556. And their teeth were as those of lions, signifies that sensual things, which are the ultimates of the intellectual life, seem to them to have power over all things. This is evident from the signification of "teeth," as being the sensual things which are the ultimates of the natural life in respect to the understanding (of which presently); and from the signification of "lions," as being the truths of the church in respect to power, but here falsities destroying truths, thus also these in respect to power (of which above, n. 278). Here falsities are meant, because "locusts" signify the corporeal-sensual who are in the falsities of evil. These seem to themselves to have understanding, and thereby power over all things, because that persuasiveness which has been treated of above has its seat in the sensual, which is the ultimate of the natural life; for this sensual, or the sensual man, is in self-confidence, and in the belief that he is wiser than all others, for he is unable to weigh and explore himself, because he does not think interiorly; and when he has persuaded himself of this, then such confidence and belief are in all things that he speaks. And because his speech takes its tone from these, it fascinates and infatuates the minds of others, for the tone of confidence and belief produces such an effect; and this is especially manifest in the spiritual world, where man speaks from his spirit; for the affection of self-confidence and of the consequent belief that a thing is so is in man's spirit, and a man's spirit speaks from his affection. In the natural world it is different. There man's spirit discourses by means of the body, and for the sake of the world brings forth such things as are not of the affection of his spirit, which he rarely exhibits, that its character may not be known. For this reason it is unknown in the world that there is such an infatuating and suffocating persuasiveness as exists in the spirit of the sensual man, who believes himself to be wiser than others. From this it can be seen why "their teeth were as those of lions" signifies that sensual men seem to themselves to have understanding, and thereby power over all things. That "teeth" signify sensual things, which are the ultimates of the natural life in respect to knowledge [scientia] can be seen from the correspondence of "teeth," as described in the work on Heaven and Hell (n. 575), and in the Arcana Coelestia (n. 5565-5568).

[2] That "teeth" have this signification can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In David:

My soul, I lie in the midst of lions; their teeth are spear and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).

"Lions" signify those who by means of falsities destroy the truths of the church; "their teeth which are spear and arrows" signify the knowledges [scientifica] that are applied to confirm falsities and evils, and thus to destroy the truths and goods of the church; "their tongue a sharp sword" signifies crafty reasonings from falsities, which are called "a sharp sword" because a "sword" signifies falsity destroying truth.

[3] In the same:

O God, break off their teeth in their mouth; remove ¹ the jaw teeth of the young lions (Psalms 58:6).

"Teeth in their mouth" signify the knowledges [scientifica] from which they produce falsities; "the jaw teeth of the young lions," signify the truths of the Word falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and which are especially effective in destroying the truths of the church.

[4] In Joel:

A nation cometh up upon my land, vigorous and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the jaw teeth of an immense lion. It maketh ² my vine to a waste, and my fig tree to froth (Joel 1:6, 7).

"A nation that cometh up upon the land" signifies evil devastating the church, "nation" meaning evil, and "land" the church; "vigorous and without number" signifies powerful and manifold; "vigorous" is predicated of the power of evil, and "without number" of the power of falsity; "its teeth are the teeth of a lion" signifying destroying falsities; "the jaw teeth of an immense lion" signify truths falsified; "it reduceth the vine to a waste, and the fig tree to froth," signifies the destruction of spiritual and natural truths; spiritual truths are those of the spiritual sense of the Word, and natural truths those of the sense of its letter (See also above, n. 403, where this is explained). The "teeth of lions" in these passages have a similar signification as "teeth as those of lions" here in Revelation. "Teeth" properly signify such things as are merely in the memory and are brought forth therefrom, for the things that are in the memory of the sensual man correspond to bones and teeth.

[5] In Daniel:

There came up out of the sea a second beast like to a bear; three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this there came up a fourth beast, dreadful, and terrible, and exceedingly strong, and it had great teeth of iron; it devoured and crushed, and trampled the remnant with its feet (Daniel 7:5, 7).

