932. And them that have victory over the beast, signifies who have lived a life of charity, and thus have not falsified the Word. This is evident from the signification of "having victory over the beast," as being to live a life of charity; for "the beast" signifies those who are in faith separated from charity, or what is the same, those who are in faith without good works, and who live according to that faith; consequently those who do not live that faith but the faith of charity "have victory over the beast," for they fight against that faith in their life; and as they come off victors they receive the reward of victory after their life in the world. As "the beast" signifies also the confirmation from the Word of faith separate, and thus falsification of the Word, so "to have the victory over the beast" signifies also not to have falsified the Word. (That "the two beasts" of the dragon treated of in chapter 13 signify faith separated from the goods of life, also falsification of the Word to confirm that faith, may be seen above, n. 773, 815.)

[THE GOODS OF CHARITY]

As faith separated from the goods of charity, which are good works, also the faith that is from charity, have been treated of in the explanations of two preceding chapters (the twelfth and thirteenth), the goods of charity shall be treated of in the explanations of this and the following chapter. What is meant by the goods of charity or good works is at this day unknown to most in the Christian world, because of the prevalence of the religion of faith alone, which is faith separated from the goods of charity. For if only faith contributes to salvation, and goods of charity contribute nothing, the idea that these goods may be left undone has place in the mind. But some who believe that good works should be done do not know what good works are, thinking that good works are merely giving to the poor and doing good to the needy and to widows and orphans, since such things are mentioned and seemingly commanded in the Word. Some think that if good works must be done for the sake of eternal life they must give to the poor all they possess, as was done in the primitive church, and as "the Lord commanded the rich man to sell all that he had and give to the poor, and take up the cross and follow Him" (Matthew 19:21). But what is meant in the Word by good works shall be told in order in what follows.

816. And he had two horns like a lamb, signifies a power as if from the Lord, of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate. This is evident from the signification of "horns," as being power (See above, n. 316, 776); also from the signification of "two," as being conjunction (See above, n. 532 at the end); also from the signification of a "lamb," as being the Lord in relation to the Divine Human (See also above, n. 314; therefore "to have two horns like a lamb" signifies a power as if from the Lord of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate, as can be seen from what precedes and from what follows; from what precedes, in that "the beast coming up out of the earth" signifies confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word in favor of faith separate from life (See just above, n. 815; and from what follows, in that it is said that this beast "spake as the dragon," and that "all the authority of the first beast he exercised before him," which signifies a similar affection, thought, doctrine, and preaching as belong to those who separate faith from the life of faith, which is charity, also the conjunction of the reasonings from the natural man, by which the religion of faith separate is strengthened, which will be treated of in the next articles. Thence it is clear that as the "horns" of this beast signify the power of persuading, "two" signifies conjunction, and "a lamb" the Lord, so "this beast having two horns like a lamb" signifies a power as if from the Lord of persuading that there is a conjunction with the Word of faith separate from life. Upon the head of this beast two horns only were seen, but upon the head of the former beast ten horns, because this beast signifies confirmations from the Word; and in the Word there is the marriage of good and truth, and this marriage is signified by "two." So, too, the horns appeared "like a lamb," because a "lamb" means the Lord, here the Lord in relation to the Word. That the Lord in respect to His Divine Human is the Word, that is, the Divine truth, is declared in the plainest terms in John:

That the Word became flesh (John 1:14).

[2] Such a power of persuading and confirming any heresy whatever from the Word is well known in the Christian world from the many heresies there, every one of which is confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word and thus they are persuaded. The reason is that the sense of the letter of the Word is accommodated to the apprehension of the simple, and therefore consists in large part of appearances of truth; and it is the nature of appearances of truth to be capable of being adapted to confirm anything that anyone may adopt as a principle of religion and thence of doctrine, thus even when it is false. Consequently those who place genuine truth itself in the sense of the letter of the Word only, are open to many errors unless they are in enlightenment from the Lord, and in that enlightenment form doctrine for themselves that will serve them as a lamp. In the sense of the letter of the Word there are naked truths as well as truths clothed, and these latter are appearances of truth, and appearances of truth can be understood only from passages where naked truths stand out; out of these doctrine can be formed by one who is enlightened by the Lord, and according to that doctrine all other things can be explained. This is why those who read the Word without doctrine are led into manifold errors. The Word was so written in order that there might be a conjunction of heaven with man; and there is a conjunction because every expression in the Word, and in some passages every letter, contains a spiritual sense, in which the angels are; consequently when man perceives the Word according to its appearances of truth the angels that are about man understand it spiritually. Thus the spiritual of heaven is conjoined with the natural of the world in respect to such things as contribute to man's life after death. If the Word had been written otherwise no conjunction of heaven with man would have been possible.

[3] And because the Word in the letter is such it serves as it were as a support for heaven; for all the wisdom of the angels of heaven in respect to things pertaining to the church terminates in the sense of the letter of the Word as in its basis; consequently the Word in the letter may be called the support of heaven. For this reason the sense of the letter of the Word is most holy, and is even more powerful than its spiritual sense, as has been made known to me by much experience in the spiritual world, for when spirits bring forward any passage according to the sense of the letter they immediately excite some heavenly society to conjunction with them. From this it can be seen that all things of the doctrine of the church are to be confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word that there may be in them any sanctity and power, and moreover from those books of the Word in which there is a spiritual sense. Thence it is also evident how dangerous it is to falsify the Word even to the destruction of the Divine truth that is in its spiritual sense; for by so doing heaven is closed to man. That this is done by those who confirm by the Word the separation of faith from its life, which is good works, has been shown above.