals, and yet were not spiritual, were allowed to form for themselves imaginary heavens, and there to enjoy pleasures like those in the world. But since the accomplishment of the Last Judgment this is no longer permitted, for now every one according to his life is carried away - he who is merely natural to hell, and he who is spiritual to heaven. This is the signification of the dragon and his angels being cast out of heaven unto the earth, namely, that previous to this they were permitted to have conjunction with the angels who were in the ultimate heavens, and in consequence of this to form for themselves such heavens, but now this is no longer permitted. This therefore is what is specifically meant by hatred against those who are in spiritual truths and goods; and such hatred is signified by the great anger which the devil has against those that inhabit the earth and the sea.