"A beast from the sea" means the love of dominion, to which holy things serve as means, and the "four beasts" signify its successive increase; this "second beast like to a bear" signifies the second state, when such dominion is confirmed by means of the Word; those who do this appear in the spiritual world like bears. "Three ribs in the mouth between the teeth" signify all things of the Word which they apply, and which they understand merely according to the letter, "three ribs" meaning all things of the Word, "in the mouth" meaning, which they apply in teaching; "between the teeth" meaning which they understand merely according to the letter, that is, as the sensual man does; "they said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh," signifies that they applied many things and thereby destroyed the genuine sense of the Word; "the fourth beast that came up out of the sea, dreadful, and terrible, and exceedingly strong," signifies the fourth and last state, when by holy things as means they established for themselves dominion over heaven and earth; because this state is profane and powerful it is called "dreadful, and terrible, and exceedingly strong;" "it had great teeth of iron" signifies falsities from the sensual man hard against the truths and goods of the church; "it devoured and crushed" signifies that it perverted and destroyed; "and trampled the remnant with its feet" signifies that what they could not pervert and destroy they defiled and blotted out by the evils of natural and corporeal loves. (The rest respecting these beasts may be seen explained above, n. 316.)

[6] In Moses:

The tooth of beasts I will send upon them, with the poison of the creeping things of the earth (Deuteronomy 32:24).

This evil, among others, was denounced upon the Israelitish and Jewish people if they did not keep and do the statutes and commandments; "the tooth of beasts" signifies falsities from evils of every kind, and "the poison of the creeping things of the earth" signifies the things that destroy and utterly extinguish spiritual life; "beasts" signify in the Word such things as belong to the natural man, and "the creeping things of the earth" the things belonging to the sensual man; both these when separated from the spiritual man are mere falsities from evils, because they are merely such things as belong to the body to which they adhere, and as belong to the world to which they stand nearest; and from the body and the world all thick darkness in spiritual things arises.

[7] In David:

Arise, O Jehovah; save me, O my God; for Thou smitest all mine enemies upon the cheek; Thou breakest the teeth of the wicked (Psalms 3:7).

"To smite the enemies upon the cheek" signifies to destroy interior falsities with those who are opposed to the goods and truths of the church; such persons and their falsities of evil are meant in the Word by "enemies;" "to break the teeth of the wicked" signifies to destroy exterior falsities, which are such as are based on the fallacies of the senses and are confirmed by them.

[8] As the expressions in David, "to smite the cheek" and "to break the teeth" signify the destruction of interior and exterior falsities, it can be seen what is meant by "smiting on the cheek" in Matthew:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you, Resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also. And if any man wisheth to sue thee at the law and to take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also; and whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. Give to everyone that asketh thee, and from him that wisheth to borrow of thee turn not thou away (Matthew 5:38-42).

That these words are not to be understood according to the letter is evident to everyone; for who is bound by Christian love to turn the left cheek to him who smites the right, or to give the cloak to him who would take away the coat? In a word, who is there to whom it is not allowable to resist evil? But as all things that the Lord said were in themselves Divine-celestial, it can be seen that these words, as well as the others which the Lord spoke, contain a heavenly sense. The sons of Israel had this law that they should give "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Exodus 21:23, 24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), because they were external men, and thus were only in the representatives of heavenly things, and not in heavenly things themselves, thence not in charity, in mercy, in patience, nor in any spiritual good; consequently they were under the law of retaliation; for the heavenly law and thence the Christian law is that which the Lord taught in the Gospels:

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye to them; this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31).

Because this is the law in heaven, and from heaven in the church, therefore every evil carries with it a corresponding punishment, which is called the punishment of evil, and is in the evil as if joined with it; and from this springs the punishment of retaliation which was prescribed for the sons of Israel, because they were external and not internal men. Internal men, as the angels of heaven are, do not wish the retaliation of evil for evil, but from heavenly charity they forgive freely; for they know that the Lord protects from the evil all who are in good, and that He protects according to the good with them, and that He would not protect if on account of the evil done to them they should burn with enmity, hatred, and revenge, for these drive away protection.

