631. 14:8 And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city." This symbolically means that the Roman Catholic religion has now been dispelled with respect to its dogmas and doctrines.

Another angel symbolizes something new now from the Lord, as in no. 626 above. The great city Babylon symbolizes the Roman Catholic religion with respect to its dogmas and doctrines. To fall means, symbolically, to be dispersed, for falling is said of a city, but dispersed is said of a religion and its doctrine, which is what the city Babylon symbolizes. That a city symbolizes doctrine may be seen in no. 194 above.

This declaration is now made about Babylon because after the Lord formed the New Christian Heaven, He at the same time formed a new one with people who were of the Roman Catholic religion. The reason is that the Christian heaven composed of the Protestant Reformed forms the core, and Roman Catholics are situated round about it. Consequently, when the core is new, what is on the peripheries is at the same time new. For the Divine light, which is Divine truth, propagates itself from the middle as a center into the peripheries round about, and the things that are in them are also put in order. It is for this reason that this brief reference to Babylon is made now, even though it is the subject taken up specifically in chapters 17, 18.

That Protestant Christians constitute the core, and Roman Catholics form the great peripheral area surrounding it, and that spiritual light, which is the Divine truth emanating from the Lord, radiates from the center all around to the peripheral areas, even to the last of them, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture, nos. 104-113 and in the small work, The Last Judgment48.

It may be seen from this that after dealing with the New Christian Heaven and preaching the gospel, the declaration regarding Babylon follows in the sequence. This, too, is the symbolic meaning of the word "followed."

579. 13:4 Then they worshiped the dragon which gave authority to the beast. This symbolizes their acknowledgment of the doctrine of justification through faith apart from works of the law, as taught by the leaders of the church and its teachers, who have caused the doctrine to prevail as a result of its acceptance by the general populace.

To worship means, symbolically, to acknowledge as a sacred tenet of the church. The dragon symbolizes the doctrine of justification and salvation through faith without works of the law (no. 537). The beast here symbolizes the general populace, because it symbolizes the laity (no. 567). To give authority means, symbolically, to cause to prevail as a result of its acceptance by the laity (no. 575).