557. Verse 9. (Revelation 9:9) And they had breastplates as iron breastplates, signifies the persuasions with which they gird themselves for combats, against which the truths of the rational-spiritual man prevail not. This is evident from the signification of "breastplates" (or coats of mail), as being defenses against evils and falsities in combats, but here defenses of evils and falsities against goods and truths, because this treats of those who are in the falsities of evil in opposition to truths. Here "breastplates" signify persuasions, because sensual men who are in the falsities of evil, who are here described, do not fight against truths from reason, for they do not see truths, but falsities only, and are therefore in the persuasion that falsities are truths, consequently they fight solely from the persuasion of falsity, and with them this persuasion is such that the truths brought forth by the spiritual-rational man are of no avail, for they are repelled as a sword is from a breastplate or coat of mail. So "breastplates as iron breastplates" signify persuasions against which truths are of no avail. That the persuasiveness with such is so infatuating and suffocating that the spiritual-rational is of no avail against it may be seen above (n. 544, 549, 556). Moreover, breastplates or coats of mail, cover that part of the body called the breast or thorax, and this signifies the spiritual affection of truth; also all affection is contained in the sound which comes forth from the breast with the speech. But those who are here signified by "locusts," who are such sensual men as are in falsities, have no other affection than that of the love of self, and because that affection is full of self-confidence and full of the persuasion that their falsity is truth, and because that affection is in the sound which comes forth from the breast with the speech, so the locusts appeared in "breastplates which were as iron breastplates." Moreover, "iron" signifies truth in ultimates, and likewise falsity there, and at the same time what is hard; and the persuasiveness that they have causes the falsity to be so hard that the truths opposed to it rebound, as if they were of no account or avail. Because the persuasion of sensual men who are in falsities from self-confidence is such, and with spirits is so powerful that it suffocates and extinguishes the rational of other spirits with whom they converse in the world of spirits, it is severely prohibited, and those who make use of it are sent among spirits where they are distressed even to swooning by other spirits by means of still stronger persuasions, and this until they desist.

[2] Because breastplates or coats of mail were in use in wars, and to put them on signified to gird oneself for war and thus to fight, therefore in the Word those who were girt for fighting are said to have put on coats of mail. Thus in Jeremiah:

Harness the horses, and go up, ye horsemen; and stand ye forth in helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the coats of mail (46 Jeremiah 46:4).

These words do not mean the combat of one army against another, but the combat of the spiritual-rational man against the natural man who, from knowledges [scientifica] falsely applied, fights against truths and goods. For this is said of the army of Pharaoh king of Egypt, whom the king of Babylon smote, and "Pharaoh king of Egypt" means such a natural man, and "the king of Babylon," near the Euphrates, means the spiritual-rational man, therefore "Harness the horses, go up, ye horsemen, and stand ye forth in helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the coats of mail," signifies such things as relate to the combat of the spiritual-rational man against the natural man who is in falsities; "horses" mean the things of the understanding, "chariots to which they were harnessed" the things of doctrine, "horsemen" the intelligent, "helmets" the things of reason, "spears" truths combating, and "coats of mail" force and strength in fighting and resisting. A "coat of mail" has this meaning because it girds the breast, and from the breast through the arms is all the strength in fighting and resisting.

[3] In the same:

Against Babylon let him bend, let him that bendeth bend his bow; against her he shall lift himself up in his coat of mail (Jeremiah 51:3).

Here, too, "coat of mail" stands for the power to fight and resist. In Isaiah:

He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and the helmet of salvation upon His head (Isaiah 59:17).

This treats of the Lord, and of the subjugation of the hells by Him; and "righteousness as a coat of mail" signifies the zeal for rescuing the faithful from hell and the Divine love of saving the human race; and as it was from the zeal of Divine love and power therefrom that the Lord fought and conquered, so righteousness is called a "coat of mail;" while the "helmet of salvation" signifies Divine truth from Divine good, by means of which is salvation, for a "helmet" has a similar signification as the head, because it is worn on the head; that the "head" in reference to the Lord signifies Divine truth and Divine wisdom will be seen in what follows.

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."

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