[9] These things, therefore, are involved in what the Lord here said; but their signification shall be given in order: "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," signifies that so far as anyone takes away from another the understanding of truth and the sense of truth, so far are they taken away from him, the "eye" signifying the understanding of truth, and "tooth" the sense of truth, for a "tooth" means truth or falsity such as the sensual man has. That one who is in Christian good will permit an evil person to take these away as far as he can, is described by what the Lord says in reply on the same subject. "Resist not him that is in evil" signifies that there should be no fighting back of retaliation; for angels do not fight with the evil, much less do they return evil for evil, but they allow it to be done, since they are protected by the Lord, and therefore no evil from hell can do them harm. "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also" signifies if anyone wishes to do harm to the perception and understanding of interior truth, it may be allowed to the extent of the effort; "the cheek" signifies the perception and understanding of interior truth, the "right cheek" affection for it and consequent perception of it, and the "left cheek" understanding of it, and as the "cheek" is mentioned, so is "smiting," which means doing harm to; for all things pertaining to the mouth, as the throat, the mouth itself, the lips, the cheeks, the teeth, signify such things as belong to the perception and understanding of truth, because they correspond to them, therefore by these objects in the sense of the letter of the Word, which consists of pure correspondences, these things are expressed; "if any man wisheth to sue thee at the law and to take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also," signifies if anyone wishes to take away truth interiorly with thee, it may be allowed him to take away also exterior truth, "coat" signifying interior truth, and "cloak" exterior truth. This also is what angels do when they are with the evil, for the evil can take away nothing of good and truth from angels, but they can from those who on that account burn with enmity, hatred, and revenge, for these evils avert and repel protection by the Lord; "whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two," signifies whoever wishes to lead away from truth to falsity and from good to evil, since he cannot do it, may be left unopposed, a "mile" having a similar signification as a "way," namely, that which leads away or leads; "give to everyone that asketh thee" signifies that it is to be permitted; "and from him that wisheth to borrow of thee turn thou not away" signifies that if anyone wishes to be instructed he may be instructed, for the evil desire this that they may pervert and take away, and yet they cannot. This is the spiritual sense of these words, in which are stored up the hidden things that have now been said, which are especially for the angels; who perceive the Word only according to its spiritual sense; they are also for men in the world who are in good, when the evil are trying to lead them astray. That the opposition of the evil to those whom the Lord protects is such it has been granted me to know by much experience; for they have continually striven in every way and with all their might to take away from me truths and goods, but in vain. From what has been presented it can also in some degree be seen that a "tooth" signifies truth or falsity in the sensual, which is the ultimate of the intellectual life with man; that this is the signification of "tooth" is evident from the Lord's reply, in which the perception and understanding of truth are treated of, which the evil strive to take away from the good.

[10] That this is the signification of "teeth" can be seen further from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the sons are set on edge. But every man shall die in his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge (Jeremiah 31:29, 30; Ezekiel 18:2-4).

This involves evidently that the sons and descendants shall not incur punishment on account of the evils of parents, but everyone on account of his own evil; "to eat the sour grape" signifies to appropriate to oneself the falsity of evil, for a "sour grape," which is a bitter and bad grape, signifies the falsity of evil, and "to eat" signifies to appropriate to oneself; and "the teeth set on edge" signifies to be in the falsity of evil therefrom, for "teeth" here as above signify falsities in ultimates or in the sensual man, in which the evils of parents, which are called hereditary evils, especially lie hidden in children, and "to be set on edge" signifies the appropriation of falsity from evil; for a man is not punished on account of hereditary evils but on account of his own and so far as he makes hereditary evils actual in himself; therefore it is said that "everyone shall die in his own iniquity; and every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."

[11] In Job:

All men abhor me; my bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh; I have escaped with the skin of my teeth (Job 19:20, 20).

