780. (Verse 2) And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard. That this signifies reasonings which are discordant and yet appear to be coherent, is evident from the signification of the beast rising out of the sea, which is the subject here treated of, as denoting reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life (concerning which see above, n. 774); in this case therefore signifying those reasonings; and from the signification of a leopard, as denoting those reasonings which are discordant and yet appear to be true. The reason why such things are signified by a leopard is, that a leopard is remarkable for its skin being variegated with spots, which renders it not unbeautiful. And because it is a cunning and savage animal, and more than all others swift to seize its prey; and because such also are those who are skilful in reasoning expertly to confirm the dogma of the separation of faith from good works by reasonings from the natural man - which, although these do not agree with truths, still they make them appear as if they did agree with truths - therefore, that beast as to its body appeared like a leopard.

[2] Because these things are signified by a leopard, we will first illustrate by some examples how those who separate faith from the life thereof - good works - cause things that are discordant to appear by their reasonings as if they were coherent. In many parts of the Word heretical doctrines are described by idols, which the fabricator contrives in such a way as to resemble the figure of a man, but which nevertheless cannot be caused to live so as to see, hear, move the hands and feet, and speak. I have seen this done in the spiritual world by some who separated faith from good works; and this work continued for several hours. And after the idol was made it appeared indeed to many to be the image of a man, but before the eyes of angels, to be a monster. They wished also to impart to it something of life by means of their arts, but this they were not able to do.

[3] The reason why such things take place in the spiritual world is, that all things that appear there are representative of spiritual things, these being set forth in forms such as exist in this world. Hence there appear beasts of the earth of every kind, and birds of heaven; also houses and chambers in them with various decorations; also gardens and paradises full of trees bearing fruit and flowers. Tables also appear and eatables of every kind upon them; innumerable other things also, which, however, are all from a spiritual origin, and thence representative of spiritual things. It is for this reason that certain spirits form various things, by means of which spiritual things are set forth in effigy. For this reason they also desired to show faith separated from good works, under the image of a man, in order that by such appearance they might persuade the simple that that heretical dogma was Divine truth. For every truth from the Lord, in its own form, is a man; and hence the angels, because they are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, are human forms, in fact everything in an angel that is from Divine truth, has such a form. That this is the case is evident from what is said upon this subject in the workHeaven and Hell 460); and that idols, in the Word, signify false doctrinals from man's own intelligence, appearing as truths, may be seen above (n. 587).

These things are mentioned in order that it may be known, that upon all heresies, and especially upon this universal one concerning the separation of faith from good works, an appearance can be induced by reasonings as if they were from truths and not from falsities. But this shall be illustrated by an example.

[4] Who may not be brought to believe that faith alone is the one only means of salvation, because a man cannot of himself do good, which is good in itself? For it appears to every one at first sight to be a necessary consequence, and thus as consistent with truth; and in this case it is not seen to be reasoning from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from good works; while the man who is persuaded by this reasoning begins to imagine that he has no need to attend to his life, because he has faith. But he who so believes does not know that the real state of the case is this, that to do good from the Word, that is, because it is commanded in the Word, is to do good from the Lord; and that in this way a man may do good of himself, but still believe that it is from the Lord. Upon this subject, however, more will be said in what follows. From these few things it may be seen, how, by means of reasonings, the appearance may easily be induced that the falsity which universally reigns in the Christian Church is in agreement with this truth, that every good that is good in itself is from the Lord, and nothing thereof from man; and that therefore a man may desist from doing good and yet be saved; when, nevertheless, there is no agreement.

[5] That such reasonings are signified by the leopard, is evident from the following passages in the Word. Thus in Jeremiah:

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? So are ye able to do good, who have been instructed to do evil" (13:23).

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, signifies that evil cannot change its nature. The Ethiopian denotes evil in its own form, because he is wholly black; and the skin, because it is the outermost part of man and corresponds to his Sensual, denotes his nature. Or the leopard his spots, signifies that neither can the falsity of evil change. Leopard here denotes falsity from evil; for it denotes truth falsified by reasoning; and spots denote things falsified. As both are contrary to good, it is said, so are ye able to do good who have been instructed to do evil. It is said that both are contrary to good, namely, evil and the falsity of evil; because it is evil of the will and falsity of the understanding therefrom. Evil of the will is evil from nature, and falsity of the understanding becomes evil by act; for the will acts by the understanding, and does evil.

