5542. Among these are also those who have only false doctrine from the sense of the letter of the Word. They have no concern for real truths themselves, however open they are in the Word or however they are preached to them in the other life, only if they have convinced themselves of them. Those of them, however, who have lived under the influence of what is good, long for truths, genuine ones, from the influence of what is good; for good longs for truths just as food longs for water. It desires conjunction since the one loves the other.

I have seen an enormous number of those like this, Lutherans and others. Those, because they did not want to accept anything of genuine truths, were thrown down from heaven and transferred to a land toward the east at the north there; and those of them who had lived evilly were transferred to hells.

[5542] 1/2. The reason that dragons are opposed to heaven is because they are opposed to the heavenly doctrine, for heaven's doctrine does not appear in the sense of the letter except to those who have been enlightened. For this reason too dragons are opposed to heaven, and if they come there, they immediately extinguish the wisdom of those who are there. Nevertheless, when the dragons who force their way up are examined, as a result of the profound obscurity that develops and the torment that results, they throw themselves back. Those who have confirmed [their false belief] more than others compose the dragon's head and body, and they are situated there according to the nature and degree of the confirmation. Their presence brings on mental torpor to the point of extinguishing the affection for truth with those who have intelligence from doctrine, as I know from experience. There were those like this below and there were those like this above, and to the extent that they were present the affection was numb; and if they had not been removed, torpor and surfeit to the point of nausea would have gripped [me]. When anyone talks with them from doctrine, they do not understand and they resist, and in the end they are hostile, some from aversion, some from hatred, and so on. Sometimes they appear to themselves to have light apart from any doctrine; likewise to have their own life and to have the freedom of feeling just as they wish, for and against, whatever and however.

167. [167.] 33. Those Protestants who were caught up in faith alone rose up in insurrection, inciting an almost universal rebellion. Their learned leaders rose up with their dogma against those who acknowledged the Lord and the need for a life of love from Him. They stirred up all but those in the eastern zone - the latter being protected by the Lord - and their insurrection extended even to certain Muslims who were in the northern zone. They sent out groups of fifty to numerous places, in order to stir up the people, and those who remained and directed the rebellion were divided into groups of ten. Their intention was to destroy all those who acknowledged the Lord alone and regarded works together with faith as saving. They were almost all without religion and therefore without conscience, but as they were engaged in this endeavor and in the attempt to destroy others, a force from on high or from heaven then flowed down by which tens of thousands and more were cast into hells.

They allied themselves also with Papists and their monks who in the world had proclaimed themselves Christs and had given no thought to the Lord's Divinity.

After the whole crowd had been cast down, their leaders were seized, and they became black devils inside and out, becoming so monstrous as to be scarcely recognizable as human. For a person's character is the character he has in his life. One who is black in respect to his life becomes black as well afterward from head to toe.

Upon investigation it was found that they had rebelled, not out of zeal for their doctrine of faith alone, but owing to a delight in ruling, and in doing evil because of it.

This event was Michael's battle with the dragon, ¹ for all of that character who had insinuated themselves into the heavens were removed from there and cast down. Michael stands for those who worship the Lord and regard works in conjunction with faith as saving. For as one is not possible without the other, therefore the two together are saving.

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