In the sense of the letter this means that he became thus lank and lean; but in the spiritual sense it signifies that temptations so suppressed the interiors of his mind that he became sensual, and thought only in things most external, and yet that he thought truths and not falsities; this is signified by "I have escaped with the skin of my teeth," "teeth" without skin signifying falsities, but with skin not falsities, since they are still in some degree clothed.

[12] In Amos:

I have given to you emptiness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places (Amos 4:6).

"Emptiness of teeth in the cities" stands for a scarcity of truth in doctrines, and "want of bread in all places" for scarcity of good from doctrines in the life.

[13] In Zechariah:

I will take away his bloods out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth (Zechariah 9:7).

This is said of Tyre and Sidon, which signify the knowledges of truth and good, here these falsified; "bloods out of the mouth" signify the falsifications of the knowledges of truths; and "the abominations from between the teeth" signify the adulterations of the knowledges of good; the knowledges of good are also truths, for to know goods is from the understanding, and the understanding is of truth.

[14] In David:

The waters had overwhelmed us, the presumptuous waters had passed over our soul. Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth (Psalms 124:4-6).

The "waters that had overwhelmed" signify falsities that flow in, and as it were overwhelm man when he is in temptations; therefore it is said, "Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth," that is, to the hells that destroy truths by falsities, thus to destructive falsities.

[15] In Job:

I brake the jaw teeth of the wicked, and plucked the prey out of his teeth (Job 29:17).

This Job says of himself. "I brake the jaw teeth of the wicked" signifies that he fought against falsities and conquered them, "jaw teeth" signifying knowledges [scientifica] from the sense of the letter of the Word, adapted to confirm the falsities by which truths are destroyed; and "I plucked the prey out of his teeth" signifies that he delivered others from falsities by instructing them.

[16] Because the "teeth" signify falsities in things most external, "gnashing of teeth" signifies to fight with vehemence and anger from falsities against truths, in the following passages. In Job:

He teareth me in his wrath, and hateth me; mine enemy gnasheth upon me with his teeth, he sharpeneth his eyes against me (Job 16:9).

In David:

The halt whom I know not gather themselves together against me, they rend, nor are they silent. They gnash upon me with their teeth (Psalms 35:15, 16).

In the same:

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth (Psalms 37:12).

In the same:

The wicked shall see and be provoked; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt ³ away (Psalms 112:10).

In Micah:

Against the prophets that lead the people astray, that bite with their teeth (Micah 3:5).

In Lamentations:

All thine enemies opened their mouth against thee, O daughter of Jerusalem, they hissed and gnashed the teeth (Lamentations 2:16).

In Mark:

One said to Jesus, I have brought unto thee my son, who hath an evil ⁴ spirit; and wheresoever it taketh him it teareth him; and he foameth and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away; and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast it out, but they were not able. And Jesus said unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee come out of him, and enter no more into him (Mark 9:17, 18, 25).

One who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word might suppose that they are said "to gnash the teeth" merely because they were angry and intent on evil, since men then press the teeth together; but they are said "to gnash the teeth" because the endeavor to destroy and the act of destroying truths by means of falsities are meant by it; this is said in the Word because "teeth" signify falsities in things most external, and "gnashing" signifies vehemence in fighting for them; this effort and act are also from correspondence.

[17] Moreover, such was the deaf and dumb spirit that the Lord cast out; for all spirits are from the human race; this spirit was from that kind of men who had vehemently fought for falsities against truths; consequently the one obsessed by him "foamed and gnashed his teeth." He is called by the Lord "deaf and dumb" because he was unwilling to perceive and understand the truth, for such are signified by "the deaf and the dumb." And because this spirit was determined and obstinate against truths, and had confirmed himself in falsities, the disciples were not able to cast him out, for the falsities for which he had fought they were not yet able to dispel because they had not yet reached the proper state, and it was for this also that the disciples were rebuked by the Lord. That this spirit was such, and the one obsessed by him was not such, is signified by "the spirit tearing him," and the obsessed "pining away;" and the Lord's commanding the spirit "to enter no more into him."