[6] Again in Isaiah:

"Justice shall be the girdle of his loins, and truth the girdle of his thighs; wherefore the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid; the calf, the young lion also, and the fatling together, and a little boy shall lead them" (11:5, 6).

These things are said of the Lord and His kingdom, and of the state of innocence and peace therein. That they are said of the Lord is clear from the first verse of the chapter, where it is said, that a rod shall go forth out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow from his roots. That justice shall be the girdle of His loins and truth the girdle of His thighs, signifies that the Divine Good proceeding from the Divine Love of the Lord shall conjoin those in heaven and in the church who are in love to Him; and that Divine truth proceeding from Him shall conjoin those in heaven and in the church who are in love towards the neighbour. By justice, when said of the Lord, is meant the Divine Good, and by His loins are meant those who are in love to Him. By truth is meant the Divine truth; and by His thighs are meant those who are in love towards the neighbour; and by girdle is signified conjunction with those who are in heaven and in the church. Wherefore he shall dwell, signifies a state of peace, which exists when nothing of evil from hell is feared, because it can do no hurt. The wolf with the lamb and the leopard with the kid, signifies that no evil and falsity shall hurt those who are in innocence and in charity from the Lord. By the wolf is signified the evil which is the opposite of innocence, and attempts to destroy it; and by the leopard is meant the falsity which is opposed to charity, and which, by reasonings in favour of faith, attempts to destroy charity. By the lamb is signified innocence, and by the kid charity. The calf also, and the young lion, and the fatling together, signifies that infernal falsity shall not hurt the innocence of the natural man nor any good affection thereof; the calf signifying the innocence of the natural man; the fatling or ox, the affection of the natural man; and the lion, infernal falsity as to the power and lust of destroying Divine truth. And a little boy shall lead them, signifies the state of innocence and of love to the Lord in which they will be, a little boy signifying innocence, and at the same time love to the Lord; for love to the Lord makes one with innocence, because those who are in that love are also in innocence; as is the case with those who are in the third heaven, who consequently appear before the eyes of others as infants and boys.

[7] In Jeremiah:

"The lion out of the forest has smitten" the great ones of Jerusalem, "the wolf of the plains shall devastate them; the leopard is watching against their cities; every one that goeth out shall be torn in pieces, because their prevarications are multiplied, their aversions are become strong" (5:6).

These things are said of the falsification of truth in the church. And by the great ones of Jerusalem are meant those who take the lead of others in teaching truths and goods; and by Jerusalem is meant the church as to doctrine. By the lion out of the forest which smote the great ones, is signified the dominion of infernal falsity. By the wolf which shall devastate, is signified the dominion of the evil therefrom, both the falsity and the evil destroying the truths and goods of the church. By the leopard watching against the cities, are signified reasonings from the falsities of evil against the truths of doctrine, cities denoting doctrinals, consequently truths of doctrine. By every one that goeth out shall be torn in pieces, is signified that every one who recedes from the truths of doctrine shall perish by falsities. By the prevarications that are multiplied, are signified the falsifications of truth. By the aversions that are become strong, are signified the adulterations of good. That falsifications of truth and adulterations of good are signified by prevarications and aversions, is evident from the verse following, where it is said, that they committed adultery, and entered in troops into the house of the harlot; by which those falsifications and adulterations are signified.

[8] In Habakkuk:

"Whose horses are swifter than leopards, keener than the wolves of the evening, so that the horsemen thereof spread themselves abroad" (1:8).

This treats of the devastation of the church by the adulteration of truth, which is signified by the Chaldean nation, of which these things are spoken. Whose horses are swifter than leopards, signifies the lust of seducing by reasonings, and the consequent expertness in leading astray; such lust and expertness being signified by their lightness and swiftness. By horses are there signified reasonings from the natural man. And because leopards have a similar signification, therefore it is said, their horses are swifter than leopards. Keener than the wolves of the evening, signifies the subtlety of deceiving by fallacies; the fallacies of the senses being here signified by the wolves of the evening, because they are fallacies from the sensual man, who, being in darkness, sees falsities as truths. So that their horsemen spread themselves abroad, signifies that the truths of the Word, by adulteration, become heretical; horsemen denoting heresies, because by horses are signified reasonings, whereby falsities are confirmed.

