619. From the points just made it is clear that without truths we cannot have an accurate concept of the Lord. Without truths there is also no faith and therefore no goodwill. This means that without truths, there is no theology, and where there is no theology there is no church. Yet the crowd of people who call themselves Christians today lack truths. They say they are in the light of the gospel, but in fact they are in thick darkness.

Today truths lie well hidden beneath falsities, like gold, silver, and precious stones buried among the bones in the valley of Hinnom. The truth of this has been clearly revealed to me through the spheres in the spiritual world that flow forth from modern-day Christianity and spread themselves abroad.

[2] One such sphere, which affects one's thinking about the Lord, emanates and pours forth from the southern region, where learned clergy and well-educated laity reside. Wherever this sphere reaches, it subtly induces new mental images. For many people, it takes away their belief in the divinity of the Lord's human nature; for many others, it weakens their belief; and for many others, it makes their belief foolish. It does this by introducing a faith in three gods, which produces confusion.

[3] The second sphere, which concerns faith, is like a black cloud in winter that causes darkness, turns the rain to snow, strips leaves from the trees, freezes water, and robs sheep of their food. Working jointly with the first sphere mentioned above, this sphere induces a drowsy stupor regarding the oneness of God, the process of regeneration, and the means of being saved.

[4] The third sphere concerns the relationship between faith and goodwill. It is so strong that it is irresistible, and today it is unspeakably horrible. Like a plague, it infects anyone who breathes it in. It takes away any connection between faith and goodwill, even though these two means of salvation have been established since the creation of the world and are brought together by the Lord. This sphere also overcomes people in the physical world and extinguishes the wedding torches at the marriage of truth and goodness. I have felt this sphere. Sometimes when I would think about the connection between faith and goodwill, this sphere would stand between the two and make violent efforts to separate them.

[5] The angels complain about these spheres and pray to the Lord that they will be dissipated; but the answer they get is that these spheres cannot be dissipated as long as the dragon is still on earth, since that sphere comes from the dragon's gang. Scripture tells us that the dragon was cast down to the earth, and adds: "Rejoice because of this, O heavens, and woe to those who live on the earth" (Revelation 12:[9, 12]).

[6] These three spheres are like air masses, originating from the dragon's nostrils, that are then driven far and wide by a windstorm; because they are spiritual they are able to infiltrate and influence minds.

There are only a few spheres of spiritual truths in the spiritual world today. They are found only in the new heaven and among the people who are beneath that heaven who have been separated from the dragon's gang. This is why these truths are as far out of sight to people in the world today as ships on the Baltic Sea are to admirals and ship captains who are sailing the Atlantic Ocean.