533. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet. This symbolizes the Lord's New Church in heaven, which is the New Heaven, and the New Church to come on earth, which is the New Jerusalem.

That the woman here symbolizes the Lord's New Church is clear from the particulars in this chapter, understood in their spiritual meaning. To be shown that a woman elsewhere in the Word also symbolizes the church, see no. 434. A woman symbolizes the church because the church is called the Lord's bride and wife.

The woman here appeared clothed with the sun because the church is governed by love toward the Lord; for it acknowledges Him and keeps His commandments, and that is loving Him (John 14:21-24). That the sun symbolizes love may be seen in no. 53.

The moon appeared under the woman's feet because it means the church on earth, which was not yet conjoined with the church in heaven. The moon symbolizes the intelligence in a natural person, and faith (no. 413). And its being seen under the woman's feet means, symbolically, that it was a church to come on earth. Feet otherwise symbolize that same church after it has been conjoined.

[2] It should be known that the church exists in heaven just as on earth. For the Word is found there, and churches, and the preaching of sermons in them. Clerical and priestly orders exist there. For all the angels there were once people, and their departure from the world was for them but a continuation of life. Consequently they are perfected in love and wisdom, each one according to the degree of the affection for truth and goodness that he brought with him from the world.

The church among these is the church meant by the woman clothed with the sun, having on her head a crown of twelve stars. But because the church in heaven does not continue in existence unless there is also a church on earth that possesses an accordant love and wisdom, and this was yet to come, therefore the moon was seen under the woman's feet, which in particular here symbolizes faith, a faith which, as it exists today, is not a means of conjunction.

[3] The church in heaven does not continue in existence unless it is conjoined with a church on earth, because heaven where angels are, and the church where people are, function together, like the internal and external components in a person; and the internal component in a person does not continue in its proper condition unless the external component is joined to it. For the internal component without the external one is like a house without a foundation, or like seed on top of the ground and not in the ground, thus like something without a root - in a word, like a cause without an effect in which to abide.

It can be seen from this that it is an absolute necessity that a church exist somewhere in the world which has the Word and where the Lord is consequently known.

826. (Verse 14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast. That this signifies the persuasion of those who belong to the church that they are truths, by testifications from the Word conjoined to reasonings from the natural man, is evident from the signification of deceiving, as denoting to persuade to the adoption of falsities. For the persuasion of falsity is seduction; and from the signification of them that dwell on the earth, as denoting those who belong to the church (see above, n. 821); and from the signification of signs, as denoting testifications and the persuasions thence (see above, n. 824) - in this case, testifications drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word; and from the signification of the beast, before which those signs were done, as denoting reasonings from the natural man (concerning which see above, n. 774).

The reason why, in this case, by the signs which were performed by this beast before the other, are signified testifications from the sense of the letter of the Word, conjoined to reasonings from the natural man is, because by the beast which did the signs are signified confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word; and by the beast before which the signs were done, are signified reasonings from the natural man. In this case, therefore, the conjunction of confirmations from the Word with those reasonings is signified; and when these are conjoined, they become testifications and persuasions. For reasonings from the natural man, in spiritual things, are of no avail before the world, but when the same reasonings are confirmed from the Word they do avail. The reason is, that the Word is Divine, and in the sense of the letter it consists of appearances of truth and of correspondences, in which the genuine truths which lie concealed within cannot be seen except by one who is enlightened. And he who is not enlightened may draw these appearances of truth to the confirmation of falsities as if they were truths; for in the case of one who is not enlightened fallacies rule, and his reasonings are from fallacies. He, however, who is enlightened can see from spiritual and at the same time from natural light (lux); and the natural light which is in him is enlightened by the spiritual. But he who is not enlightened sees merely from natural light, separate from spiritual, and this light, in things spiritual, is not light but thick darkness. This thick darkness, nevertheless, after confirmations of falsity, appears like the light of truth. But it is like the light in the hells, which in the sight of those who are there appears light; but as soon as light from heaven enters, the light there is turned into absolute thick darkness, and their thought grows dull. In the hells, in which those are who have more deeply persuaded themselves of falsities, owing to their being endowed with the faculty of thinking more interiorly than others, they are in the light of phantasy, which is somewhat bright; it is, nevertheless, turned into a darkness still more dusky by the influx of rays of light from heaven. Such light is that of the confirmation of falsity from the sense of the letter of the Word by reasonings from the fallacies of the natural man. Hence it is evident that the light of the confirmation of falsity, even to the destruction of the Divine truth which is in heaven, is infernal light.

[2] Since in the preceding articles we have treated of good works, we will now continue the subject, and show what love to the Lord is. In the third or inmost heaven they are all in love to the Lord from the Lord; and they are such as are in possession of truths written on their life, and not on the memory, as is the case with the angels of the lower heavens. And this is also the reason why those who are in the third heaven never speak about truths, but only listen to others speaking about them, and reply either that it is so, or that in some respects it is so, or that it is not so. For they see, in themselves, whether what they hear are or are not truths; and they see this not from any seeing in the thought, as others do, but from the affection of truth in the understanding. For all truths with them are inscribed on their affections; and these derive their essence from celestial love, which is love to the Lord. Thus truths with them make one with their affections. And because those angels are in love to the Lord from the Lord, their interior life consists of pure affections of good and truth from that love. Hence it is that they do not speak of truths, but do truths, thus good works. For the affections of good and truth which are from that love can exist only in act, and when they exist they are called uses, and are meant by good works. They perceive also, in themselves, the quality of the uses or works from the affection whence they originate; and also the differences of these from the conjunction of several affections. Thus they do all things with interior wisdom. And since they do not think of truths and thence speak of them, but simply do them, and since this comes from their love to the Lord, and thence from the affections alone of which their life consists, it is evident that love to the Lord consists in doing truths from an affection for them, and that their deeds are good works; consequently that to love the Lord is to do. This also is meant by the Lord's words in John:

"He who hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. But he that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings" (14:21, 24).

And they are meant by these words in Jeremiah:

"I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. Nor shall they teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them" (31:33, 34).

By the law are meant all things of the Word, thus all the truths and goods of heaven. In the midst of them, signifies in their life; and the heart, upon which the law shall be written, signifies the love. From these things, it is evident how comprehensive is the doctrine of love to the Lord. For it is the doctrine of all the affections pertaining to love; and every affection has truths inscribed on it, according to the quality of its perfection, and produces them in act with infinite variety. And those affections do not come into the understanding under any species of ideas; but they come to the inner sensitive perception, under a species of sweet enjoyment pertaining to the will, which cannot be described in words. Those who imbibe the laws of life from the Word, and live according to them, and who worship the Lord, become angels of the heaven.