497. Seth's identity as a second church — a less heavenly church than the earliest that gave it birth but still one of the primeval churches — is established by the things said about him above at verse 3 [§§484-485]. The situation with churches, as has also been mentioned [§§407, 468, 494:2], is that little by little, as time passes, their essential qualities diminish. The chief reason for this also appears above [§494:2].