174. Verse 26. And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, signifies perseverance in love and faith after combat against these loves and their removal as far as possible. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming" as being to fight against the delights of the loves of self and of the world, and to remove them. That this is the spiritual sense of these words follows from the connection. It is evident also from the signification of "keeping unto the end," as being perseverance even unto death; for he who perseveres even unto death in love and faith is saved; for such as he then is in respect to his life, he thenceforth remains to eternity (See above, n. 125). It is evident also from the signification of "works" as being the things of love and faith in cause and in effect, that is in internals and in externals. These things are here signified by "works," because these are the things treated of in what is written to the angel of this church (See above, n. 150). It is said, "keepeth My works," because everything of love and faith, and every opening of the internal and its conjunction with the external is from the Lord alone; therefore the "works," by which these are signified, are not man's, but the Lord's with man; and consequently it is said, "My works."

2124. I have been told that good present in the will, as it was with members of the Most Ancient Church, existed no longer in those before the Flood, and that at the present time with members of the Christian Church good present in the understanding is starting to perish, so much so that little of it is left. The reason for this is that they believe nothing except that which they grasp with the senses, and nowadays they not only reason from the senses but also do so about Divine arcana by means of a philosophy unknown to the ancients. As a result the light of understanding is utterly darkened; and that darkness is growing so deep that it can hardly be dispelled.