816. And he had two horns like a lamb, signifies a power as if from the Lord, of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate. This is evident from the signification of "horns," as being power (See above, n. 316, 776); also from the signification of "two," as being conjunction (See above, n. 532 at the end); also from the signification of a "lamb," as being the Lord in relation to the Divine Human (See also above, n. 314; therefore "to have two horns like a lamb" signifies a power as if from the Lord of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate, as can be seen from what precedes and from what follows; from what precedes, in that "the beast coming up out of the earth" signifies confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word in favor of faith separate from life (See just above, n. 815; and from what follows, in that it is said that this beast "spake as the dragon," and that "all the authority of the first beast he exercised before him," which signifies a similar affection, thought, doctrine, and preaching as belong to those who separate faith from the life of faith, which is charity, also the conjunction of the reasonings from the natural man, by which the religion of faith separate is strengthened, which will be treated of in the next articles. Thence it is clear that as the "horns" of this beast signify the power of persuading, "two" signifies conjunction, and "a lamb" the Lord, so "this beast having two horns like a lamb" signifies a power as if from the Lord of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate from life. Upon the head of this beast two horns only were seen, but upon the head of the former beast ten horns, because this beast signifies confirmations from the Word; and in the Word there is the marriage of good and truth, and this marriage is signified by "two." So, too, the horns appeared "like a lamb," because a "lamb" means the Lord, here the Lord in relation to the Word. That the Lord in respect to His Divine Human is the Word, that is, the Divine truth, is declared in the plainest terms in John:

That the Word became flesh (John 1:14).

[2] Such a power of persuading and confirming any heresy whatever from the Word is well known in the Christian world from the many heresies there, every one of which is confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word and thus they are persuaded. The reason is that the sense of the letter of the Word is accommodated to the apprehension of the simple, and therefore consists in large part of appearances of truth; and it is the nature of appearances of truth to be capable of being adapted to confirm anything that anyone may adopt as a principle of religion and thence of doctrine, thus even when it is false. Consequently those who place genuine truth itself in the sense of the letter of the Word only, are open to many errors unless they are in enlightenment from the Lord, and in that enlightenment form doctrine for themselves that will serve them as a lamp. In the sense of the letter of the Word there are naked truths as well as truths clothed, and these latter are appearances of truth, and appearances of truth can be understood only from passages where naked truths stand out; out of these doctrine can be formed by one who is enlightened by the Lord, and according to that doctrine all other things can be explained. This is why those who read the Word without doctrine are led into manifold errors. The Word was so written in order that there might be a conjunction of heaven with man; and there is a conjunction because every expression in the Word, and in some passages every letter, contains a spiritual sense, in which the angels are; consequently when man perceives the Word according to its appearances of truth the angels that are about man understand it spiritually. Thus the spiritual of heaven is conjoined with the natural of the world in respect to such things as contribute to man's life after death. If the Word had been written otherwise no conjunction of heaven with man would have been possible.

[3] And because the Word in the letter is such it serves as it were as a support for heaven; for all the wisdom of the angels of heaven in respect to things pertaining to the church terminates in the sense of the letter of the Word as in its basis; consequently the Word in the letter may be called the support of heaven. For this reason the sense of the letter of the Word is most holy, and is even more powerful than its spiritual sense, as has been made known to me by much experience in the spiritual world, for when spirits bring forward any passage according to the sense of the letter they immediately excite some heavenly society to conjunction with them. From this it can be seen that all things of the doctrine of the church are to be confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word that there may be in them any sanctity and power, and moreover from those books of the Word in which there is a spiritual sense. Thence it is also evident how dangerous it is to falsify the Word even to the destruction of the Divine truth that is in its spiritual sense; for by so doing heaven is closed to man. That this is done by those who confirm by the Word the separation of faith from its life, which is good works, has been shown above.

552. Verse 7. And the likenesses of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle, signifies that when man has become sensual he reasons as if from the understanding of truth. This is evident from the signification of the "locusts" as being the men of the church who have become sensual through falsities that are from evil (of which above, n. 543; also from the signification of "horses prepared for battle," as being reasonings, here as if from the understanding of truth, because it is said that they were "like unto" them. (That "horses" signify the understanding, see above, n. 355, 364; and all understanding is of truth.) And because "battle" signifies in the Word spiritual combat, which is a combat of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity, therefore "horses prepared for battle" signify reasonings, here as if from the understanding of truth, for it is by reasonings that spiritual combats are waged. What now follows, even to verse 12, treats of the sensual man who is in falsities from evil, what is his quality in respect to understanding and will; and he is described by "locusts" and their various appearances; for in the spiritual world all man's affections and thoughts therefrom are represented by various beasts of the earth and by birds, and these are presented to view in such forms as correspond; and the beasts, there represented in accordance with the affections of the spirits from which they are, appear like the beasts in our world, but sometimes with successive change and variety, approaching to forms composed of other beasts, besides also having their heads and bodies clothed and decorated with various insignia. Such have frequently been seen by me; and the qualities of their affections and inclinations were thus made manifest to me. Because affections and thoughts therefrom are represented in the spiritual world by beasts and birds, so "beasts and birds" have a similar signification in the Word.

[2] It has been shown above in n. 543 that sensual men, who are in falsities from evil, are represented and thence signified by "locusts;" of what quality such men are is here described by the various forms and various insignia of the locusts; as that they were "like unto horses prepared for battle;" that "upon their heads were as it were crowns like gold;" that "their faces were as men's faces;" that "they had hair as the hair of women," and "teeth as those of lions;" that they had "breast-plates;" and many other things, all of which are representatives such as exist in the spiritual world corresponding to the falsities from evil, and to the persuasiveness of the sensual man; yet no one can know what these mean without a knowledge of correspondences, neither of the quality of the sensual man, nor of his persuasiveness. The sensual man, who is in falsities from evil, reasons as if from an understanding of truth, because he is in the persuasion that falsity is truth and that evil is good; and so long as he is in that persuasion he can see nothing rationally and intellectually; but whatever he has persuaded himself of, he believes to be a matter of the highest reason and most eminent understanding; for the rational and intellectual in him is closed up, and thus he is in a persuasive belief respecting the things he thinks and speaks. That the sensual man reasons acutely and readily, because his thought is so near his speech as to be almost in it, and because he places all intelligence in discoursing merely from the memory, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 195, 196, 5700, 10236.