[18] All this makes clear what is signified by:

Gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28).

"Gnashing of teeth" in the hells means continual disputation and combat of falsities with each other and against truths, and thus of those who are in falsities, joined with contempt of others, enmity, jeering, derision, blaspheming, and these also burst forth into attempts to tear each other in pieces, for everyone fights for his own falsity from love of self, of learning, and of fame. These disputations and contests are heard outside of these hells as gnashings of teeth, and are also turned into gnashings of teeth when truths flow in thither out of heaven. (But more on this subject may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 575.)

[19] Because with the evil the teeth correspond to the falsities they have in the ultimates of their intellectual life, which are called corporeal-sensual, therefore the spirits who are such appear deformed in the face, the greater part of which is made up of the teeth standing widely apart like gratings, and in a broad grin, and this because such gaping of teeth corresponds to the love and eagerness for fighting for falsities against truths.

[20] Because the teeth correspond to the ultimates of man's intellectual life, which are called sensual, and these when separated from the truths of the interior understanding, which are called spiritual, are in the falsities of evil, but the same when not separated correspond to the truths of good in the sensual, so "teeth" in the Word signify also ultimate truths (as in Job 19:19, 20; Amos 4:6, which may be seen explained above).

[21] And because the Lord glorified His entire Human, that is, made it Divine, therefore it is said of Him in Moses:

His eyes shall be red with wine, and His teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:12).

"Eyes red with wine" signifies that His intellectual was Divine truth from Divine good; and "teeth white with milk" signifies that His sensual was likewise Divine truth from Divine good; for "Shiloh" here (verse Genesis 49:10) means the Lord.

[22] Because "teeth" correspond to the ultimates of the intellectual life, which are called sensual, good spirits and angels have teeth the same as men, but with them the teeth correspond to truths in the ultimate sensual, for with them the sensual is not separated from the truths of the interior understanding which are called spiritual.

Footnotes:

774. Verse 1. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea, signifies reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life. This is evident from the signification of "a beast coming up out of the sea," as being the things that belong to the natural man; for "beasts" signify in the Word the affections of the natural man, in both senses (See above, n. 650; and the "sea" signifies the various things of the natural man that have reference to its knowledges [scientifica] both true and false, and to thoughts and reasonings therefrom (See also above, n. 275, 342, 511, 537, 538, 600). Thence it is clear that "a beast coming up out of the sea" signifies reasonings from the natural man. It is evident that these are reasonings that confirm the separation of faith from life, because in this chapter the dragon is further described, "the beast coming up out of the sea," signifies the reasonings of the dragon from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life, and "the beast coming up out of the earth" signifies the confirmations of the dragon from the sense of the letter of the Word, and the falsification of it (See below, from verse 13:11-18 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 its being said that "the dragon gave to the beast coming up out of the sea his power and his throne and great authority," and furthermore, that "they worshipped the dragon which gave authority unto the beast;" also that "the other beast that came up out of the earth spake as a dragon, and exercised all the authority of the first beast before the dragon." Thence it is clear that so far as those who separate faith from life (who are signified by "the dragon, ") confirm that separation by reasonings from the natural man, they are represented by "the beast coming up out of the sea;" while so far as they confirm that separation by the sense of the letter of the Word, and thereby falsify that sense, they are described by "the beast coming up out of the earth." That this is so can be fully seen from the description of each that 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; this is but little seen, and consequently but little known, by the followers and those learned in that doctrine, because their thought is continually fixed on those passages of the Word by which they confirm that doctrine. And as the dogmas they confirm by the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter of the Word, are falsities, they must needs take their reasonings from the natural man, for without these it would not be possible to make falsities appear as truths. But this shall be illustrated by an example. That life or charity may be separated from faith, they contend 1. That by Adam's fall man lost all freedom to do good from himself; and 2. for this reason man is in no wise able to fulfill the law; and 3. without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation; and 4. that the Lord came into the world that He might fulfill the law, and thus His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man, and by that imputation man might be loosed from the yoke of the law even to the extent that nothing condemns him; and 5. that man accepts the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and not at all by works. That these are mostly reasonings from the natural man confirming the assumed principle of faith alone and its connecting derivatives can be seen from a survey of these particulars in their order.

