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.

7153. 'And you shall deliver the tally of bricks' means the falsities which are to be introduced in abundance. This is clear from what has been stated above in 7116, where similar words occur. Such then are the [arcana] which these verses contain in the internal sense, things which perhaps seem to man to be of little importance and also unconnected with one another. Nevertheless each one is essential to the subject that is being dealt with; and all hang together in a very beautiful way. Angels perceive this to be true, for they see in the light of heaven the ways in which things follow one another and are linked together, and they see countless arcana formed out of interior truths, which gives those things a very beautiful and very lovely appearance. Man cannot do the same thing at all because interior truths are hidden from him. Nor therefore can he connect together the details contained in these verses; it seems to him as though they are disjointed, which is why, as has been stated, they seem to him to be of little importance.