127. Men's desire to probe into mysteries of faith by means of sensory evidence and factual knowledge was not only the cause of the downfall of the Most Ancient Church, that is to say, of its descendants - to be dealt with in the next chapter; it is also the cause of the downfall of every Church. For that desire leads not only to falsities but also to evils of life.

3211. 'And he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her' means the joining together, that is to say, of good and truth. This becomes clear without explanation. The reason why it is said, that Rebekah became his wife (mulier), not his wife (uxor), is that no marriage existed between rational Good on one side and Truth summoned from the natural and made Divine on the other, only a covenant similar to the marriage covenant. The Divine Marriage itself within the Lord consists in the union of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, see 2803. This is the reason why Rebekah is called a wife (mulier) and not a wife (uxor).