[4] 1. "By Adam's fall man lost his free will, which is a freedom to do good from himself." This reasoning is from falsities; for no man has or can have a freedom to do good from himself, since man is merely a recipient; consequently the good that man receives is not man's but is the Lord's with him. Nor do angels even have any good except from the Lord; and the more they acknowledge and perceive this the more they are angels, that is, higher and wiser than the others. Still less, therefore, could Adam, who was not yet an angel, be in a state of good from himself. His integrity consisted in a fuller reception of good and truth, and thus of intelligence and wisdom from the Lord, than his posterity enjoyed. This also was the image of God; for a man becomes an image by receiving the Lord, and he becomes an image in the measure of this reception. In a word, to do good from the Lord is freedom; and to do good from self is slavery. Thence it is clear that this reasoning originates in falsities that flow forth from fallacies, which are all from the natural man. Moreover, it is not in accordance with truth that hereditary evil was ingenerated in the whole human race by Adam's fall; its origin was from another source.

[5] 2. "From this it is that man is in no wise able to fulfill the law." This reasoning, too, is from the natural man. The spiritual man knows that doing the law and fulfilling it in external form does not save; but that so far as man does 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 this. This the Lord teaches in Matthew:

Cleanse first the inside of the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may become clean also (Matthew 23:26).

Man fulfills the law so far as he does it from the internal, but not so far as he does it from the external apart from the internal. The internal of man is his love and will. But to love what is good, sincere, and just, and from love to will it, is from the Lord alone. Therefore to fulfill the law is to be led by the Lord. But this will be more fully illustrated in what follows.

[6] 3. "Without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation." This involves that if man were able to fulfill the law of himself he would be saved, which yet in itself is false; and since it is false, and yet appears as if true because it is a received dogma, it must be confirmed by reasonings from the natural man. That it is false is clear from this, that man is unable to do anything good from self, but everything good is from the Lord; also from this, that no such state of integrity is possible that any good that is in itself good can be from man and be done by man, as has been said above respecting Adam. And as such a state of integrity never did and never can exist, it follows that the law must be fulfilled by the Lord, according to what has just been said above. Nevertheless, he who does not believe that man must do everything as of himself, although he does it from the Lord, is much deceived.

[7] 4. "The Lord came into the world that He might fulfill the law, and thus His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and by that imputation man is loosed from the yoke of the law, even to the extent that after justification by faith alone nothing condemns him." This, too, is reasoning from the natural man. It was not for this that the Lord came into the world, but that He might effect a judgment, and thereby reduce to order all things in the heavens and in the hells, and at the same time glorify His Human. By this have been saved, and are still saved all who have done good and do good from the Lord and not from self, thus not by any imputation of His merit and righteousness. For the Lord teaches:

I came not to destroy the law and the prophet; ¹ I came not to destroy but to fulfill. Whosoever shall break the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever doeth and teacheth them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:17, 19, seq.).

[8] 5. "Man accepts the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and not at all by works." This is a conclusion deduced from the reasonings that precede; and as those reasonings are from the natural man, and not from the rational enlightened by the spiritual, and consequently are from falsities and not from truths, it follows that the conclusion drawn from them falls to the ground.

From this it can be seen that to confirm any principle that is in itself false there must be reasonings from the natural man, and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, for reasonings will give an appearance of consistency to passages selected from the sense of the letter of the Word. This is why reasonings from the natural man are signified by "the beast out of the sea," and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word by "the beast coming up out of the earth."

Footnotes: