4. As long as the mind confines itself to the sense of the letter alone one cannot possibly see that its contents are such. Take for instance these first sections of Genesis: From the sense of the letter the only subject matter people recognize is the creation of the world, and the Garden of Eden which is called Paradise, and Adam as the first man to be created. Who thinks anything different? The fact that these things contain arcana however which have never been revealed up to now will be sufficiently clear from what follows - especially clear from the fact that the subject of Genesis 1 is, in the internal sense, the NEW CREATION of man, that is, in general his REGENERATION, and in particular the Most Ancient Church. And the subject is presented in such a way that not the smallest part of any expression fails to have a representation, carry a spiritual meaning, or embody something within itself.

1176. That 'Cush begot Nimrod' means that those who had cognitions of interior things were the instigators of such worship is clear from what has just been stated. Cognitions of interior things are what they call matters of doctrine, which they also distinguish from ritual forms. For example, their chief point of doctrine is that faith alone saves, but they are not aware of the fact that love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour constitute faith itself, and that the cognitions which they call faith exist for no other purpose than that through them people may receive from the Lord love to Him and love towards the neighbour, and that this is the faith which saves. Those who refer to cognitions alone as faith are the people who beget and instigate the kind of worship described above.