[9] And in Daniel:

"The third beast rising up out of the sea was like a leopard, which had four wings like birds' wings, upon its back" (7:6).

In that chapter, by the four beasts rising up out of the sea, is described the successive devastation of the church. And by this third beast, which was like a leopard, are signified similar things as by the leopard here treated of in the Apocalypse, that is discordant reasonings which yet appear to be coherent. Which had four wings, like birds' wings, upon its back, signifies, having the appearance of the understanding of good and truth from the application of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[10] And in Hosea:

I knew thee in the wilderness, in a land of droughts; as their pasture, so were they filled; when they were filled, then their heart was elated; wherefore they have forgotten me, therefore am I become to them as a lion, as a leopard upon the way will I watch" (13:5, 6, 7).

I knew thee in the wilderness, in the land of droughts, signifies a state without good and without truths, wilderness denoting a state without good, and the land of droughts a state without truths. As their pasture, so were they filled, signifies when goods and truths were given them, that is, when they were instructed concerning them from the Word, even to the full nourishment of the soul. When they were filled, then their heart was elated, signifies when by reason of that fulness they exalted themselves above all, believing that therefore heaven was for them alone, and not for others. Wherefore they have forgotten me, signifies that pride effaced those things; and therefore their desire, and therewith their hearts, departed from the Lord. Therefore am I become to them as a lion, signifies the consequent devastation of every truth of the church; and as a leopard upon the way will I observe, signifies the falsification of truth by reasonings from the natural man; the leopard denoting falsification by reasonings; the way, truth leading to good; and to observe, the intention of perverting. It is thus said of the Lord, in the sense of the letter of the Word, according to the appearance of truth, in which nevertheless the real truth lies hidden, which is the spiritual sense of the Word; for it is not He that, as a lion, devastates the church, nor as a leopard, falsifies truths by reasonings, but man himself does so, when he becomes exalted in heart. From these things it is evident what is signified by a leopard in the Word.

774. (Verse 1) And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. That this signifies reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life is evident from the signification of a beast coming up out of the sea, as denoting things of the natural man. For by beasts, in the Word, are signified the affections of the natural man in both senses, as may be seen above (n. 650). And by the sea are signified the various things in that man, which have reference to his scientifics, both true and false, and to the thoughts and reasonings therefrom; as may also be seen above (n. 275, 342, 511, 537, 538, 600). From which it is clear that by the beast coming up out of the sea are signified reasonings from the natural man.

That they are reasonings confirming the separation of faith from life is evident from this, that the dragon is further described in this chapter. His reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life are described by the beast coming up out of the sea, and the confirmations thereof from the letter of the Word; and the falsifications of that sense, by the beast coming up out of the earth; as will be seen below from verse 11 to the end of this chapter.

[2] That the dragon is further described in this chapter, and is also meant by the two beasts, is evident from the fact that it is said that the dragon gave to the beast coming up out of the sea his power and his seat, and great authority; and moreover that they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast; also, that the other beast that came up out of the earth, spake as a dragon, and that he exercised all the power of the first beast before the dragon. It is therefore clear that those who are signified by the dragon are described - in so far as they separate faith from life, and confirm that separation by reasonings from the natural man - by the beast coming up out of the sea. And also that in so far as they confirm the same by the letter of the Word and thereby falsify it, they are described by the beast coming up out of the earth. That this is the case, can be fully seen from the description of each in what follows.

[3] That reasonings from the natural man enter into the dogmas of those who make faith the only means of salvation, thus the very essential of the church, and so separate it from life, or from charity, which they do not acknowledge as a means of salvation and as an essential of the church, is but little seen, and, consequently, but little known by the advocates and teachers thereof, because their thought is continually fixed on those passages of the Word by means of which they confirm such reasonings. And because they are falsities which they confirm from the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, they necessarily make use of reasonings from the natural man; for without these it would not be possible to make their falsities appear like truths. This, however, shall be illustrated by an example.

[4] In order to separate life or charity from faith, they say that

"1. By the fall of Adam man destroyed all freedom of doing good from himself; and 2. that consequently a man can in no wise fulfil the law; and 3. yet without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation; and 4. that the Lord came into the world in order to fulfil the law, and that His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and that by that imputation man might be loosed from the yoke of the law, so far that nothing condemns him; and 5. that man receives the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and nothing by works."

That these things, for the most part, are reasonings from the natural man confirming the preconceived principle of faith alone and its connecting particulars, is evident from a survey of the details in their order.

1. . "By the fall of Adam, man destroyed his free-will, which is the freedom of doing good from himself." This reasoning is from falsities; for the freedom of doing good from oneself belongs to no man, and can belong to no one, because a man is only a recipient. Wherefore the good which a man receives is not his but the Lord's in him; nor indeed have the angels any good except from the Lord. And the more they acknowledge and perceive this, the more are they angels, that is, higher and wiser than the rest. Much less was it possible for Adam, who had not yet become an angel, to be in a state of good from himself. His integrity consisted in a fuller reception of good and truth, and thence of intelligence and wisdom from the Lord than that of his posterity. This was also meant by his being an image of God; for he who receives the Lord becomes an image; and he becomes this according to his reception. In a word, freedom consists in doing good from the Lord; and slavery in doing good from oneself. It is therefore clear, that the reasoning above mentioned arises from falsities flowing forth from fallacies, all of which are from the natural man. Moreover it is not true that hereditary evil was ingenerated in the whole human race by the fall of Adam. Its origin is from another source.

[5] 2. . "That consequently a man can in no wise fulfil the law." This is also reasoning from the natural man. The spiritual man knows that to do the law and to fulfil it in the external form does not save; but that so far as he observes the law in the external form, from the internal, it does save. The internal form, or the internal of the law, is to love what is good, sincere, and just; and its external is to do these things. This the Lord thus teaches in Matthew:

"Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside may be clean also" (23:26).

So far as man observes the law from an internal, so far he fulfils it; but not so far as he does this from an external, apart from an internal. The internal of man is his love and will. But to love what is good, sincere, and just, and, from love, to will these things, is from the Lord alone. Wherefore to be led by the Lord is to fulfil the law. But these things must be more fully illustrated in what follows.

[6] 3. . "Without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation." This involves that if a man were able of himself to fulfil the law, he would be saved; this nevertheless is in itself false. And since it is false, and yet appears as if it were true because it is a received dogma, it must be confirmed by reasonings from the natural man. That it is false is clear from the fact that a man cannot do any good from himself, but that all good is from the Lord; and that a state of integrity such as that above stated concerning Adam, in which there is any good which is in itself good from man, is not possible. And because such a state of integrity is not possible and never can be, it follows that the law must be fulfilled by the Lord, according to what was just said above. Nevertheless, he who believes otherwise than that man is to do all things as of himself, although he does them from the Lord, is much deceived.

[7] 4. . "The Lord came into the world in order to fulfil the law, and that His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and that by such imputation man may be loosed from the yoke of the law to such an extent that, after justification by faith alone, nothing condemns him." This, is also reasoning from the natural man. The Lord came into the world in order to effect a judgment, and thereby bring into a state of order all things in the heavens and in the hells, and at the same time to glorify His Human. By means of that glorified Human all who have done, and who do, good from Him, and not from themselves have been and are saved; and thus not by any imputation of His merit and righteousness. For the Lord teaches:

"I came not to destroy the law and the prophets: I came not to destroy but to fulfil. Whosoever shall break the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens" (Matthew 5:17, 19).

[8] 5. . "Man receives the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and nothing by works." This is a conclusion deduced from the previous reasonings. And because those reasonings are from the natural man and not from the rational enlightened by the spiritual man, and consequently are from falsities and not from truths, it follows that the conclusion drawn from them falls to the ground. It is evident from these things, that in order to confirm any principle false in itself, reasonings derived from the natural man, and confirmations from the literal sense of the Word, are necessary. For reasonings will give the appearance of coherence to those passages which are chosen from the sense of the letter of the Word. Wherefore reasonings from the natural man are signified by the beast coming up out of the sea; and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, by the beast coming up out of the earth.